diff --git a/apps/backend/src/app/models/__tests__/admin_feedback.server.model.spec.ts b/apps/backend/src/app/models/__tests__/admin_feedback.server.model.spec.ts
index b8ddc85a3d..ffef0f0054 100644
--- a/apps/backend/src/app/models/__tests__/admin_feedback.server.model.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/backend/src/app/models/__tests__/admin_feedback.server.model.spec.ts
@@ -50,16 +50,18 @@ describe('form_feedback.server.model', () => {
       )
     })
 
-    it('should throw validation error when rating param is missing', async () => {
+    it('should save successfully when rating param is missing (now optional; new rows use csat)', async () => {
       // Arrange
       const paramsWithoutRating = omit(DEFAULT_PARAMS, 'rating')
       // Act
-      const actualPromise = new FeedbackModel(paramsWithoutRating).save()
+      const actual = await FeedbackModel.create({
+        ...paramsWithoutRating,
+        csat: 4,
+      })
 
       // Assert
-      await expect(actualPromise).rejects.toThrow(
-        mongoose.Error.ValidationError,
-      )
+      expect(actual.rating).toBeUndefined()
+      expect(actual.csat).toEqual(4)
     })
 
     it('should save successfully with triggerSource and formId', async () => {
@@ -137,6 +139,38 @@ describe('form_feedback.server.model', () => {
       expect(actual.rating).toEqual(0)
     })
 
+    it('should accept csat values 1 through 5', async () => {
+      for (const csat of [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] as const) {
+        const actual = await FeedbackModel.create({
+          ...omit(DEFAULT_PARAMS, 'rating'),
+          csat,
+        })
+        expect(actual.csat).toEqual(csat)
+      }
+    })
+
+    it('should reject csat value of 6', async () => {
+      const actualPromise = new FeedbackModel({
+        ...omit(DEFAULT_PARAMS, 'rating'),
+        csat: 6,
+      }).save()
+
+      await expect(actualPromise).rejects.toThrow(
+        mongoose.Error.ValidationError,
+      )
+    })
+
+    it('should reject csat value of 0 (csat is 1-5, unlike legacy rating)', async () => {
+      const actualPromise = new FeedbackModel({
+        ...omit(DEFAULT_PARAMS, 'rating'),
+        csat: 0,
+      }).save()
+
+      await expect(actualPromise).rejects.toThrow(
+        mongoose.Error.ValidationError,
+      )
+    })
+
     it('should default ratingChanged to false', async () => {
       const actual = await FeedbackModel.create(DEFAULT_PARAMS)
       expect(actual.ratingChanged).toEqual(false)
diff --git a/apps/backend/src/app/models/admin_feedback.server.model.ts b/apps/backend/src/app/models/admin_feedback.server.model.ts
index 76f0f73a6f..c2423e6920 100644
--- a/apps/backend/src/app/models/admin_feedback.server.model.ts
+++ b/apps/backend/src/app/models/admin_feedback.server.model.ts
@@ -17,11 +17,20 @@ const AdminFeedbackSchema = new Schema<
       ref: USER_SCHEMA_ID,
       required: true,
     },
+    // Legacy thumbs (0/1) key. Optional so new rows can omit it in favour of `csat`.
     rating: {
       type: Number,
       min: 0,
       max: 5,
-      required: true,
+      required: false,
+    },
+    // CSAT: the new 1-5 star satisfaction score. Own key to keep it separate from
+    // legacy `rating` data.
+    csat: {
+      type: Number,
+      min: 1,
+      max: 5,
+      required: false,
     },
     comment: {
       type: String,
diff --git a/apps/backend/src/app/modules/admin-feedback/__tests__/admin_feedback.service.spec.ts b/apps/backend/src/app/modules/admin-feedback/__tests__/admin_feedback.service.spec.ts
index 0ae2acd461..965bb76ff6 100644
--- a/apps/backend/src/app/modules/admin-feedback/__tests__/admin_feedback.service.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/backend/src/app/modules/admin-feedback/__tests__/admin_feedback.service.spec.ts
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ describe('feedback.service', () => {
     const MOCK_COMMENT = 'mock comment'
     const MOCK_ADMIN_FEEDBACK = new AdminFeedbackModel({
       userId: MOCK_USER_ID,
-      rating: MOCK_RATING,
+      csat: MOCK_RATING,
       comment: MOCK_COMMENT,
     })
 
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ describe('feedback.service', () => {
       // Act
       const actualResult = await AdminFeedbackService.insertAdminFeedback({
         userId: MOCK_USER_ID,
-        rating: MOCK_RATING,
+        csat: MOCK_RATING,
         comment: MOCK_COMMENT,
       })
 
