diff --git a/apps/content/docs/migrations/from-v1.mdx b/apps/content/docs/migrations/from-v1.mdx
index f1af18a61..7258c14b3 100644
--- a/apps/content/docs/migrations/from-v1.mdx
+++ b/apps/content/docs/migrations/from-v1.mdx
@@ -1064,7 +1064,7 @@ Three smaller changes in the same area:
 - The `shouldHoistDef` option was replaced by [`componentName`](/docs/openapi/specification#hoisting-defs). Root `$defs` are now always hoisted into `components.schemas`; this option only renames them.
 - Documents are generated as OpenAPI 3.2.0 by default. The example above passes [`version: '3.1.1'`](/docs/openapi/specification#openapi-version) to keep the v1 behavior.
 
-### Error response options renamed
+### Error response options changed
 
 The error response options dropped their `custom` prefix:
 
@@ -1072,6 +1072,8 @@ The error response options dropped their `custom` prefix:
 - `customErrorResponseBodyEncoder` is now [`errorResponseBodyEncoder`](/docs/openapi/handler#custom-error-response) on `OpenAPIHandler`.
 - `customErrorResponseBodyDecoder` is now [`errorResponseBodyDecoder`](/docs/openapi/link#custom-error-decoding) on `OpenAPILink`.
 
+They also no longer fall back to the default when returning `null` or `undefined`. Return `error.toJSON()`, `defaultSchema()` or `defaultError()` instead; the latter two are new third arguments.
+
 ### `OpenAPIReferencePlugin` renamed and reshaped
 
 The plugin is now `OpenAPIReferenceHandlerPlugin`, and you provide the spec yourself instead of passing converters and generate options. See [OpenAPI Reference Plugin](/docs/plugins/openapi-reference).
diff --git a/apps/content/docs/openapi/handler.mdx b/apps/content/docs/openapi/handler.mdx
index ebfdac9a0..8b520409a 100644
--- a/apps/content/docs/openapi/handler.mdx
+++ b/apps/content/docs/openapi/handler.mdx
@@ -213,8 +213,7 @@ const handler = new OpenAPIHandler(router, {
       }
     }
 
-    // fallback to default by returning null or undefined
-    return null
+    return error.toJSON()
   },
 })
 ```
diff --git a/apps/content/docs/openapi/link.mdx b/apps/content/docs/openapi/link.mdx
index 1006bd313..951dcbf0a 100644
--- a/apps/content/docs/openapi/link.mdx
+++ b/apps/content/docs/openapi/link.mdx
@@ -228,16 +228,17 @@ const link = new OpenAPILink(contract, {
 If your server returns error responses that don't match oRPC's expected format, use `errorResponseBodyDecoder` to customize the decoding logic. This works together with [Custom Error Response](/docs/openapi/handler#custom-error-response) on the server.
 
 ```ts
+import { ORPCError } from '@orpc/client'
+
 const link = new OpenAPILink(contract, {
-  errorResponseBodyDecoder: (body, response) => {
+  errorResponseBodyDecoder: (body, response, defaultError) => {
     if (response.status === 422 && typeof body === 'object' && body && 'detail' in body) {
       return new ORPCError('BAD_REQUEST', {
         message: String(body.detail),
       })
     }
 
-    // fallback to default error decoding logic by returning null or undefined
-    return null
+    return defaultError()
   },
 })
 ```
diff --git a/apps/content/docs/openapi/specification.mdx b/apps/content/docs/openapi/specification.mdx
index 248f203e8..24ae558c4 100644
--- a/apps/content/docs/openapi/specification.mdx
+++ b/apps/content/docs/openapi/specification.mdx
@@ -240,7 +240,7 @@ const spec = await generator.generate(router, {
     ...COMMON_ERROR_STATUS_MAP,
     PLANET_GONE: 410,
   },
-  errorResponseBodySchema: (definedErrors, status) => {
+  errorResponseBodySchema: (definedErrors, status, defaultSchema) => {
     if (status === 410) {
       return {
         type: 'object',
@@ -252,8 +252,7 @@ const spec = await generator.generate(router, {
       }
     }
 
-    // fallback to default by returning null or undefined
-    return null
+    return defaultSchema()
   },
 })
 ```
diff --git a/packages/client/src/adapters/standard/codec.ts b/packages/client/src/adapters/standard/codec.ts
index 66409cc56..deefe7136 100644
--- a/packages/client/src/adapters/standard/codec.ts
+++ b/packages/client/src/adapters/standard/codec.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,8 @@
 import type { Promisable } from '@orpc/shared'
 import type { StandardLazyResponse, StandardRequest } from '@standard-server/core'
-import type { AnyORPCError } from '../../error'
 import type { ClientContext, ClientOptions } from '../../types'
 
