diff --git a/agent/structs/config_entry.go b/agent/structs/config_entry.go
index a844a9de85..544820f4d6 100644
--- a/agent/structs/config_entry.go
+++ b/agent/structs/config_entry.go
@@ -418,6 +418,7 @@ type InstanceLevelRateLimits struct {
 	RequestsMaxBurst int `alias:"requests_max_burst"`
 
 	// Routes is a list of rate limits applied to specific routes.
+	// For a given request, the first matching route will be applied, if any.
 	// Overrides any top-level configuration.
 	Routes []InstanceLevelRouteRateLimits
 }
diff --git a/api/config_entry.go b/api/config_entry.go
index b59c20fd30..ffc18a85ed 100644
--- a/api/config_entry.go
+++ b/api/config_entry.go
@@ -341,6 +341,7 @@ type InstanceLevelRateLimits struct {
 	RequestsMaxBurst int `alias:"requests_max_burst"`
 
 	// Routes is a list of rate limits applied to specific routes.
+	// For a given request, the first matching route will be applied, if any
 	// Overrides any top-level configuration.
 	Routes []InstanceLevelRouteRateLimits
 }
diff --git a/website/content/docs/connect/config-entries/service-defaults.mdx b/website/content/docs/connect/config-entries/service-defaults.mdx
index b7b128a435..4ae018a295 100644
--- a/website/content/docs/connect/config-entries/service-defaults.mdx
+++ b/website/content/docs/connect/config-entries/service-defaults.mdx
@@ -649,7 +649,7 @@ Specifies a list of rate limiting configurations to apply to specific routes to
 - `PathPrefix`
 - `PathRegex`
 
-Refer to [Examples](#enable-request-rate-limit-on-a-prefixed-path) for example configurations.
+Consul applies the rate limit configuration to the first matching route for each request. Refer to [Examples](#enable-request-rate-limit-on-a-prefixed-path) for example configurations.
 
 #### Values