diff --git a/backend/app/services/source_service.py b/backend/app/services/source_service.py
index dcc66d5..e6b22c0 100644
--- a/backend/app/services/source_service.py
+++ b/backend/app/services/source_service.py
@@ -10,12 +10,14 @@ from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 
 from ..models import (
     Artist,
+    DownloadEvent,
     ImageProvenance,
     ImageRecord,
     ImportSettings,
     Post,
     Source,
 )
+from .gallery_dl import ErrorType
 from .platforms import known_platform_keys
 from .scheduler_service import compute_next_check_at
 
@@ -84,6 +86,11 @@ class SourceRecord:
     # plan #704: cumulative posts processed across the walk's chunks — live
     # progress for the badge.
     backfill_posts: int
+    # Milestone #387 A3: posts the last walk skipped because the account can't
+    # view them. Lives on the EVENT (run_stats.tier_gated_count), not the
+    # source, so it is joined in by `list()` only — None everywhere else, which
+    # the UI renders as the bare no-access state with no fabricated number.
+    tier_gated_count: int | None = None
 
     def to_dict(self) -> dict:
         return {
@@ -107,6 +114,7 @@ class SourceRecord:
             "backfill_bypass_seen": self.backfill_bypass_seen,
             "backfill_recapture": self.backfill_recapture,
             "backfill_posts": self.backfill_posts,
+            "tier_gated_count": self.tier_gated_count,
         }
 
 
@@ -159,8 +167,39 @@ class SourceService:
     async def _load_settings(self) -> ImportSettings:
         return await ImportSettings.load(self.session)
 
+    async def _tier_gated_counts(self, source_ids: list[int]) -> dict[int, int]:
+        """Latest walk's tier-gated post count, per source, in ONE query.
+
+        Selects the `run_stats` sub-object rather than whole `metadata` blobs:
+        those carry truncated stdout/stderr up to 500KB each, and pulling one
+        per source to read a single integer would make the subscriptions list
+        pay for the Logs view. DISTINCT ON + ORDER BY takes the newest event per
+        source (Postgres-only, like the rest of this codebase).
+
+        Callers pass only the sources that actually need it — the count is
+        meaningless for a source that isn't tier-gated.
+        """
+        if not source_ids:
+            return {}
+        rows = (await self.session.execute(
+            select(
+                DownloadEvent.source_id,
+                DownloadEvent.metadata_["run_stats"],
+            )
+            .where(DownloadEvent.source_id.in_(source_ids))
+            .distinct(DownloadEvent.source_id)
+            .order_by(DownloadEvent.source_id, DownloadEvent.started_at.desc())
+        )).all()
+        counts: dict[int, int] = {}
+        for source_id, run_stats in rows:
+            n = (run_stats or {}).get("tier_gated_count") or 0
+            if n:
+                counts[source_id] = int(n)
+        return counts
+
     def _build_record(
         self, source: Source, artist: Artist, settings: ImportSettings,
+        gated_counts: dict[int, int] | None = None,
     ) -> SourceRecord:
         nxt = compute_next_check_at(source, artist, settings)
         co = source.config_overrides or {}
@@ -185,6 +224,7 @@ class SourceService:
             backfill_bypass_seen=bool(co.get("_backfill_bypass_seen")),
             backfill_recapture=bool(co.get("_backfill_recapture")),
             backfill_posts=int(co.get("_backfill_posts", 0)),
+            tier_gated_count=(gated_counts or {}).get(source.id),
         )
 
     async def _row_to_record(self, source: Source) -> SourceRecord:
@@ -217,7 +257,12 @@ class SourceService:
             stmt = stmt.order_by(Artist.name.asc(), Source.id.asc())
         rows = (await self.session.execute(stmt)).all()
         settings = await self._load_settings()
-        return [self._build_record(s, a, settings) for s, a in rows]
+        # Only tier-gated rows need the join — on a healthy library that is an
+        # empty list and _tier_gated_counts short-circuits without a query.
+        gated_counts = await self._tier_gated_counts(
+            [s.id for s, _a in rows if s.error_type == ErrorType.TIER_LIMITED]
+        )
+        return [self._build_record(s, a, settings, gated_counts) for s, a in rows]
 
