diff --git a/pkg/attest/provenance.go b/pkg/attest/provenance.go
index f17ca4e..3016eea 100644
--- a/pkg/attest/provenance.go
+++ b/pkg/attest/provenance.go
@@ -347,6 +347,10 @@ func (a *Attester) CreateTagProvenance(ctx context.Context, branch *models.Branc
 
 	if vsaAtt == nil {
 		// TODO: If there's not a VSA, should we still issue provenance?
+		// No VSA for the tagged commit: return a nil statement so the caller can
+		// report it. This usually means the commit's source provenance was never
+		// generated (or could not be read) before the tag was created.
+		Debugf("no VSA found for tagged commit %s, cannot build tag provenance", tag.Commit.SHA)
 		return nil, nil
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/sourcetool/tool.go b/pkg/sourcetool/tool.go
index 875f619..b967213 100644
--- a/pkg/sourcetool/tool.go
+++ b/pkg/sourcetool/tool.go
@@ -451,6 +451,16 @@ func (t *Tool) AttestRevision(
 			return nil, err
 		}
 
+		// Tag provenance is built from the VSA of the tagged commit. If that
+		// commit has no VSA, CreateTagProvenance returns a nil statement and here
+		// we fail with a clear message instead of a downstream "nil statement" error.
+		if prov == nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf(
+				"no VSA found for tagged commit %s; ensure its source provenance was generated before tagging",
+				rev.GetCommit().SHA,
+			)
+		}
+
 		// 2. Run the provenance against the policy to determine the verified levels.
 		pe := policy.NewPolicyEvaluator()
 		pe.UseLocalPolicy = opts.LocalPolicy