diff --git a/common/src/models/error.rs b/common/src/models/error.rs
index 5b4e6fb31..7b20d5571 100644
--- a/common/src/models/error.rs
+++ b/common/src/models/error.rs
@@ -75,7 +75,18 @@ impl From<ErrorKind> for ApiError {
             ErrorKind::ProjectUnavailable => {
                 (StatusCode::BAD_GATEWAY, "project returned invalid response")
             }
-            ErrorKind::InvalidProjectName => (StatusCode::BAD_REQUEST, "invalid project name"),
+            ErrorKind::InvalidProjectName => (
+                StatusCode::BAD_REQUEST,
+                r#"
+            Invalid project name. Project name must:
+            1. start and end with alphanumeric characters.
+            2. only contain lowercase characters.
+            3. only contain characters inside of the alphanumeric range, except for `-`.
+            4. not be empty.
+            5. be shorter than 63 characters.
+            6. not contain profanity.
+            7. not be a reserved word."#,
+            ),
             ErrorKind::InvalidOperation => (
                 StatusCode::BAD_REQUEST,
                 "the requested operation is invalid",
diff --git a/gateway/src/lib.rs b/gateway/src/lib.rs
index a747bc673..3e66cea9c 100644
--- a/gateway/src/lib.rs
+++ b/gateway/src/lib.rs
@@ -127,6 +127,23 @@ impl ProjectName {
     pub fn as_str(&self) -> &str {
         self.0.as_str()
     }
+
+    pub fn is_valid(&self) -> bool {
+        let name = self.0.clone();
+
+        fn is_valid_char(byte: u8) -> bool {
+            matches!(byte, b'a'..=b'z' | b'0'..=b'9' | b'-')
+        }
+
+        // each label in a hostname can be between 1 and 63 chars
+        let is_invalid_length = name.len() > 63;
+
+        !(name.bytes().any(|byte| !is_valid_char(byte))
+            || name.ends_with('-')
+            || name.starts_with('-')
+            || name.is_empty()
+            || is_invalid_length)
+    }
 }
 
 impl<'de> Deserialize<'de> for ProjectName {
diff --git a/gateway/src/service.rs b/gateway/src/service.rs
index ed32cd884..b2ab9f6ed 100644
--- a/gateway/src/service.rs
+++ b/gateway/src/service.rs
@@ -434,10 +434,18 @@ impl GatewayService {
                 Err(Error::from_kind(ErrorKind::ProjectAlreadyExists))
             }
         } else {
-            // Otherwise attempt to create a new one. This will fail
-            // outright if the project already exists (this happens if
-            // it belongs to another account).
-            self.insert_project(project_name, account_name).await
+            // Check if project name is valid according to new rules if it
+            // doesn't exist.
+            // TODO: remove this check when we update the project name rules
+            // in shuttle-common
+            if project_name.is_valid() {
+                // Otherwise attempt to create a new one. This will fail
+                // outright if the project already exists (this happens if
+                // it belongs to another account).
+                self.insert_project(project_name, account_name).await
+            } else {
+                Err(Error::from_kind(ErrorKind::InvalidProjectName))
+            }
         }
     }