-export type StandardLinkCodecDecodedResponse = { kind: 'output', output: unknown } | { kind: 'error', error: AnyORPCError }
+export type StandardLinkCodecDecodedResponse = { kind: 'output', output: unknown } | { kind: 'error', error: Error }
 
 export interface StandardLinkCodec<T extends ClientContext> {
   encodeInput(
diff --git a/packages/openapi/src/adapters/standard/openapi-handler-codec.test.ts b/packages/openapi/src/adapters/standard/openapi-handler-codec.test.ts
index 16c78fc06..cbc9ad8bc 100644
--- a/packages/openapi/src/adapters/standard/openapi-handler-codec.test.ts
+++ b/packages/openapi/src/adapters/standard/openapi-handler-codec.test.ts
@@ -926,22 +926,11 @@ describe('openAPIHandlerCodec', () => {
       expect(serializer.serialize).toHaveBeenCalledWith(error.toJSON())
     })
 
-    it('uses errorResponseBodyEncoder and falls back on null', () => {
-      let attempt = 1
-      const errorResponseBodyEncoder = vi.fn(() => {
-        if (attempt++ === 2) {
-          return null
-        }
-
-        return {
-          message: 'custom error body',
-        }
-      })
+    it('uses errorResponseBodyEncoder without falling back on null', () => {
+      const errorResponseBodyEncoder = vi.fn(() => null)
 
       const serializer = {
-        serialize: vi.fn()
-          .mockReturnValueOnce('__serialized_custom__')
-          .mockReturnValueOnce('__serialized_default__'),
+        serialize: vi.fn(() => '__serialized_custom__'),
         deserialize: vi.fn(),
       } as any
 
@@ -951,31 +940,32 @@ describe('openAPIHandlerCodec', () => {
         errorResponseBodyEncoder,
       })
 
-      const firstError = new ORPCError('BAD_GATEWAY', { data: '__data1__' })
-      const firstResponse = codec.encodeError(firstError)
+      const error = new ORPCError('BAD_GATEWAY', { data: '__data__' })
 
-      expect(firstResponse).toEqual({
+      expect(codec.encodeError(error)).toEqual({
         status: 502,
         headers: {},
         body: '__serialized_custom__',
       })
 
-      const secondError = new ORPCError('UNKNOWN_CODE' as any, { data: '__data2__' })
-      const secondResponse = codec.encodeError(secondError)
+      expect(errorResponseBodyEncoder).toHaveBeenCalledOnce()
+      expect(errorResponseBodyEncoder).toHaveBeenCalledWith(error)
 
-      expect(secondResponse).toEqual({
-        status: DEFAULT_ERROR_STATUS,
-        headers: {},
-        body: '__serialized_default__',
-      })
+      expect(serializer.serialize).toHaveBeenCalledOnce()
+      expect(serializer.serialize).toHaveBeenCalledWith(null)
+    })
 
-      expect(errorResponseBodyEncoder).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2)
-      expect(errorResponseBodyEncoder).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(1, firstError)
-      expect(errorResponseBodyEncoder).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(2, secondError)
+    it('sends an empty body when errorResponseBodyEncoder returns undefined', () => {
+      const procedure = os.handler(vi.fn())
+      const codec = new OpenAPIHandlerCodec(procedure, {
+        errorResponseBodyEncoder: () => undefined,
+      })
 
-      expect(serializer.serialize).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2)
-      expect(serializer.serialize).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(1, { message: 'custom error body' })
-      expect(serializer.serialize).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(2, secondError.toJSON())
+      expect(codec.encodeError(new ORPCError('NOT_FOUND'))).toEqual({
+        status: 404,
+        headers: {},
+        body: undefined,
+      })
     })
 