     async def get(self, source_id: int) -> SourceRecord | None:
         source = (await self.session.execute(
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/subscriptions/SourceHealthDot.vue b/frontend/src/components/subscriptions/SourceHealthDot.vue
index 145044d..b84b7db 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/subscriptions/SourceHealthDot.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/components/subscriptions/SourceHealthDot.vue
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
     <div class="fc-health-tip">
       <div>Last checked: {{ lastCheckedText }}</div>
       <div v-if="nextCheckText">Next check: {{ nextCheckText }}</div>
+      <div v-if="noAccess" class="fc-health-tip__gated">{{ noAccessText }}</div>
       <div v-if="(source.consecutive_failures || 0) > 0">
         Failures: {{ source.consecutive_failures }}
       </div>
@@ -29,14 +30,29 @@ const props = defineProps({
   warningThreshold: { type: Number, default: 5 },
 })
 
+const noAccess = computed(() => props.source.error_type === 'tier_limited')
+
 const level = computed(() => {
   if (!props.source.last_checked_at) return 'unchecked'
   const f = props.source.consecutive_failures || 0
-  if (f === 0) return 'healthy'
+  // No-access outranks 'healthy' but is NOT a failure grade: the walk worked,
+  // the content simply isn't ours. Checked after failures so a source that is
+  // genuinely erroring still reads as erroring.
+  if (f === 0) return noAccess.value ? 'no-access' : 'healthy'
   if (f < props.warningThreshold) return 'warning'
   return 'critical'
 })
 
+// The count comes from the last walk's run_stats and is only joined in by the
+// list endpoint, so it can legitimately be absent — say the state without it
+// rather than printing a fabricated zero.
+const noAccessText = computed(() => {
+  const n = props.source.tier_gated_count
+  return n
+    ? `${n} post${n === 1 ? '' : 's'} you don't have access to`
+    : "Some posts are behind a tier you don't hold"
+})
+
 const ariaLabel = computed(() => `source health: ${level.value}`)
 
 const lastCheckedText = computed(() => formatRelative(props.source.last_checked_at))
@@ -63,6 +79,9 @@ const truncatedError = computed(() => {
 }
 .fc-health-dot--unchecked { background-color: rgb(var(--v-theme-on-surface-variant)); opacity: 0.5; }
 .fc-health-dot--healthy   { background-color: rgb(var(--v-theme-success, 76 175 80)); }
+/* Matches the 'info' severity FailingSourcesCard already assigns tier_limited —
+   deliberately not a warning/error hue: nothing is broken. */
+.fc-health-dot--no-access { background-color: rgb(var(--v-theme-info, 33 150 243)); }
 .fc-health-dot--warning   { background-color: rgb(var(--v-theme-warning, 255 167 38)); }
 .fc-health-dot--critical  { background-color: rgb(var(--v-theme-error, 244 67 54)); }
 
@@ -70,6 +89,9 @@ const truncatedError = computed(() => {
   font-size: 0.85rem;
   line-height: 1.4;
 }
+.fc-health-tip__gated {
+  color: rgb(var(--v-theme-info, 33 150 243));
+}
 .fc-health-tip__err {
   margin-top: 0.25rem;
   color: rgb(var(--v-theme-error, 244 67 54));
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/subscriptions/SourceRow.vue b/frontend/src/components/subscriptions/SourceRow.vue
index 10de1b0..0c287a0 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/subscriptions/SourceRow.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/components/subscriptions/SourceRow.vue
@@ -48,6 +48,20 @@
           <span class="fc-source-row__err-text">{{ source.last_error }}</span>
         </v-tooltip>
       </v-chip>
+      <!-- No access (#387 A3). Sits directly after the failure chip and before
+           the backfill states: a source we can't see is the more useful thing
+           to say about it than which walk phase it's in, and unlike those it
+           doesn't resolve on its own. Info-coloured, never error — the walk
+           worked, the content just isn't ours. -->
+      <v-chip
+        v-else-if="source.error_type === 'tier_limited'"
+        size="x-small" color="info" variant="tonal" label
+        prepend-icon="mdi-lock-outline"
+      >{{ source.tier_gated_count ? `${source.tier_gated_count} gated` : 'No access' }}
+        <v-tooltip activator="parent" location="top" max-width="480">
+          <span>{{ noAccessTip }}</span>
+        </v-tooltip>
+      </v-chip>
       <v-chip
         v-else-if="source.backfill_state === 'running'"
         size="x-small" color="info" variant="tonal" label
@@ -79,6 +93,8 @@
 </template>
 