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ describe('feedback.service', () => {
     it('should return Admin Feedback document on successful insertion without comment', async () => {
       const mock_feedback_no_comment = new AdminFeedbackModel({
         userId: MOCK_USER_ID,
-        rating: MOCK_RATING,
+        csat: MOCK_RATING,
       })
       // Arrange
       // Mock success.
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ describe('feedback.service', () => {
       // Act
       const actualResult = await AdminFeedbackService.insertAdminFeedback({
         userId: MOCK_USER_ID,
-        rating: MOCK_RATING,
+        csat: MOCK_RATING,
       })
 
       // Assert
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ describe('feedback.service', () => {
       const mockFormId = new ObjectId().toHexString()
       const mockFeedbackWithTrigger = new AdminFeedbackModel({
         userId: MOCK_USER_ID,
-        rating: MOCK_RATING,
+        csat: MOCK_RATING,
         comment: MOCK_COMMENT,
         triggerSource: mockTriggerSource,
         formId: mockFormId,
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ describe('feedback.service', () => {
 
       const actualResult = await AdminFeedbackService.insertAdminFeedback({
         userId: MOCK_USER_ID,
-        rating: MOCK_RATING,
+        csat: MOCK_RATING,
         comment: MOCK_COMMENT,
         triggerSource: mockTriggerSource,
         formId: mockFormId,
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ describe('feedback.service', () => {
       expect(insertSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
       expect(insertSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
         userId: MOCK_USER_ID,
-        rating: MOCK_RATING,
+        csat: MOCK_RATING,
         comment: MOCK_COMMENT,
         triggerSource: mockTriggerSource,
         formId: mockFormId,
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ describe('feedback.service', () => {
       // Act
       const actualResult = await AdminFeedbackService.insertAdminFeedback({
         userId: MOCK_USER_ID,
-        rating: MOCK_RATING,
+        csat: MOCK_RATING,
       })
 
       // Assert
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ describe('feedback.service', () => {
       await AdminFeedbackModel.create({
         _id: MOCK_FEEDBACK_ID,
         userId: MOCK_USER_ID,
-        rating: MOCK_RATING,
+        csat: MOCK_RATING,
         comment: MOCK_COMMENT,
       })
     })
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ describe('feedback.service', () => {
       const actualResult = await AdminFeedbackService.updateAdminFeedback({
         feedbackId: MOCK_FEEDBACK_ID,
         userId: MOCK_USER_ID,
-        rating: newRating,
+        csat: newRating,
         comment: newComment,
       })
 
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ describe('feedback.service', () => {
       // Assert
       expect(actualResult.isOk()).toEqual(true)
       expect(newFeedback?.comment).toEqual(newComment)
-      expect(newFeedback?.rating).toEqual(newRating)
+      expect(newFeedback?.csat).toEqual(newRating)
     })
 
     it('should set ratingChanged to true when rating is updated', async () => {
@@ -175,13 +175,13 @@ describe('feedback.service', () => {
       await AdminFeedbackService.updateAdminFeedback({
         feedbackId: MOCK_FEEDBACK_ID,
         userId: MOCK_USER_ID,
-        rating: newRating,
+        csat: newRating,
       })
 
       const newFeedback = await AdminFeedbackModel.findById(MOCK_FEEDBACK_ID)
 
       expect(newFeedback?.ratingChanged).toEqual(true)
-      expect(newFeedback?.rating).toEqual(newRating)
+      expect(newFeedback?.csat).toEqual(newRating)
     })
 
     it('should not set ratingChanged when only comment is updated', async () => {
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ describe('feedback.service', () => {
       const newRating = 3
       const expectedResult = new AdminFeedbackModel({
         userId: MOCK_USER_ID,
-        rating: newRating,
+        csat: newRating,
         comment: MOCK_COMMENT,
       })
 
@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ describe('feedback.service', () => {
       const actualResult = await AdminFeedbackService.updateAdminFeedback({
         feedbackId: MOCK_FEEDBACK_ID,
         userId: MOCK_USER_ID,
-        rating: newRating,
+        csat: newRating,
       })
 
       const newFeedback = await AdminFeedbackModel.findById(MOCK_FEEDBACK_ID)
@@ -216,14 +216,14 @@ describe('feedback.service', () => {
       // Assert
       expect(actualResult.isOk()).toEqual(true)
       expect(newFeedback?.comment).toEqual(expectedResult.comment)
-      expect(newFeedback?.rating).toEqual(expectedResult.rating)
+      expect(newFeedback?.csat).toEqual(expectedResult.csat)
     })
 
     it('should update feedback successfully with only comment changes', async () => {
       const newComment = 'new comment'
       const expectedResult = new AdminFeedbackModel({
         userId: MOCK_USER_ID,
-        rating: MOCK_RATING,
+        csat: MOCK_RATING,
         comment: newComment,
       })
 
