diff --git a/crates/Cargo.lock b/crates/Cargo.lock
index fbf817e70..e32dcf486 100644
--- a/crates/Cargo.lock
+++ b/crates/Cargo.lock
@@ -344,6 +344,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "tracing",
  "tracing-opentelemetry",
  "tracing-subscriber",
+ "urlencoding",
  "uuid",
 ]
 
diff --git a/crates/brightstaff/Cargo.toml b/crates/brightstaff/Cargo.toml
index 5d986ffa5..d627ba962 100644
--- a/crates/brightstaff/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/brightstaff/Cargo.toml
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ tokio-postgres = { version = "0.7", features = ["with-serde_json-1"] }
 tokio-stream = "0.1"
 time = { version = "0.3", features = ["formatting", "macros"] }
 tracing = "0.1"
+urlencoding = "2.1.3"
 tracing-opentelemetry = "0.32.1"
 tracing-subscriber = { version = "0.3", features = ["env-filter"] }
 uuid = { version = "1.0", features = ["v4", "serde"] }
diff --git a/crates/brightstaff/src/handlers/routing_service.rs b/crates/brightstaff/src/handlers/routing_service.rs
index ec09f06fb..f389bda8b 100644
--- a/crates/brightstaff/src/handlers/routing_service.rs
+++ b/crates/brightstaff/src/handlers/routing_service.rs
@@ -13,26 +13,43 @@ use tracing::{debug, info, info_span, warn, Instrument};
 use super::extract_or_generate_traceparent;
 use crate::handlers::llm::model_selection::router_chat_get_upstream_model;
 use crate::router::llm::RouterService;
+use crate::router::policy_provider::PolicyProvider;
 use crate::tracing::{collect_custom_trace_attributes, operation_component, set_service_name};
 
 const ROUTING_POLICY_SIZE_WARNING_BYTES: usize = 5120;
 
-/// Extracts `routing_policy` from a JSON body, returning the cleaned body bytes
-/// and parsed preferences. The `routing_policy` field is removed from the JSON
-/// before re-serializing so downstream parsers don't see the non-standard field.
+/// Extracted routing metadata from a request body.
+#[derive(Debug, Default)]
+pub struct RoutingMetadata {
+    /// Inline routing policy (highest priority).
+    pub inline_policy: Option<Vec<ModelUsagePreference>>,
+    /// Policy ID for external policy provider lookup.
+    pub policy_id: Option<String>,
+    /// Revision for revision-aware caching.
+    pub revision: Option<u64>,
+}
+
+/// Extracts routing metadata from a JSON body, returning the cleaned body bytes
+/// and parsed metadata.
+///
+/// Fields removed from the JSON before re-serializing:
+/// - `routing_policy`: Inline routing preferences
+/// - `policy_id`: External policy identifier
+/// - `revision`: Policy revision for cache invalidation
 ///
 /// If `warn_on_size` is true, logs a warning when the serialized policy exceeds 5KB.
-pub fn extract_routing_policy(
+pub fn extract_routing_metadata(
     raw_bytes: &[u8],
     warn_on_size: bool,
-) -> Result<(Bytes, Option<Vec<ModelUsagePreference>>), String> {
+) -> Result<(Bytes, RoutingMetadata), String> {
     let mut json_body: serde_json::Value = serde_json::from_slice(raw_bytes)
         .map_err(|err| format!("Failed to parse JSON: {}", err))?;
 
-    let preferences = json_body
-        .as_object_mut()
-        .and_then(|obj| obj.remove("routing_policy"))
-        .and_then(|policy_value| {
+    let mut metadata = RoutingMetadata::default();
+
+    if let Some(obj) = json_body.as_object_mut() {
+        // Extract inline routing_policy (highest priority)
+        if let Some(policy_value) = obj.remove("routing_policy") {
             if warn_on_size {
                 let policy_str = serde_json::to_string(&policy_value).unwrap_or_default();
                 if policy_str.len() > ROUTING_POLICY_SIZE_WARNING_BYTES {
@@ -49,17 +66,81 @@ pub fn extract_routing_policy(
                         num_models = prefs.len(),
                         "using inline routing_policy from request body"
                     );
-                    Some(prefs)
+                    metadata.inline_policy = Some(prefs);
                 }
                 Err(err) => {
                     warn!(error = %err, "failed to parse routing_policy");
-                    None
                 }
             }
-        });
+        }
+
+        // Extract policy_id for external policy provider
+        if let Some(policy_id_value) = obj.remove("policy_id") {
+            if let Some(policy_id) = policy_id_value.as_str() {
+                debug!(policy_id = %policy_id, "extracted policy_id from request");
+                metadata.policy_id = Some(policy_id.to_string());
+            }
+        }
+
+        // Extract revision for revision-aware caching
+        if let Some(revision_value) = obj.remove("revision") {
+            if let Some(revision) = revision_value.as_u64() {
+                debug!(revision = revision, "extracted revision from request");
+                metadata.revision = Some(revision);
+            }
+        }
+    }
 