 <script setup>
+import { computed } from 'vue'
+
 import SourceActions from './SourceActions.vue'
 import SourceHealthDot from './SourceHealthDot.vue'
 import { formatRelative } from '../../utils/date.js'
@@ -88,6 +104,19 @@ const props = defineProps({
   checking: { type: Boolean, default: false },
   warningThreshold: { type: Number, default: 5 },
 })
+
+// Says what to DO about it, not just what it is — the action here is the
+// operator's subscription, not anything FC can retry. The count is only joined
+// in by the list endpoint, so phrase it without one when it's absent rather
+// than rendering a fabricated zero.
+const noAccessTip = computed(() => {
+  const n = props.source.tier_gated_count
+  const what = n
+    ? `The last check skipped ${n} post${n === 1 ? '' : 's'}`
+    : 'The last check skipped posts'
+  return `${what} this account can't view. Nothing is broken — your `
+    + 'subscription tier does not grant access to them.'
+})
 const emit = defineEmits(['edit', 'remove', 'toggle', 'check', 'backfill', 'recover', 'recapture'])
 
 function onToggleEnabled(value) {
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/subscriptions/SubscriptionsTab.vue b/frontend/src/components/subscriptions/SubscriptionsTab.vue
index 25ab67e..1894e77 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/subscriptions/SubscriptionsTab.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/components/subscriptions/SubscriptionsTab.vue
@@ -348,6 +348,12 @@ const STATUS_OPTIONS = [
   { title: 'Enabled',    value: 'enabled' },
   { title: 'Disabled',   value: 'disabled' },
   { title: 'Has errors', value: 'errors' },
+  // #387 A3: no-access is deliberately its own filter and NOT folded into
+  // "Has errors" — nothing failed, and it is the only status here whose fix is
+  // the operator's subscription rather than anything FC can retry. Without a
+  // filter a gated source is invisible in a long list, since it correctly
+  // stays out of the failing rollup.
+  { title: 'No access',  value: 'no_access' },
   { title: 'Stale',      value: 'stale' },
 ]
 
@@ -506,6 +512,7 @@ function groupMatchesStatus(g, status) {
   if (status === 'enabled') return g.sources.some((s) => s.enabled)
   if (status === 'disabled') return g.sources.every((s) => !s.enabled)
   if (status === 'errors') return g.sources.some((s) => (s.consecutive_failures || 0) > 0)
+  if (status === 'no_access') return g.sources.some((s) => s.error_type === 'tier_limited')
   if (status === 'stale') return g.sources.some((s) => !s.last_checked_at)
   return true
 }
diff --git a/frontend/test/components/activeDownloadsPanel.spec.js b/frontend/test/components/activeDownloadsPanel.spec.js
index e6e683e..8bce7c5 100644
--- a/frontend/test/components/activeDownloadsPanel.spec.js
+++ b/frontend/test/components/activeDownloadsPanel.spec.js
@@ -20,6 +20,35 @@ describe('ActiveDownloadsPanel', () => {
     w.unmount() // clear the 1s elapsed-timer interval
   })
 