@@ -239,7 +239,7 @@ describe('feedback.service', () => {
       // Assert
       expect(actualResult.isOk()).toEqual(true)
       expect(newFeedback?.comment).toEqual(expectedResult.comment)
-      expect(newFeedback?.rating).toEqual(expectedResult.rating)
+      expect(newFeedback?.csat).toEqual(expectedResult.csat)
     })
 
     it('should return ok if there are no changes to be made', async () => {
diff --git a/apps/backend/src/app/modules/admin-feedback/admin-feedback.controller.ts b/apps/backend/src/app/modules/admin-feedback/admin-feedback.controller.ts
index 2bb64e8cf6..2bf0115205 100644
--- a/apps/backend/src/app/modules/admin-feedback/admin-feedback.controller.ts
+++ b/apps/backend/src/app/modules/admin-feedback/admin-feedback.controller.ts
@@ -45,20 +45,22 @@ const submitAdminFeedback: ControllerHandler<
   const { rating, comment, triggerSource, formId } = req.body
 
   // Dual-emit: old metric kept so existing dashboards don't break during
-  // migration. New metric (.v2) for the 1-5 scale. Remove the old metric
-  // once report card has migrated to .v2.
+  // migration. New `.csat` metric is the 1-5 CSAT measure. Remove the old
+  // metric once the report card has migrated to `.csat`.
   statsdClient.distribution('formsg.users.feedback.rating', rating, 1, {
     rating: `${rating}`,
     ...(triggerSource ? { triggerSource } : {}),
   })
-  statsdClient.distribution('formsg.users.feedback.rating.v2', rating, 1, {
-    rating: `${rating}`,
+  statsdClient.distribution('formsg.users.feedback.csat', rating, 1, {
+    csat: `${rating}`,
     ...(triggerSource ? { triggerSource } : {}),
   })
 
+  // The wire keeps sending `rating`; store it under its own `csat` key so the
+  // new measure never mixes with legacy thumbs data.
   return AdminFeedbackService.insertAdminFeedback({
     userId: sessionUserId,
-    rating,
+    csat: rating,
     comment,
     triggerSource,
     formId,
@@ -109,11 +111,12 @@ const updateAdminFeedback: ControllerHandler<
 
   const { rating, comment } = req.body
 
+  // The wire keeps sending `rating`; store it under its own `csat` key.
   return AdminFeedbackService.updateAdminFeedback({
     feedbackId,
     userId: sessionUserId,
     comment,
-    rating,
+    csat: rating,
   })
     .map(() =>
       res
diff --git a/apps/backend/src/app/modules/admin-feedback/admin-feedback.service.ts b/apps/backend/src/app/modules/admin-feedback/admin-feedback.service.ts
index 61f6728645..9f9a919073 100644
--- a/apps/backend/src/app/modules/admin-feedback/admin-feedback.service.ts
+++ b/apps/backend/src/app/modules/admin-feedback/admin-feedback.service.ts
@@ -14,20 +14,20 @@ const logger = createLoggerWithLabel(module)
 /**
  * Inserts given admin feedback to the database.
  * @param userId the userId of the admin that provided the feedback
- * @param rating the feedback rating to insert (0 for thumbs down, 1 for thumbs up)
+ * @param csat the 1-5 star satisfaction score to insert
  * @param comment the feedback comment to insert if available
  * @returns ok(IAdminFeedbackSchema) if successfully inserted
  * @returns err(DatabaseError) on database error
  */
 export const insertAdminFeedback = ({
   userId,
-  rating,
+  csat,
   comment,
   triggerSource,
   formId,
 }: {
   userId: string
-  rating: number
+  csat: number
   comment?: string
   triggerSource?: string
   formId?: string
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ export const insertAdminFeedback = ({
   return ResultAsync.fromPromise(
     AdminFeedbackModel.create({
       userId,
-      rating,
+      csat,
       comment,
       triggerSource,
       formId,
@@ -57,11 +57,11 @@ export const insertAdminFeedback = ({
 