     it('sets content-type header via errorResponseContentType option', () => {
diff --git a/packages/openapi/src/adapters/standard/openapi-handler-codec.ts b/packages/openapi/src/adapters/standard/openapi-handler-codec.ts
index fcc17196c..ed8085dae 100644
--- a/packages/openapi/src/adapters/standard/openapi-handler-codec.ts
+++ b/packages/openapi/src/adapters/standard/openapi-handler-codec.ts
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ export interface OpenAPIHandlerCodecCoreOptions<_T extends Context> {
    * Use this if your API needs a different error output structure.
    *
    * @remarks
-   * - Return `null | undefined` to fallback to default behavior
+   * - Return `error.toJSON()` to keep the default body, or `undefined` to send an empty body
    *
    * @default ((e) => e.toJSON())
    */
@@ -56,13 +56,13 @@ export interface OpenAPIHandlerCodecCoreOptions<_T extends Context> {
 export class OpenAPIHandlerCodecCore<T extends Context> {
   private readonly serializer: Public<OpenAPISerializer>
   private readonly errorStatusMap: Exclude<OpenAPIHandlerCodecOptions<T>['errorStatusMap'], undefined>
-  private readonly errorResponseBodyEncoder: OpenAPIHandlerCodecOptions<T>['errorResponseBodyEncoder']
+  private readonly errorResponseBodyEncoder: Exclude<OpenAPIHandlerCodecOptions<T>['errorResponseBodyEncoder'], undefined>
   private readonly errorResponseContentType: OpenAPIHandlerCodecOptions<T>['errorResponseContentType']
 
   constructor(options: OpenAPIHandlerCodecCoreOptions<T> = {}) {
     this.serializer = options.serializer ?? new OpenAPISerializer()
     this.errorStatusMap = options.errorStatusMap ?? COMMON_ERROR_STATUS_MAP
-    this.errorResponseBodyEncoder = options.errorResponseBodyEncoder
+    this.errorResponseBodyEncoder = options.errorResponseBodyEncoder ?? (e => e.toJSON())
     this.errorResponseContentType = options.errorResponseContentType
   }
 
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ export class OpenAPIHandlerCodecCore<T extends Context> {
     return {
       status,
       headers: this.errorResponseContentType !== undefined ? { 'content-type': this.errorResponseContentType } : {},
-      body: this.serializer.serialize(this.errorResponseBodyEncoder?.(error) ?? error.toJSON()),
+      body: this.serializer.serialize(this.errorResponseBodyEncoder(error)),
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/packages/openapi/src/adapters/standard/openapi-link-codec.test.ts b/packages/openapi/src/adapters/standard/openapi-link-codec.test.ts
index 0d7039edc..7cb9fa5c9 100644
--- a/packages/openapi/src/adapters/standard/openapi-link-codec.test.ts
+++ b/packages/openapi/src/adapters/standard/openapi-link-codec.test.ts
@@ -814,7 +814,7 @@ describe('openAPILinkCodec', () => {
       expect(resolveBody).toHaveBeenCalledWith(undefined)
     })
 
-    it('uses a custom error decoder when it returns a value', async () => {
+    it('uses a custom error decoder', async () => {
       const customError = new ORPCError('BAD_GATEWAY', { data: 'custom' })
       const errorResponseBodyDecoder = vi.fn(() => customError)
       const codec = new OpenAPILinkCodec({
@@ -824,36 +824,44 @@ describe('openAPILinkCodec', () => {
         errorResponseBodyDecoder,
       })
 
+      // an ORPC error body, to check the default decoding is not used as a fallback
       const response = {
         status: 502,
         headers: { 'x-trace': '1' },
-        resolveBody: async () => ({ detail: 'bad gateway' }),
+        resolveBody: async () => new ORPCError('NOT_FOUND').toJSON(),
       }
 
       const result = await codec.decodeResponse(response, ['ping'], { context: {} })
 
       expect(result).toEqual({ kind: 'error', error: customError })
       expect(errorResponseBodyDecoder).toHaveBeenCalledOnce()
-      expect(errorResponseBodyDecoder).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ detail: 'bad gateway' }, response)
+      expect(errorResponseBodyDecoder).toHaveBeenCalledWith(new ORPCError('NOT_FOUND').toJSON(), response, expect.any(Function))
     })
 
-    it('falls back to standard ORPC error decoding when the custom decoder returns null', async () => {
+    it('passes the default decoding to a custom error decoder as defaultError', async () => {
       const codec = new OpenAPILinkCodec({
         ping: oc.meta(openapi({})),
       }, {
         serializer,
-        errorResponseBodyDecoder: () => null,
+        errorResponseBodyDecoder: (_body, _response, defaultError) => defaultError(),
       })
 