     let bytes = Bytes::from(serde_json::to_vec(&json_body).unwrap());
-    Ok((bytes, preferences))
+    Ok((bytes, metadata))
+}
+
+/// Resolves routing preferences using the following priority:
+/// 1. Inline `routing_policy` in request payload (highest priority)
+/// 2. `policy_id` + `revision` → HTTP policy provider (with cache)
+/// 3. None (fallback to default routing)
+pub async fn resolve_routing_preferences(
+    metadata: RoutingMetadata,
+    policy_provider: Option<&PolicyProvider>,
+) -> Option<Vec<ModelUsagePreference>> {
+    // Priority 1: Inline policy
+    if let Some(inline) = metadata.inline_policy {
+        return Some(inline);
+    }
+
+    // Priority 2: External policy provider
+    if let (Some(provider), Some(policy_id)) = (policy_provider, &metadata.policy_id) {
+        match provider.get_policy(policy_id, metadata.revision).await {
+            Ok(Some(policy)) => {
+                info!(
+                    policy_id = %policy_id,
+                    num_models = policy.len(),
+                    "using policy from external provider"
+                );
+                return Some(policy);
+            }
+            Ok(None) => {
+                warn!(policy_id = %policy_id, "policy not found from external provider");
+            }
+            Err(err) => {
+                warn!(error = %err, policy_id = %policy_id, "failed to fetch policy from external provider");
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Priority 3: No preferences (fallback to default)
+    None
+}
+
+/// Backward-compatible function that only extracts inline routing_policy.
+/// Deprecated: Use `extract_routing_metadata` instead.
+#[deprecated(note = "Use extract_routing_metadata instead")]
+pub fn extract_routing_policy(
+    raw_bytes: &[u8],
+    warn_on_size: bool,
+) -> Result<(Bytes, Option<Vec<ModelUsagePreference>>), String> {
+    let (bytes, metadata) = extract_routing_metadata(raw_bytes, warn_on_size)?;
+    Ok((bytes, metadata.inline_policy))
 }
 
