diff --git a/architecture/bootstrappers.md b/architecture/bootstrappers.md
index 6c3e436..1adbf21 100644
--- a/architecture/bootstrappers.md
+++ b/architecture/bootstrappers.md
@@ -87,6 +87,14 @@ The guard is uniform: the same marker and warning apply to all four app-bearing
 frameworks. `attach` is typed `Callable[[], object]` because some hooks (FastStream's
 `on_shutdown`) return the callback.
 
+Litestar's `attach` thunk wraps `_apply_config`, which also normalizes the `AppConfig`
+it is handed before `Litestar.from_config()` builds the app: it sets `debug` from
+`service_debug`, and fills `request_max_body_size` with Litestar's own 10 MB default
+when the config leaves it `Empty`. `from_config()` passes every field explicitly, so
+the default `Litestar(...)` applies never reaches the app and an unset value 500s
+every body-reading handler ([litestar#4296](https://github.com/litestar-org/litestar/issues/4296)).
+A caller's own value, including an explicit `None` for no limit, is left alone.
+
 ## Single-threaded init (free-threading)
 
 `bootstrap()`/`teardown()` are startup/shutdown, main-thread operations; their
diff --git a/docs/integrations/litestar.md b/docs/integrations/litestar.md
index 532cd62..cde6486 100644
--- a/docs/integrations/litestar.md
+++ b/docs/integrations/litestar.md
@@ -119,3 +119,30 @@ LitestarConfig(
     prometheus_additional_params={"exclude_unhandled_paths": True},
 )
 ```
+
+## Request body size limit
+
+`LitestarBootstrapper` builds its app with `Litestar.from_config()`, which —
+unlike `Litestar(...)` — passes every `AppConfig` field explicitly and so
+skips the 10 MB `request_max_body_size` default that `Litestar(...)` applies.
+Left as-is, that means every handler that reads a request body returns `500:
+'request_max_body_size' set to 'Empty' on all layers`
+([litestar#4296](https://github.com/litestar-org/litestar/issues/4296)).
+
+The bootstrapper works around this by filling `request_max_body_size` with
+Litestar's own 10 MB default whenever your `AppConfig` leaves it unset. This
+is not exposed as a `LitestarConfig` field — set it on your own `AppConfig`
+instead, the same way as every other Litestar app-level knob:
+
+```python
+from litestar.config.app import AppConfig
+
+LitestarConfig(
+    service_name="microservice",
+    application_config=AppConfig(request_max_body_size=5_000_000),  # 5 MB limit
+)
+```
+
+Pass `request_max_body_size=None` for no limit. Any value you set — including
+`None` — is left untouched; the bootstrapper only fills it in when it is
+unset.
diff --git a/lite_bootstrap/bootstrappers/litestar_bootstrapper.py b/lite_bootstrap/bootstrappers/litestar_bootstrapper.py
index ef6c10a..0226323 100644
--- a/lite_bootstrap/bootstrappers/litestar_bootstrapper.py
+++ b/lite_bootstrap/bootstrappers/litestar_bootstrapper.py
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@
     from litestar.openapi.plugins import SwaggerRenderPlugin
     from litestar.plugins.structlog import StructlogConfig, StructlogPlugin
     from litestar.static_files import create_static_files_router
+    from litestar.types import Empty
 
 if import_checker.is_litestar_installed and import_checker.is_prometheus_client_installed:
     # litestar.plugins.prometheus imports prometheus_client, which the `litestar`
@@ -71,6 +72,11 @@ def build_span_name(method: str, route: str) -> str:
 _LOGGING_MIDDLEWARE_REQUEST_LOG_FIELDS: typing.Final = ("path", "method", "content_type", "path_params")
 _LOGGING_MIDDLEWARE_RESPONSE_LOG_FIELDS: typing.Final = ("status_code",)
 
+# Litestar.from_config() passes every AppConfig field explicitly, so the default that
+# Litestar.__init__ applies never reaches an app built from a config. Pinned to Litestar's
+# own default by a guard test. See https://github.com/litestar-org/litestar/issues/4296.