-      const error = new ORPCError('NOT_FOUND', { message: 'Not found' })
-
-      const result = await codec.decodeResponse({
+      const result: any = await codec.decodeResponse({
         status: 404,
         headers: {},
-        resolveBody: async () => error.toJSON(),
+        resolveBody: async () => new ORPCError('NOT_FOUND').toJSON(),
       }, ['ping'], { context: {} })
 
       expectORPCErrorResult(result, 'NOT_FOUND')
+      expect(result.error.cause).toBeInstanceOf(ResponseError)
+
+      const malformed: any = await codec.decodeResponse({
+        status: 503,
+        headers: {},
+        resolveBody: async () => ({ detail: 'service unavailable' }),
+      }, ['ping'], { context: {} })
+
+      expect(malformed.error).toBeInstanceOf(MalformedResponseError)
     })
 
     it.each([
@@ -872,17 +880,19 @@ describe('openAPILinkCodec', () => {
       expect(resolveBody).toHaveBeenCalledWith(hint)
     })
 
-    it('throws MalformedResponseError on unknown error payloads', async () => {
+    it('returns MalformedResponseError on unknown error payloads', async () => {
       const codec = new OpenAPILinkCodec({
         ping: oc.meta(openapi({})),
       }, { serializer })
 
-      const error: any = await codec.decodeResponse({
+      const result: any = await codec.decodeResponse({
         status: 503,
         headers: {},
         resolveBody: async () => ({ detail: 'service unavailable' }),
-      }, ['ping'], { context: {} }).then(() => null, e => e)
+      }, ['ping'], { context: {} })
 
+      expect(result.kind).toBe('error')
+      const error = result.error
       expect(error).toBeInstanceOf(MalformedResponseError)
       expect(error.message).toBe('Service Unavailable')
       expect(error.response).toEqual({ status: 503, headers: {}, body: { detail: 'service unavailable' } })
diff --git a/packages/openapi/src/adapters/standard/openapi-link-codec.ts b/packages/openapi/src/adapters/standard/openapi-link-codec.ts
index 995b86715..208bfbcac 100644
--- a/packages/openapi/src/adapters/standard/openapi-link-codec.ts
+++ b/packages/openapi/src/adapters/standard/openapi-link-codec.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import type { AnyORPCError, ClientContext, ClientOptions } from '@orpc/client'
+import type { ClientContext, ClientOptions } from '@orpc/client'
 import type { StandardLinkCodec, StandardLinkCodecDecodedResponse } from '@orpc/client/standard'
 import type { AnyProcedureContract, RouterContract } from '@orpc/contract'
 import type { Promisable, Public, Value } from '@orpc/shared'
@@ -40,13 +40,18 @@ export interface OpenAPILinkCodecOptions<T extends ClientContext> {
   serializer?: Public<OpenAPISerializer> | undefined
 
   /**
-   * Customize how an error response body is converted into an ORPC error.
-   * Return `null` or `undefined` to fall back to the default decoding behavior.
+   * Customize how an error response body is converted into the error thrown by the client.
+   *
+   * @remarks
+   * - Return `defaultError()` to keep the default decoding (a `MalformedResponseError` for bodies that are not ORPC errors)
+   *
+   * @default ((body, response, defaultError) => defaultError())
    */
   errorResponseBodyDecoder?: ((
     deserializedBody: unknown,
     response: StandardLazyResponse,
-  ) => AnyORPCError | null | undefined) | undefined
+    defaultError: () => Error,
+  ) => Error) | undefined
 
   /**
    * Parse error responses with this `content-type` as JSON, ignoring case and parameters such as `charset`.
@@ -64,7 +69,7 @@ export class OpenAPILinkCodec<T extends ClientContext> implements StandardLinkCo
   private readonly baseUrl: Exclude<OpenAPILinkCodecOptions<T>['url'], undefined>
   private readonly headers: Exclude<OpenAPILinkCodecOptions<T>['headers'], undefined>
   private readonly serializer: Exclude<OpenAPILinkCodecOptions<T>['serializer'], undefined>
-  private readonly errorResponseBodyDecoder: OpenAPILinkCodecOptions<T>['errorResponseBodyDecoder']
+  private readonly errorResponseBodyDecoder: Exclude<OpenAPILinkCodecOptions<T>['errorResponseBodyDecoder'], undefined>
   private readonly errorResponseMediaType: string | undefined
 
   constructor(
@@ -74,7 +79,7 @@ export class OpenAPILinkCodec<T extends ClientContext> implements StandardLinkCo
     this.baseUrl = options.url ?? '/'
     this.headers = options.headers ?? {}
     this.serializer = options.serializer ?? new OpenAPISerializer()
-    this.errorResponseBodyDecoder = options.errorResponseBodyDecoder
+    this.errorResponseBodyDecoder = options.errorResponseBodyDecoder ?? ((_body, _response, defaultError) => defaultError())
     this.errorResponseMediaType = toMediaType(options.errorResponseContentType)
   }
 
