diff --git a/ci-operator/config/openshift-online/rosa-e2e/openshift-online-rosa-e2e-main__ocm-fvt-rosa-hcp-staging.yaml b/ci-operator/config/openshift-online/rosa-e2e/openshift-online-rosa-e2e-main__ocm-fvt-rosa-hcp-staging.yaml
index 32c1fa6fef649..3d3654e97459b 100644
--- a/ci-operator/config/openshift-online/rosa-e2e/openshift-online-rosa-e2e-main__ocm-fvt-rosa-hcp-staging.yaml
+++ b/ci-operator/config/openshift-online/rosa-e2e/openshift-online-rosa-e2e-main__ocm-fvt-rosa-hcp-staging.yaml
@@ -240,7 +240,10 @@ tests:
   steps:
     allow_best_effort_post_steps: true
     env:
+      OCM_FVT_BACKPLANE_CREDENTIALS_DIR: /usr/local/rosa-clusters-service-sandbox
       OCM_FVT_JOB_NAME: cs-hcp-e2e-staging-main
+      OCM_FVT_SKIP_BACKPLANE_LOGIN: "true"
+      OCM_FVT_USE_BACKPLANE: "true"
     post:
     - ref: rosa-e2e-collect-cs-telemetry
     - chain: rosa-gather-hcp-diagnostics
diff --git a/ci-operator/step-registry/rosa/e2e/ocm-fvt/rosa-e2e-ocm-fvt-commands.sh b/ci-operator/step-registry/rosa/e2e/ocm-fvt/rosa-e2e-ocm-fvt-commands.sh
index a9b095741d0af..6b36a044f1d64 100755
--- a/ci-operator/step-registry/rosa/e2e/ocm-fvt/rosa-e2e-ocm-fvt-commands.sh
+++ b/ci-operator/step-registry/rosa/e2e/ocm-fvt/rosa-e2e-ocm-fvt-commands.sh
@@ -43,6 +43,10 @@ if [[ "${OCM_FVT_USE_BACKPLANE:-false}" == "true" ]]; then
   fi
   echo "Using backplane credentials from ${cred_dir} (or env)"
 
+  if [[ "${OCM_FVT_SKIP_BACKPLANE_LOGIN:-false}" == "true" ]]; then
+    echo "Skipping backplane CLI install and login (OCM_FVT_SKIP_BACKPLANE_LOGIN=true)"
+  else
+
   # Defaults match *-ref.yaml; CLI versions align with rosa-clusters-service build/backplane.py.
   backplane_cluster_id="${OCM_FVT_BACKPLANE_CLUSTER_ID:-1g268u7pp694gj152nj16me4sv615lpv}"
   backplane_ocm_url="${OCM_FVT_BACKPLANE_OCM_URL:-https://api.openshift.com}"
@@ -126,6 +130,7 @@ if [[ "${OCM_FVT_USE_BACKPLANE:-false}" == "true" ]]; then
 
   echo "Elevated backplane kubeconfig ready for cluster ${backplane_cluster_id}"
   echo "================================"
+  fi
 fi
 
 old_umask=$(umask)
diff --git a/ci-operator/step-registry/rosa/e2e/ocm-fvt/rosa-e2e-ocm-fvt-ref.yaml b/ci-operator/step-registry/rosa/e2e/ocm-fvt/rosa-e2e-ocm-fvt-ref.yaml
index 9a2b346c05dde..1cb12d355dba4 100644
--- a/ci-operator/step-registry/rosa/e2e/ocm-fvt/rosa-e2e-ocm-fvt-ref.yaml
+++ b/ci-operator/step-registry/rosa/e2e/ocm-fvt/rosa-e2e-ocm-fvt-ref.yaml
@@ -42,6 +42,11 @@ ref:
     documentation: |-
       Prow-only: backplane login to Hive for osdfm AAO kubeconfig.
       False when Tekton/Jenkins supply vault or a mounted kubeconfig.
+  - name: OCM_FVT_SKIP_BACKPLANE_LOGIN
+    default: "false"
+    documentation: |-
+      Skip backplane CLI install and login while still loading credentials.
+      Useful when the job only needs backplane credentials without a live session.
   - name: OCM_FVT_BACKPLANE_CLUSTER_ID
     default: "1g268u7pp694gj152nj16me4sv615lpv"
     documentation: |-