diff --git a/kernelci/legacy/lava/__init__.py b/kernelci/legacy/lava/__init__.py
index 55a9742840..4b6a979d46 100644
--- a/kernelci/legacy/lava/__init__.py
+++ b/kernelci/legacy/lava/__init__.py
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 import sys
 
 from jinja2 import Environment, FileSystemLoader
+from jinja2.exceptions import TemplateRuntimeError
 
 
 def add_kci_raise(jinja2_env):
@@ -23,7 +24,7 @@ def add_kci_raise(jinja2_env):
     """
 
     def template_exception(msg):
-        raise Exception(msg)
+        raise TemplateRuntimeError(msg)
 
     jinja2_env.globals["kci_raise"] = template_exception
 
diff --git a/kernelci/runtime/__init__.py b/kernelci/runtime/__init__.py
index 5911ffc953..3473378267 100644
--- a/kernelci/runtime/__init__.py
+++ b/kernelci/runtime/__init__.py
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 import requests
 import yaml
 from jinja2 import ChoiceLoader, Environment, FileSystemLoader
+from jinja2.exceptions import TemplateRuntimeError
 
 from kernelci.config.base import get_system_arch
 
@@ -136,7 +137,7 @@ def _get_jinja2_functions(cls):
 
         def kci_raise(msg):
             """Raise an exception"""
-            raise Exception(msg)
+            raise TemplateRuntimeError(msg)
 
         def kci_yaml_dump(data):
             """Dump data to YAML"""
diff --git a/tests/test_runtime.py b/tests/test_runtime.py
index 66f6972f80..81ea8b0644 100644
--- a/tests/test_runtime.py
+++ b/tests/test_runtime.py
@@ -14,13 +14,32 @@
 import pytest
 import yaml
 from jinja2 import Environment, FileSystemLoader
+from jinja2.exceptions import TemplateRuntimeError
 
 import kernelci.config
+import kernelci.legacy.lava
 import kernelci.runtime
 import kernelci.runtime.lava
 from kernelci.runtime.pull_labs import compute_tuxrun_parameters
 
 
+def test_kci_raise_uses_jinja_runtime_error():
+    """The runtime helper raises a template-specific exception."""
+    kci_raise = kernelci.runtime.Runtime._get_jinja2_functions()["kci_raise"]
+
+    with pytest.raises(TemplateRuntimeError, match="invalid parameters"):
+        kci_raise("invalid parameters")
+
+
+def test_legacy_kci_raise_uses_jinja_runtime_error():
+    """The legacy LAVA helper raises a template-specific exception."""
+    environment = Environment()
+    kernelci.legacy.lava.add_kci_raise(environment)
+
+    with pytest.raises(TemplateRuntimeError, match="invalid parameters"):
+        environment.globals["kci_raise"]("invalid parameters")
+
+
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
     "docker_image", [None, "example.com/lava/fastboot:latest"]
 )