@@ -414,22 +419,17 @@ export class OpenAPILinkCodec<T extends ClientContext> implements StandardLinkCo
     })()
 
     if (!isOk) {
-      const customError = this.errorResponseBodyDecoder?.(deserialized, response)
-
-      if (customError !== undefined && customError !== null) {
-        return { kind: 'error', error: customError }
-      }
-
-      if (isORPCErrorJson(deserialized)) {
-        return {
-          kind: 'error',
-          error: createORPCErrorFromJson(deserialized, {
+      const defaultError = (): Error => {
+        if (isORPCErrorJson(deserialized)) {
+          return createORPCErrorFromJson(deserialized, {
             cause: new ResponseError({ response: { status: response.status, headers: response.headers, body } }),
-          }),
+          })
         }
+
+        return new MalformedResponseError({ response: { headers: response.headers, status: response.status, body } })
       }
 
-      throw new MalformedResponseError({ response: { headers: response.headers, status: response.status, body } })
+      return { kind: 'error', error: this.errorResponseBodyDecoder(deserialized, response, defaultError) }
     }
 
     const outputStructure = meta?.outputStructure ?? DEFAULT_OPENAPI_OUTPUT_STRUCTURE
diff --git a/packages/openapi/src/openapi-generator-operation.test.ts b/packages/openapi/src/openapi-generator-operation.test.ts
index 0ac72f99a..532ccb3e5 100644
--- a/packages/openapi/src/openapi-generator-operation.test.ts
+++ b/packages/openapi/src/openapi-generator-operation.test.ts
@@ -903,15 +903,15 @@ describe('openAPIGenerator operation builders', () => {
     })
 
     it('allows overriding the error body schema per status', () => {
-      const errorResponseBodySchema = vi.fn((definedErrors, status) => {
+      const errorResponseBodySchema = vi.fn((definedErrors, status, defaultSchema) => {
         if (status === 400) {
           return { type: 'object' as const, description: 'custom-400' }
         }
 
-        return undefined
+        return defaultSchema()
       })
 
-      const { ctx, operation } = createContext({ errorResponseBodySchema })
+      const { doc, ctx, operation } = createContext({ errorResponseBodySchema })
 
       buildErrorResponse(ctx, operation, testDef({
         errors: {
@@ -928,7 +928,7 @@ describe('openAPIGenerator operation builders', () => {
           dataOptional: false,
           dataJsonSchema: { type: 'object' },
         },
-      ], 400)
+      ], 400, expect.any(Function))
 
       expect((operation.responses?.['400'] as any).content['application/json'].schema).toEqual({
         type: 'object',
@@ -937,6 +937,16 @@ describe('openAPIGenerator operation builders', () => {
       expect((operation.responses?.['404'] as any).content['application/json'].schema).toEqual(
         expect.objectContaining({ oneOf: expect.any(Array) }),
       )
+      // the default schema of 400 was not used, so its error component is not registered
+      expect(Object.keys(doc.components?.schemas ?? {}).sort()).toEqual(['NotFound', 'UndefinedError'])
+    })
+
+    it.each([null, undefined])('documents an empty error body when the custom schema is %s', (schema) => {
+      const { ctx, operation } = createContext({ errorResponseBodySchema: () => schema })
+
+      buildErrorResponse(ctx, operation, testDef({ errors: { NOT_FOUND: { message: 'Missing' } } }))
+
+      expect(operation.responses?.['404']).toEqual({ description: 'Missing' })
     })
 