+_LITESTAR_DEFAULT_REQUEST_MAX_BODY_SIZE: typing.Final = 10_000_000
+
 
 def build_litestar_route_details_from_scope(
     scope: typing.MutableMapping[str, typing.Any],
@@ -348,6 +354,9 @@ def __init__(self, bootstrap_config: LitestarConfig) -> None:
 
     def _apply_config(self, application_config: "AppConfig") -> None:
         application_config.debug = self.bootstrap_config.service_debug
+        # An Empty value reaches layer resolution and 500s every body-reading handler.
+        if application_config.request_max_body_size is Empty:
+            application_config.request_max_body_size = _LITESTAR_DEFAULT_REQUEST_MAX_BODY_SIZE
         application_config.on_shutdown.append(self.teardown)
 
     def is_ready(self) -> bool:
diff --git a/planning/changes/2026-08-10.03-litestar-request-max-body-size.md b/planning/changes/2026-08-10.03-litestar-request-max-body-size.md
index c1e9813..47e2d4b 100644
--- a/planning/changes/2026-08-10.03-litestar-request-max-body-size.md
+++ b/planning/changes/2026-08-10.03-litestar-request-max-body-size.md
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 ---
-summary: Fill `request_max_body_size` with Litestar's own 10 MB default when the bootstrapped `AppConfig` leaves it `Empty`, so body-reading handlers stop returning 500 under `Litestar.from_config()`, and pin the constant against Litestar's signature so an upstream change fails CI.
+summary: `LitestarBootstrapper._apply_config` now fills `request_max_body_size` with Litestar's 10 MB default when the `AppConfig` leaves it `Empty`, so body-reading handlers stop returning 500 under `Litestar.from_config()`; a caller's own value (including `None`) is untouched, and a guard test pins the constant against Litestar's signature default.
 ---
 
 # Design: Apply Litestar's request_max_body_size default when the AppConfig leaves it unset
diff --git a/planning/releases/1.4.0.md b/planning/releases/1.4.0.md
index d20c615..74bd2f0 100644
--- a/planning/releases/1.4.0.md
+++ b/planning/releases/1.4.0.md
@@ -81,6 +81,23 @@ Supplying `litestar_logging_middleware_config` while
 `litestar_logging_middleware_enabled` is `False` is a no-op that emits a
 warning — set the flag to actually turn logging on.
 
+## Bug fixes
+
+- **Litestar apps can read request bodies again.** `Litestar.from_config()` — which
+  `LitestarBootstrapper` uses — passes every `AppConfig` field explicitly, so the 10 MB
+  `request_max_body_size` default that `Litestar(...)` applies never reached the built
+  app. Every handler taking a request body returned
+  `500: 'request_max_body_size' set to 'Empty' on all layers` unless the caller set the
+  field themselves. The bootstrapper now fills it when the config leaves it unset; a
+  caller's own value, including an explicit `None` for no limit, is untouched. Reported
+  upstream as [litestar#4296](https://github.com/litestar-org/litestar/issues/4296).
+- **The `litestar` extra's floor moved from `>=2.9` to `>=2.15`.** `AppConfig.request_max_body_size`,
+  which the fix above now reads, was only added in litestar 2.13; and
+  `litestar.middleware.ASGIMiddleware`, which the OpenTelemetry middleware already subclassed
+  before this release, was only added in litestar 2.15. `>=2.9` was never actually supported for
+  the OTel path — this just makes the declared floor honest.
+
 ## References
 
 - `planning/changes/2026-08-10.01-litestar-middleware-logging.md`
+- `planning/changes/2026-08-10.03-litestar-request-max-body-size.md`
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 5ebbbf1..7dc7514 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -85,7 +85,10 @@ fastapi-all = [
     "lite-bootstrap[fastapi-sentry,fastapi-otl,fastapi-logging,fastapi-metrics,pyroscope]",
 ]
 litestar = [
-    "litestar>=2.9",
+    # >=2.13 for AppConfig.request_max_body_size (LitestarBootstrapper._apply_config reads it);
+    # >=2.15 for litestar.middleware.ASGIMiddleware (LitestarOpenTelemetryInstrumentationMiddleware
+    # subclasses it) -- the higher floor wins.