+  // #387 A1: the live payload gained a `gated` count. Shown only when non-zero
+  // so a healthy run stays uncluttered — a "🔒 0" on every download would be
+  // noise, and noise is what stops the number being noticed when it matters.
+  it('ticks the tier-gated count mid-walk when there is one', () => {
+    const pinia = freshPinia()
+    useDownloadsStore().activeEvents = [{
+      id: 1, status: 'running',
+      started_at: new Date(Date.now() - 65000).toISOString(),
+      platform: 'patreon', artist_name: 'Alice',
+      live: { downloaded: 2, skipped: 0, errors: 0, posts: 12, gated: 9 },
+    }]
+    const w = mountComponent(ActiveDownloadsPanel, { pinia })
+    expect(w.text()).toContain('9')
+    w.unmount()
+  })
+
+  it('omits the gated count when nothing was gated', () => {
+    const pinia = freshPinia()
+    useDownloadsStore().activeEvents = [{
+      id: 1, status: 'running',
+      started_at: new Date(Date.now() - 65000).toISOString(),
+      platform: 'patreon', artist_name: 'Alice',
+      live: { downloaded: 2, skipped: 0, errors: 0, posts: 12, gated: 0 },
+    }]
+    const w = mountComponent(ActiveDownloadsPanel, { pinia })
+    expect(w.find('.fc-active__count--gated').exists()).toBe(false)
+    w.unmount()
+  })
+
   it('renders nothing when there is no active work', () => {
     const pinia = freshPinia()
     useDownloadsStore().activeEvents = []
diff --git a/frontend/test/components/sourceHealthDot.spec.js b/frontend/test/components/sourceHealthDot.spec.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a0f41af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/test/components/sourceHealthDot.spec.js
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+// @vitest-environment happy-dom
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest'
+
+import SourceHealthDot from '../../src/components/subscriptions/SourceHealthDot.vue'
+import { VTooltipStub, mountComponent } from '../support/mountComponent.js'
+
+// Milestone #387 A3. The dot is the only always-visible signal per source, so
+// the grade it picks IS the claim FC makes about that subscription. These pin
+// that no-access is graded as its own thing — not as healthy (which hides it)
+// and not as a failure (which would send the operator hunting for a break that
+// isn't there).
+
+const checked = { last_checked_at: '2026-09-09T12:00:00+00:00' }
+
+function dotClass (w) {
+  return w.find('.fc-health-dot').classes().join(' ')
+}
+
+describe('SourceHealthDot', () => {
+  it('grades a tier-gated source as no-access, not healthy', () => {
+    const w = mountComponent(SourceHealthDot, {
+      stubs: { VTooltip: VTooltipStub },
+      props: {
+        source: { ...checked, consecutive_failures: 0, error_type: 'tier_limited' },
+      },
+    })
+    expect(dotClass(w)).toContain('fc-health-dot--no-access')
+    expect(dotClass(w)).not.toContain('fc-health-dot--healthy')
+  })
+
+  it('shows the gated count when the list endpoint supplied one', () => {
+    const w = mountComponent(SourceHealthDot, {
+      stubs: { VTooltip: VTooltipStub },
+      props: {
+        source: {
+          ...checked, consecutive_failures: 0,
+          error_type: 'tier_limited', tier_gated_count: 47,
+        },
+      },
+    })
+    expect(w.text()).toContain('47 posts')
+  })
+
+  it('states the condition without a number when no count was joined in', () => {
+    const w = mountComponent(SourceHealthDot, {
+      stubs: { VTooltip: VTooltipStub },
+      props: {
+        source: {
+          ...checked, consecutive_failures: 0,
+          error_type: 'tier_limited', tier_gated_count: null,
+        },
+      },
+    })
+    // Absent is not zero: never render "0 posts you don't have access to".
+    expect(w.text()).not.toContain('0 post')
+    expect(w.text()).toContain("tier you don't hold")
+  })
+
+  it('a genuinely failing source still grades as a failure, gated or not', () => {
+    const w = mountComponent(SourceHealthDot, {
+      stubs: { VTooltip: VTooltipStub },
+      props: {
+        source: { ...checked, consecutive_failures: 9, error_type: 'tier_limited' },
+        warningThreshold: 5,
+      },
+    })
+    expect(dotClass(w)).toContain('fc-health-dot--critical')
+    expect(dotClass(w)).not.toContain('fc-health-dot--no-access')
+  })
+
+  it('an unchecked source is still unchecked', () => {
+    const w = mountComponent(SourceHealthDot, {
+      stubs: { VTooltip: VTooltipStub },
+      props: { source: { last_checked_at: null, consecutive_failures: 0 } },
+    })
+    expect(dotClass(w)).toContain('fc-health-dot--unchecked')
+  })
+})
diff --git a/frontend/test/support/mountComponent.js b/frontend/test/support/mountComponent.js
index 888a70a..44aad24 100644
--- a/frontend/test/support/mountComponent.js
+++ b/frontend/test/support/mountComponent.js
@@ -13,12 +13,25 @@ export function freshPinia () {
   return pinia
 }
 
