diff --git a/include/asterisk/config.h b/include/asterisk/config.h
index 954508b718..fff6890bcf 100644
--- a/include/asterisk/config.h
+++ b/include/asterisk/config.h
@@ -126,6 +126,12 @@ typedef int realtime_require(const char *database, const char *table, va_list ap
  */
 typedef int realtime_unload(const char *database, const char *table);
 
+/*! Special return value indicating a successful query that returned no data.
+ * Used by realtime backends to signal "not found" vs an actual backend failure.
+ * This allows the core engine to differentiate and avoid unnecessary failover.
+ */
+#define CONFIG_RT_NOT_FOUND	(void *)-1
+
 /*! \brief Configuration engine structure, used to define realtime drivers */
 struct ast_config_engine {
 	char *name;
diff --git a/main/config.c b/main/config.c
index 900efa355a..4e5684d5f4 100644
--- a/main/config.c
+++ b/main/config.c
@@ -3639,8 +3639,20 @@ struct ast_variable *ast_load_realtime_all_fields(const char *family, const stru
 
 	for (i = 1; ; i++) {
 		if ((eng = find_engine(family, i, db, sizeof(db), table, sizeof(table)))) {
-			if (eng->realtime_func && (res = eng->realtime_func(db, table, fields))) {
-				return res;
+			if (eng->realtime_func) {
+				res = eng->realtime_func(db, table, fields);
+
+				/* If a backend returns CONFIG_RT_NOT_FOUND, stop iteration and return NULL,
+				 * indicating that the requested record does not exist and no failover should occur.
+				 * Only continue iteration if the result is NULL and not CONFIG_RT_NOT_FOUND,
+				 * which signals a backend failure.
+				 */
+				if (res == CONFIG_RT_NOT_FOUND) {
+					return NULL;
+				}
+				if (res) {
+					return res;
+				}
 			}
 		} else {
 			return NULL;
diff --git a/res/res_config_odbc.c b/res/res_config_odbc.c
index cecbd1792f..7007baf335 100644
--- a/res/res_config_odbc.c
+++ b/res/res_config_odbc.c
@@ -167,7 +167,8 @@ static SQLHSTMT custom_prepare(struct odbc_obj *obj, void *data)
  * Sub-in the values to the prepared statement and execute it. Return results
  * as a ast_variable list.
  *
- * \return var on success
+ * \return var on success (data found)
+ * \return CONFIG_RT_NOT_FOUND on success but no record
  * \retval NULL on failure
  */
 static struct ast_variable *realtime_odbc(const char *database, const char *table, const struct ast_variable *fields)
@@ -237,9 +238,13 @@ static struct ast_variable *realtime_odbc(const char *database, const char *tabl
 
 	res = SQLFetch(stmt);
 	if (res == SQL_NO_DATA) {
+		/* SQL_NO_DATA indicates that the query was valid but no record was found.
+		 * Instead of returning NULL (which signals a backend error to the core),
+		 * return CONFIG_RT_NOT_FOUND to prevent incorrect failover.
+		 */
 		SQLFreeHandle (SQL_HANDLE_STMT, stmt);
 		ast_odbc_release_obj(obj);
-		return NULL;
+		return CONFIG_RT_NOT_FOUND;
 	}
 	if ((res != SQL_SUCCESS) && (res != SQL_SUCCESS_WITH_INFO)) {
 		ast_log(LOG_WARNING, "SQL Fetch error! [%s]\n", ast_str_buffer(sql));