diff --git a/gateway/config.py b/gateway/config.py
index 0103f891f2c..1c7735a6ed7 100644
--- a/gateway/config.py
+++ b/gateway/config.py
@@ -927,6 +927,8 @@ def load_gateway_config() -> GatewayConfig:
             stt_cfg = yaml_cfg.get("stt")
             if isinstance(stt_cfg, dict):
                 gw_data["stt"] = stt_cfg
+            if "stt_echo_transcripts" in yaml_cfg:
+                gw_data["stt_echo_transcripts"] = yaml_cfg["stt_echo_transcripts"]
 
             if "group_sessions_per_user" in yaml_cfg:
                 gw_data["group_sessions_per_user"] = yaml_cfg["group_sessions_per_user"]
diff --git a/tests/gateway/test_stt_transcript_echo_config.py b/tests/gateway/test_stt_transcript_echo_config.py
index 52d5c26ebc6..4fd3649c9ec 100644
--- a/tests/gateway/test_stt_transcript_echo_config.py
+++ b/tests/gateway/test_stt_transcript_echo_config.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 from types import SimpleNamespace
 
-from gateway.config import GatewayConfig
+from gateway.config import GatewayConfig, load_gateway_config
 from gateway.run import GatewayRunner
 
 
@@ -29,6 +29,18 @@ def test_top_level_stt_echo_transcripts_takes_precedence():
     assert cfg.stt_echo_transcripts is False
 
 
+def test_load_gateway_config_honors_top_level_stt_echo_transcripts(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
+    monkeypatch.setenv("HERMES_HOME", str(tmp_path))
+    (tmp_path / "config.yaml").write_text(
+        "stt:\n  echo_transcripts: true\nstt_echo_transcripts: false\n",
+        encoding="utf-8",
+    )
+
+    cfg = load_gateway_config()
+
+    assert cfg.stt_echo_transcripts is False
+
+
 def test_gateway_runner_uses_stt_echo_transcripts_flag():
     runner = GatewayRunner.__new__(GatewayRunner)