diff --git a/Documentation/rest-api-config.txt b/Documentation/rest-api-config.txt
index 4473a8d968..a62ed47b72 100644
--- a/Documentation/rest-api-config.txt
+++ b/Documentation/rest-api-config.txt
@@ -1701,7 +1701,7 @@ consistency problem.
 |======================
 |Field Name|Description
 |`status`  |The status of the consistency problem. +
-Possible values are `ERROR` and `WARNING`.
+Possible values are `FATAL`, `ERROR` and `WARNING`.
 |`message` |Message describing the consistency problem.
 |======================
 
diff --git a/java/com/google/gerrit/extensions/api/config/ConsistencyCheckInfo.java b/java/com/google/gerrit/extensions/api/config/ConsistencyCheckInfo.java
index 2c166d08cb..e582f1bde1 100644
--- a/java/com/google/gerrit/extensions/api/config/ConsistencyCheckInfo.java
+++ b/java/com/google/gerrit/extensions/api/config/ConsistencyCheckInfo.java
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ public class ConsistencyCheckInfo {
 
   public static class ConsistencyProblemInfo {
     public enum Status {
+      FATAL,
       ERROR,
       WARNING,
     }
diff --git a/java/com/google/gerrit/server/git/validators/ValidationMessage.java b/java/com/google/gerrit/server/git/validators/ValidationMessage.java
index 372fc17a0d..b5d7eb1919 100644
--- a/java/com/google/gerrit/server/git/validators/ValidationMessage.java
+++ b/java/com/google/gerrit/server/git/validators/ValidationMessage.java
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import java.util.Objects;
  */
 public class ValidationMessage {
   public enum Type {
+    FATAL("FATAL: "),
     ERROR("ERROR: "),
     WARNING("WARNING: "),
     HINT("hint: "),
@@ -70,7 +71,7 @@ public class ValidationMessage {
    * Returns {@true} if this message is an error. Used to decide if the operation should be aborted.
    */
   public boolean isError() {
-    return type == Type.ERROR;
+    return type == Type.FATAL || type == Type.ERROR;
   }
 
   @Override