diff --git a/nginxmon/migrations/0006_banned_ip_unbanned_at.py b/nginxmon/migrations/0006_banned_ip_unbanned_at.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8903e81
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nginxmon/migrations/0006_banned_ip_unbanned_at.py
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+# Generated by Django 5.2.12 on 2026-04-01 10:46
+
+from django.db import migrations, models
+
+
+class Migration(migrations.Migration):
+
+    dependencies = [
+        ('nginxmon', '0005_banned_ip_model'),
+    ]
+
+    operations = [
+        migrations.AddField(
+            model_name='bannedip',
+            name='unbanned_at',
+            field=models.DateTimeField(blank=True, null=True),
+        ),
+    ]
diff --git a/nginxmon/models.py b/nginxmon/models.py
index 401dd3c..530b045 100644
--- a/nginxmon/models.py
+++ b/nginxmon/models.py
@@ -209,11 +209,16 @@ class BannedIP(models.Model):
     reason = models.TextField()
     request_count = models.IntegerField(default=0)
     banned_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)
+    unbanned_at = models.DateTimeField(null=True, blank=True)
     country = models.CharField(max_length=100, blank=True)
     city = models.CharField(max_length=100, blank=True)
 
     class Meta:
         ordering = ['-banned_at']
 
+    @property
+    def is_unbanned(self):
+        return self.unbanned_at is not None
+
     def __str__(self):
         return f'{self.ip} [{self.get_ban_source_display()}] @ {self.banned_at:%Y-%m-%d %H:%M}'
diff --git a/nginxmon/templates/nginxmon/dashboard.html b/nginxmon/templates/nginxmon/dashboard.html
index 44fc8b9..445e165 100644
--- a/nginxmon/templates/nginxmon/dashboard.html
+++ b/nginxmon/templates/nginxmon/dashboard.html
@@ -286,11 +286,12 @@
         </thead>
         <tbody class="divide-y divide-gray-50">
           {% for ban in banned_ips %}
-          <tr class="hover:bg-gray-50">
-            <td class="px-4 py-2 font-mono font-medium text-red-700">
-              <button class="hover:underline" onclick="setFilter('ip','{{ ban.ip }}')">{{ ban.ip }}</button>
+          <tr class="{% if ban.is_unbanned %}bg-green-50 hover:bg-green-100{% else %}hover:bg-gray-50{% endif %}">
+            <td class="px-4 py-2 font-mono font-medium">
+              <button class="hover:underline {% if ban.is_unbanned %}text-green-700 line-through{% else %}text-red-700{% endif %}"
+                      onclick="setFilter('ip','{{ ban.ip }}')">{{ ban.ip }}</button>
             </td>
-            <td class="px-4 py-2 text-gray-500 hidden sm:table-cell">
+            <td class="px-4 py-2 hidden sm:table-cell {% if ban.is_unbanned %}text-green-600{% else %}text-gray-500{% endif %}">
               {% if ban.city or ban.country %}{{ ban.city }}{% if ban.city and ban.country %}, {% endif %}{{ ban.country }}{% else %}—{% endif %}
             </td>
             <td class="px-4 py-2">
@@ -302,16 +303,28 @@
                 {{ ban.get_ban_source_display }}
               </span>
             </td>
-            <td class="px-4 py-2 text-gray-600 max-w-sm truncate" title="{{ ban.reason }}">{{ ban.reason }}</td>
-            <td class="px-4 py-2 text-right font-mono text-gray-500">{{ ban.request_count }}</td>
-            <td class="px-4 py-2 text-gray-400 hidden md:table-cell whitespace-nowrap">{{ ban.banned_at|date:"m/d H:i" }}</td>
+            <td class="px-4 py-2 max-w-sm truncate {% if ban.is_unbanned %}text-green-600{% else %}text-gray-600{% endif %}"
+                title="{{ ban.reason }}"><span class="{% if ban.is_unbanned %}line-through{% endif %}">{{ ban.reason }}</span></td>
+            <td class="px-4 py-2 text-right font-mono {% if ban.is_unbanned %}text-green-500{% else %}text-gray-500{% endif %}">{{ ban.request_count }}</td>
+            <td class="px-4 py-2 hidden md:table-cell {% if ban.is_unbanned %}text-green-600{% else %}text-gray-400 whitespace-nowrap{% endif %}">
+              <span class="{% if ban.is_unbanned %}line-through text-gray-400{% endif %}">{{ ban.banned_at|date:"m/d H:i" }}</span>
+              {% if ban.is_unbanned %}
+              <br><span class="text-green-700 font-medium">&#10003; unbanned {{ ban.unbanned_at|date:"m/d H:i" }}</span>
+              {% endif %}
+            </td>
             <td class="px-4 py-2 text-right">
+              {% if ban.is_unbanned %}
+              <span class="inline-flex items-center gap-1 px-2 py-0.5 rounded bg-green-100 text-green-700 text-xs font-semibold">
+                <i class="fas fa-check"></i> Unbanned
+              </span>
+              {% else %}
               <form method="post" action="{% url 'nginxmon-unban' ban.pk %}" class="inline"
                     onsubmit="return confirm('Unban {{ ban.ip }}?')">
                 {% csrf_token %}
                 <button type="submit"
                         class="text-xs text-gray-400 hover:text-red-600 hover:underline">Unban</button>
               </form>
+              {% endif %}
             </td>
           </tr>
           {% endfor %}
diff --git a/nginxmon/views.py b/nginxmon/views.py
index 24139f1..ef3e5f3 100644
--- a/nginxmon/views.py
+++ b/nginxmon/views.py
@@ -305,7 +305,8 @@ class DismissAlertView(View):
 
 
 class UnbanIPView(View):
-    """Remove an IP from both the BannedIP table and the ConfigMap block list."""
+    """Mark an IP as manually unbanned — removes it from the ConfigMap block list
+    but keeps the BannedIP record so auto-ban never re-bans it."""
 
     def post(self, request, pk):
         ban = get_object_or_404(BannedIP, pk=pk)
@@ -318,8 +319,9 @@ class UnbanIPView(View):
                 _write_blocked_ips(blocked)
         except Exception as exc:
             logger.warning('nginxmon unban: could not update ConfigMap for %s: %s', ip, exc)
-        ban.delete()
-        # Remove notes from log rows for this IP
+        ban.unbanned_at = timezone.now()
+        ban.save(update_fields=['unbanned_at'])
+        # Clear ban notes from log rows
         NginxAccessLog.objects.filter(remote_addr=ip).update(note='')
         messages.success(request, f'{ip} has been unbanned.')
         return redirect('nginxmon-dashboard')