 /**
  * Updates admin feedback in the database.
- * Will not update previous value if comment or rating is undefined
+ * Will not update previous value if comment or csat is undefined
  * @param feedbackId the id of the admin feedback to update
  * @param userId the id of the admin
  * @param comment the feedback comment to insert
- * @param rating the feedback rating to insert (0 for thumbs down, 1 for thumbs up)
+ * @param csat the 1-5 star satisfaction score to insert
  * @returns ok(IAdminFeedbackSchema) if successfully inserted
  * @returns err(MissingAdminFeedbackError) if feedback document with the same feedbackId and userId is not found
  * @returns err(DatabaseError) on database error
@@ -70,17 +70,18 @@ export const updateAdminFeedback = ({
   feedbackId,
   userId,
   comment,
-  rating,
+  csat,
 }: {
   feedbackId: string
   userId: string
   comment?: string
-  rating?: number
+  csat?: number
 }) => {
   const updateObj: Record<string, unknown> = {}
   if (comment !== undefined) updateObj.comment = comment
-  if (rating !== undefined) {
-    updateObj.rating = rating
+  if (csat !== undefined) {
+    updateObj.csat = csat
+    // `ratingChanged` is a pre-existing flag; it now reflects a `csat` edit.
     updateObj.ratingChanged = true
   }
 
diff --git a/apps/backend/src/app/routes/api/v3/admin/forms/__tests__/admin-forms.form.routes.spec.ts b/apps/backend/src/app/routes/api/v3/admin/forms/__tests__/admin-forms.form.routes.spec.ts
index dfd79b1bd9..6f16e545a5 100644
--- a/apps/backend/src/app/routes/api/v3/admin/forms/__tests__/admin-forms.form.routes.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/backend/src/app/routes/api/v3/admin/forms/__tests__/admin-forms.form.routes.spec.ts
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import mongoose, { Types } from 'mongoose'
 import { err, errAsync, okAsync } from 'neverthrow'
 import supertest, { Session } from 'supertest-session'
 
+import { statsdClient } from 'src/app/config/datadog-statsd-client'
 import getAdminFeedbackModel from 'src/app/models/admin_feedback.server.model'
 import getFormModel, {
   getEmailFormModel,
@@ -3165,6 +3166,9 @@ describe('admin-form.form.routes', () => {
     const MOCK_RATING = 3
 
     it('should return 200 when the request is successful', async () => {
+      // Arrange
+      const distributionSpy = jest.spyOn(statsdClient, 'distribution')
+
       // Act
       const resp = await request
         .post(`/admin/forms/feedback`)
@@ -3175,8 +3179,16 @@ describe('admin-form.form.routes', () => {
       expect(resp.body.message).toContain(
         'Successfully submitted admin feedback',
       )
-      expect(resp.body.feedback.rating).toEqual(MOCK_RATING)
+      // Wire sends `rating`; it is stored and returned under the `csat` key.
+      expect(resp.body.feedback.csat).toEqual(MOCK_RATING)
+      expect(resp.body.feedback.rating).toBeUndefined()
       expect(resp.body.feedback.comment).toEqual(MOCK_COMMENT)
+      expect(distributionSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        'formsg.users.feedback.csat',
+        MOCK_RATING,
+        1,
+        expect.objectContaining({ csat: `${MOCK_RATING}` }),
+      )
     })
 
     it('should return 200 when the request is successful without comments', async () => {
@@ -3190,7 +3202,7 @@ describe('admin-form.form.routes', () => {
       expect(resp.body.message).toContain(
         'Successfully submitted admin feedback',
       )
-      expect(resp.body.feedback.rating).toEqual(MOCK_RATING)
+      expect(resp.body.feedback.csat).toEqual(MOCK_RATING)
       expect(resp.body.feedback.comment).toBeUndefined()
     })
 
@@ -3279,7 +3291,8 @@ describe('admin-form.form.routes', () => {
       expect(resp.status).toEqual(200)
       expect(resp.body.message).toEqual('Successfully updated admin feedback')
       expect(updatedFeedback?.comment).toEqual(MOCK_NEW_COMMENT)
-      expect(updatedFeedback?.rating).toEqual(MOCK_NEW_RATING)
+      // Wire sends `rating`; it is stored under the `csat` key.
+      expect(updatedFeedback?.csat).toEqual(MOCK_NEW_RATING)
     })
 
     it('should return 200 without changes if request is successful without a body', async () => {
diff --git a/packages/shared/types/admin_feedback.ts b/packages/shared/types/admin_feedback.ts
index c0cdd2ef73..06b9d4669e 100644
--- a/packages/shared/types/admin_feedback.ts
+++ b/packages/shared/types/admin_feedback.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,10 @@ export type AdminFeedbackTriggerSource = 'field-edit' | 'publish' | 'workflow'
 export type AdminFeedbackRating = 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
 
 export type AdminFeedbackBase = {
-  rating: AdminFeedbackRating
+  /** @deprecated Legacy thumbs (0/1) key. Kept for historical rows; new rows use `csat`. */
+  rating?: number
+  /** CSAT: the 1-5 star satisfaction score. Own key so it never mixes with legacy `rating`. */
+  csat?: AdminFeedbackRating
   comment?: string
   triggerSource?: AdminFeedbackTriggerSource
   formId?: string