 #[derive(serde::Serialize)]
diff --git a/crates/brightstaff/src/router/mod.rs b/crates/brightstaff/src/router/mod.rs
index b010d80c9..14cafeab5 100644
--- a/crates/brightstaff/src/router/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/brightstaff/src/router/mod.rs
@@ -3,5 +3,6 @@ pub mod llm;
 pub mod orchestrator;
 pub mod orchestrator_model;
 pub mod orchestrator_model_v1;
+pub mod policy_provider;
 pub mod router_model;
 pub mod router_model_v1;
diff --git a/crates/brightstaff/src/router/policy_provider.rs b/crates/brightstaff/src/router/policy_provider.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4f37dea0f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/brightstaff/src/router/policy_provider.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,261 @@
+//! External HTTP routing policy provider.
+//!
+//! Fetches routing policies from an external HTTP endpoint with caching support.
+//! Policies are cached by `policy_id` with revision-aware invalidation.
+
+use std::collections::HashMap;
+use std::sync::Arc;
+use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
+
+use common::configuration::ModelUsagePreference;
+use reqwest::header::HeaderMap;
+use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
+use thiserror::Error;
+use tokio::sync::RwLock;
+use tracing::{debug, warn};
+
+/// Configuration for the external HTTP policy provider.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+pub struct PolicyProviderConfig {
+    /// URL of the external policy endpoint.
+    pub url: String,
+    /// Optional headers to include in requests (e.g., Authorization).
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub headers: HashMap<String, String>,
+    /// Cache TTL in seconds. Defaults to 300 (5 minutes).
+    #[serde(default = "default_ttl_seconds")]
+    pub ttl_seconds: u64,
+}
+
+fn default_ttl_seconds() -> u64 {
+    300
+}
+
+impl Default for PolicyProviderConfig {
+    fn default() -> Self {
+        Self {
+            url: String::new(),
+            headers: HashMap::new(),
+            ttl_seconds: 300,
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Response from the external policy endpoint.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+pub struct PolicyResponse {
+    pub policy_id: String,
+    pub revision: u64,
+    pub schema_version: String,
+    pub routing_preferences: Vec<ModelUsagePreference>,
+}
+
+/// Cached policy entry with revision and expiration.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
+struct CachedPolicy {
+    policy: Vec<ModelUsagePreference>,
+    revision: u64,
+    cached_at: Instant,
+    ttl: Duration,
+}
+
+impl CachedPolicy {
+    fn is_expired(&self) -> bool {
+        self.cached_at.elapsed() > self.ttl
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Error)]
+pub enum PolicyProviderError {
+    #[error("HTTP request failed: {0}")]
+    Http(#[from] reqwest::Error),
+
+    #[error("Failed to parse policy response: {0}")]
+    Parse(String),
+
+    #[error("Unsupported schema version: {0}")]
+    UnsupportedSchemaVersion(String),
+
+    #[error("Policy ID mismatch: expected {expected}, got {actual}")]
+    PolicyIdMismatch { expected: String, actual: String },
+
+    #[error("No policy provider configured")]
+    NotConfigured,
+}
+
+/// External HTTP routing policy provider with caching.
+pub struct PolicyProvider {
+    config: PolicyProviderConfig,
+    client: reqwest::Client,
+    cache: RwLock<HashMap<String, CachedPolicy>>,
+}
+
+impl PolicyProvider {
+    pub fn new(config: PolicyProviderConfig) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            config,
+            client: reqwest::Client::new(),
+            cache: RwLock::new(HashMap::new()),
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Fetches routing policy for the given policy_id and revision.
+    ///
+    /// Resolution order:
+    /// 1. If cached and cached revision >= requested revision, use cache
+    /// 2. Otherwise, fetch from external endpoint
+    ///
+    /// Returns `None` if no policy_id is provided or if the provider is not configured.
+    pub async fn get_policy(
+        &self,
+        policy_id: &str,
+        revision: Option<u64>,
+    ) -> Result<Option<Vec<ModelUsagePreference>>, PolicyProviderError> {
+        if self.config.url.is_empty() {
+            return Err(PolicyProviderError::NotConfigured);
+        }
+
+        let revision = revision.unwrap_or(0);
+
+        // Check cache first
+        {
+            let cache = self.cache.read().await;
+            if let Some(cached) = cache.get(policy_id) {
+                if !cached.is_expired() && cached.revision >= revision {
+                    debug!(
+                        policy_id = %policy_id,
+                        cached_revision = cached.revision,
+                        requested_revision = revision,
+                        "using cached policy"
+                    );
+                    return Ok(Some(cached.policy.clone()));
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        // Fetch from external endpoint
+        let policy = self.fetch_policy(policy_id, revision).await?;
+
+        // Update cache
+        {
+            let mut cache = self.cache.write().await;
+            cache.insert(
+                policy_id.to_string(),
+                CachedPolicy {
+                    policy: policy.routing_preferences.clone(),
+                    revision: policy.revision,
+                    cached_at: Instant::now(),
+                    ttl: Duration::from_secs(self.config.ttl_seconds),
+                },
+            );
+        }
+
+        debug!(
+            policy_id = %policy_id,
+            revision = policy.revision,
+            num_models = policy.routing_preferences.len(),
+            "fetched and cached policy from external endpoint"
+        );
+
+        Ok(Some(policy.routing_preferences))
+    }
+
+    async fn fetch_policy(
+        &self,
+        policy_id: &str,
+        revision: u64,
+    ) -> Result<PolicyResponse, PolicyProviderError> {
+        let url = format!(
+            "{}?policy_id={}&revision={}",
+            self.config.url,
+            urlencoding::encode(policy_id),
+            revision
+        );
+
+        let mut headers = HeaderMap::new();
+        for (key, value) in &self.config.headers {
+            if let Ok(header_name) = key.parse() {
+                if let Ok(header_value) = value.parse() {
+                    headers.insert(header_name, header_value);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        debug!(url = %url, "fetching policy from external endpoint");
+
+        let response = self.client.get(&url).headers(headers).send().await?;
+
+        if !response.status().is_success() {
+            let status = response.status();
+            let body = response.text().await.unwrap_or_default();
+            return Err(PolicyProviderError::Parse(format!(
+                "HTTP {} from policy endpoint: {}",
+                status, body
+            )));
+        }
+
+        let policy: PolicyResponse = response.json().await.map_err(|e| {
+            PolicyProviderError::Parse(format!("Failed to parse JSON response: {}", e))
+        })?;
+
+        // Validate schema version
+        if policy.schema_version != "v1" {
+            return Err(PolicyProviderError::UnsupportedSchemaVersion(
+                policy.schema_version,
+            ));
+        }
+
+        // Validate policy_id matches
+        if policy.policy_id != policy_id {
+            return Err(PolicyProviderError::PolicyIdMismatch {
+                expected: policy_id.to_string(),
+                actual: policy.policy_id,
+            });
+        }
+
+        Ok(policy)
+    }
+
+    /// Clears the cache for a specific policy_id or all policies.
+    pub async fn clear_cache(&self, policy_id: Option<&str>) {
+        let mut cache = self.cache.write().await;
+        match policy_id {
+            Some(id) => {
+                cache.remove(id);
+            }
+            None => {
+                cache.clear();
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_default_ttl() {
+        let config = PolicyProviderConfig::default();
+        assert_eq!(config.ttl_seconds, 300);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_cached_policy_expiration() {
+        let cached = CachedPolicy {
+            policy: vec![],
+            revision: 1,
+            cached_at: Instant::now() - Duration::from_secs(400),
+            ttl: Duration::from_secs(300),
+        };
+        assert!(cached.is_expired());
+
+        let fresh = CachedPolicy {
+            policy: vec![],
+            revision: 1,
+            cached_at: Instant::now(),
+            ttl: Duration::from_secs(300),
+        };
+        assert!(!fresh.is_expired());
+    }
+}