-export function mountComponent (Component, { props = {}, pinia } = {}) {
+// `stubs` is merged over the defaults. Needed whenever the component under
+// test puts content in a NAMED slot of a Vuetify component: leaving those
+// unresolved renders default-slot children only, so a named slot (v-tooltip's
+// `#activator`, say) silently renders nothing and assertions find an empty
+// wrapper rather than failing loudly.
+export function mountComponent (Component, { props = {}, pinia, stubs = {} } = {}) {
   return mount(Component, {
     props,
     global: {
       plugins: pinia ? [pinia] : [],
-      stubs: { RouterLink: { template: '<a><slot /></a>' } },
+      stubs: { RouterLink: { template: '<a><slot /></a>' }, ...stubs },
     },
   })
 }
+
+// Renders both halves of a v-tooltip: the activator (the thing the operator
+// actually sees) and the tip body. `props` is passed as an empty object so the
+// activator's `v-bind="tipProps"` binds cleanly.
+export const VTooltipStub = {
+  name: 'VTooltip',
+  template: '<div><slot name="activator" :props="{}" /><slot /></div>',
+}
diff --git a/tests/test_source_service.py b/tests/test_source_service.py
index 17acecd..e88b75d 100644
--- a/tests/test_source_service.py
+++ b/tests/test_source_service.py
@@ -125,6 +125,61 @@ async def test_list_filters_by_artist(db):
     assert len(all_rows) == 2
 
 
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_list_joins_tier_gated_count_from_the_latest_event(db):
+    """A no-access source carries the count from its most recent walk.
+
+    The number lives on the DownloadEvent's run_stats, not on the source, so
+    `list()` joins it in. Two events are seeded deliberately: the newest must
+    win, or the row would show a stale figure from a walk where the operator
+    still held the tier.
+    """
+    from datetime import UTC, datetime, timedelta
+
+    from backend.app.models import DownloadEvent
+
+    artist = await _artist(db)
+    svc = SourceService(db)
+    rec = await svc.create(
+        artist_id=artist.id, platform="patreon", url="https://patreon.com/gated",
+    )
+    src = (await db.execute(
+        select(Source).where(Source.id == rec.id)
+    )).scalar_one()
+    src.error_type = "tier_limited"
+    src.last_checked_at = datetime.now(UTC)
+
+    now = datetime.now(UTC)
+    db.add(DownloadEvent(
+        source_id=rec.id, status="ok", started_at=now - timedelta(hours=2),
+        metadata_={"run_stats": {"tier_gated_count": 3}},
+    ))
+    db.add(DownloadEvent(
+        source_id=rec.id, status="ok", started_at=now,
+        metadata_={"run_stats": {"tier_gated_count": 47}},
+    ))
+    await db.commit()
+
+    rows = await svc.list(artist_id=artist.id)
+    assert rows[0].tier_gated_count == 47
+    assert rows[0].to_dict()["tier_gated_count"] == 47
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_list_leaves_tier_gated_count_none_for_ordinary_sources(db):
+    """The join is scoped to tier-gated sources, so a healthy row reports None
+    rather than 0 — the UI distinguishes 'no count available' from 'zero
+    gated', and must not print a fabricated number."""
+    artist = await _artist(db)
+    svc = SourceService(db)
+    await svc.create(
+        artist_id=artist.id, platform="patreon", url="https://patreon.com/fine",
+    )
+
+    rows = await svc.list(artist_id=artist.id)
+    assert rows[0].tier_gated_count is None
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_update_changes_fields(db):
     artist = await _artist(db)