     it('documents error bodies under the configured content type', () => {
diff --git a/packages/openapi/src/openapi-generator-operation.ts b/packages/openapi/src/openapi-generator-operation.ts
index 7dcc6620c..c99fa804c 100644
--- a/packages/openapi/src/openapi-generator-operation.ts
+++ b/packages/openapi/src/openapi-generator-operation.ts
@@ -47,8 +47,8 @@ export interface OpenAPIOperationContext {
   convertSchemas: (schemas: AnySchema[] | undefined, direction: JsonSchemaConverterDirection) => [JsonSchema, boolean]
   errorStatusMap: Record<string, number>
   errorResponseBodySchema: Value<
-    JsonSchema | undefined | null,
-    [definedErrors: OpenAPIErrorBodyDefinition[], status: number]
+    JsonSchema | null | undefined,
+    [definedErrors: OpenAPIErrorBodyDefinition[], status: number, defaultSchema: () => JsonSchema]
   > | undefined
   errorResponseContentType: string
 }
@@ -529,13 +529,11 @@ export function buildErrorResponse(
 
   for (const [status, definitions] of definitionsByStatus.entries()) {
     const descriptions = definitions.map(({ defaultMessage }) => defaultMessage).filter(m => m !== undefined)
-    const customBodySchema = value(
-      ctx.errorResponseBodySchema,
-      definitions.map(def => ({ ...def, dataJsonSchema: ctx.registry.hoistDefs(def.dataJsonSchema, 'output') })),
-      status,
-    )
-    const responseSchema = customBodySchema ?? combineJsonSchemasWithComposition('oneOf', [
-      ...definitions.map(({ code, dataJsonSchema, dataOptional }) => {
+    const definedErrors = definitions.map(def => ({ ...def, dataJsonSchema: ctx.registry.hoistDefs(def.dataJsonSchema, 'output') }))
+
+    // lazy, so per-code error components are only registered when the default schema is actually used
+    const defaultSchema = (): JsonSchema => combineJsonSchemasWithComposition('oneOf', [
+      ...definedErrors.map(({ code, dataJsonSchema, dataOptional }) => {
         return ctx.registry.register(toErrorComponentName(code), {
           title: code,
           ...combineJsonObjectSchemaEntries([
@@ -543,22 +541,31 @@ export function buildErrorResponse(
             ['code', { const: code }, false],
             // avoid using the defaultMessage here to improve component reusability
             ['message', { type: 'string' }, false],
-            ['data', ctx.registry.hoistDefs(dataJsonSchema, 'output'), dataOptional],
+            ['data', dataJsonSchema, dataOptional],
           ]),
         })
       }),
       undefinedErrorSchema,
     ])
 
-    operation.responses ??= {}
-    operation.responses[toResponseStatusKey(status)] = {
+    const responseSchema = ctx.errorResponseBodySchema === undefined
+      ? defaultSchema()
+      : value(ctx.errorResponseBodySchema, definedErrors, status, defaultSchema)
+
+    const responseObject: OpenAPIV3_2.ResponseObject = {
       description: descriptions.length ? descriptions.join(', ') : status.toString(),
-      content: {
+    }
+
+    if (responseSchema !== undefined && responseSchema !== null) {
+      responseObject.content = {
         [ctx.errorResponseContentType]: {
           schema: ctx.registry.toOpenAPISchema(responseSchema, 'output'),
         },
-      },
-    } satisfies OpenAPIV3_2.ResponseObject
+      }
+    }
+
+    operation.responses ??= {}
+    operation.responses[toResponseStatusKey(status)] = responseObject
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/openapi/src/openapi-generator.ts b/packages/openapi/src/openapi-generator.ts
index 37fc34678..b7ab2e2b0 100644
--- a/packages/openapi/src/openapi-generator.ts
+++ b/packages/openapi/src/openapi-generator.ts
@@ -77,12 +77,12 @@ export interface OpenAPIGeneratorGenerateOptions<TVersion extends OpenAPIVersion
    * response standards or conventions.
    *
    * @remarks
-   * - Return `null | undefined` to use the default error response body shaper.
+   * - Return `defaultSchema()` to keep the default schema, or `null | undefined` to document an empty body, matching an `errorResponseBodyEncoder` that returns `undefined`.
    * - The schema is an OpenAPI 3.2 Schema Object, it is downgraded with the rest of the document when an older `version` is requested.
    */
   errorResponseBodySchema?: Value<
-    JsonSchema | undefined | null,
-    [definedErrors: OpenAPIErrorBodyDefinition[], status: number]
+    JsonSchema | null | undefined,
+    [definedErrors: OpenAPIErrorBodyDefinition[], status: number, defaultSchema: () => JsonSchema]
   > | undefined
 
   /**