+    "litestar>=2.15",
 ]
 litestar-sentry = [
     "lite-bootstrap[litestar,sentry]",
diff --git a/tests/test_litestar_bootstrap.py b/tests/test_litestar_bootstrap.py
index 53a2a8b..5c3850e 100644
--- a/tests/test_litestar_bootstrap.py
+++ b/tests/test_litestar_bootstrap.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import contextlib
 import dataclasses
 import gc
+import inspect
 import json
 import logging
 import sys
@@ -24,6 +25,7 @@
 
 from lite_bootstrap import LitestarBootstrapper, LitestarConfig, import_checker
 from lite_bootstrap.bootstrappers.litestar_bootstrapper import (
+    _LITESTAR_DEFAULT_REQUEST_MAX_BODY_SIZE,
     LitestarLoggingInstrument,
     LitestarOpenTelemetryInstrumentationMiddleware,
     build_litestar_route_details_from_scope,
@@ -322,7 +324,7 @@ def _access_log_records(log_lines: list[str]) -> list[dict[str, typing.Any]]:
 def _post_password(config: LitestarConfig) -> list[str]:
     """Bootstrap, POST credentials, and return the log lines Litestar emitted for that request."""
 
-    @litestar.post("/login", request_max_body_size=1000)
+    @litestar.post("/login")
     async def _login_handler(data: dict[str, str]) -> dict[str, str]:
         return data
 
@@ -457,3 +459,54 @@ def test_litestar_access_logging_excluded_paths_none_when_all_degenerate(
 
     assert instrument._build_logging_middleware_excluded_paths() == []  # noqa: SLF001
     assert instrument._build_logging_middleware_config().exclude is None  # noqa: SLF001
+
+
+def test_litestar_bootstrap_fills_unset_request_max_body_size(litestar_config: LitestarConfig) -> None:
+    @litestar.post("/echo")
+    async def echo_handler(data: dict[str, str]) -> dict[str, str]:
+        return data
+
+    config = dataclasses.replace(litestar_config, application_config=AppConfig(route_handlers=[echo_handler]))
+    application = LitestarBootstrapper(bootstrap_config=config).bootstrap()
+
+    with TestClient(app=application) as client:
+        response = client.post("/echo", json={"key": "value"})
+
+    assert response.status_code == status_codes.HTTP_201_CREATED
+    assert response.json() == {"key": "value"}
+    assert application.request_max_body_size == _LITESTAR_DEFAULT_REQUEST_MAX_BODY_SIZE
+
+
+def test_litestar_bootstrap_keeps_explicit_request_max_body_size(litestar_config: LitestarConfig) -> None:
+    explicit_max_body_size = 42
+
+    @litestar.post("/echo")
+    async def echo_handler(data: dict[str, str]) -> dict[str, str]:
+        return data  # pragma: no cover -- body exceeds the limit before this runs
+
+    config = dataclasses.replace(
+        litestar_config,
+        application_config=AppConfig(route_handlers=[echo_handler], request_max_body_size=explicit_max_body_size),
+    )
+    application = LitestarBootstrapper(bootstrap_config=config).bootstrap()
+
+    with TestClient(app=application) as client:
+        response = client.post("/echo", json={"key": "value" * explicit_max_body_size})
+
+    assert response.status_code == status_codes.HTTP_413_REQUEST_ENTITY_TOO_LARGE
+    assert application.request_max_body_size == explicit_max_body_size
+
+
+def test_litestar_bootstrap_keeps_explicit_unlimited_request_max_body_size(litestar_config: LitestarConfig) -> None:
+    config = dataclasses.replace(litestar_config, application_config=AppConfig(request_max_body_size=None))
+    application = LitestarBootstrapper(bootstrap_config=config).bootstrap()
+
+    with TestClient(app=application):
+        assert application.request_max_body_size is None
+
+
+def test_litestar_default_request_max_body_size_matches_litestar() -> None:
+    """Guard: our constant must stay equal to the default Litestar's own __init__ applies."""
+    litestar_default = inspect.signature(litestar.Litestar.__init__).parameters["request_max_body_size"].default
+
+    assert litestar_default == _LITESTAR_DEFAULT_REQUEST_MAX_BODY_SIZE