diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b4c1037..2f7abf5 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -135,7 +135,6 @@ TTY detection, and security headers are always applied.
 | `BIND_ADDRESS`          | IP address the HTTP listener binds. Loopback by default, so the cleartext listener is not published on every interface. The Docker image ships `0.0.0.0` instead. See [Bind address](#bind-address) | `127.0.0.1` (image: `0.0.0.0`) |
 | `DATA_DIR`              | Directory for all SQLite databases  | `/var/lib/webhooker` |
 | `DEBUG`                 | Enable debug logging                | `false`  |
-| `MAINTENANCE_MODE`      | Report `maintenanceMode: true` in the healthcheck JSON. It does not change how any request is served — no maintenance page exists | `false`  |
 | `METRICS_USERNAME`      | Basic auth username for `/metrics`. Must be set together with `METRICS_PASSWORD`; one without the other fails startup | `""`     |
 | `METRICS_PASSWORD`      | Basic auth password for `/metrics`. Must be set together with `METRICS_USERNAME`; one without the other fails startup | `""`     |
 | `SENTRY_DSN`            | Sentry error reporting DSN. Unset leaves error reporting off; a value the Sentry SDK cannot parse fails startup rather than serving with reporting silently off | `""`     |
@@ -515,8 +514,8 @@ no report is being sent — which is why it aborts rather than starting
 with reporting off. Leaving it unset is not a mistake and not affected:
 error reporting is simply off and startup is normal.
 
-Boolean variables (`DEBUG`, `MAINTENANCE_MODE`) accept exactly the
-spellings Go's `strconv.ParseBool` accepts — `1`, `t`, `T`, `TRUE`,
+The boolean variable `DEBUG` accepts exactly the spellings Go's
+`strconv.ParseBool` accepts — `1`, `t`, `T`, `TRUE`,
 `true`, `True`, `0`, `f`, `F`, `FALSE`, `false`, `False` — and nothing
 else. `yes`, `on`, and `off` are rejected rather than quietly treated
 as false.
@@ -2775,7 +2774,7 @@ abuse limit later; they are tracked as future work.
 | Method | Path                        | Description |
 | ------ | --------------------------- | ----------- |
 | `GET`  | `/`                         | Root redirect, 303 (authenticated → `/hooks`, unauthenticated → `/pages/login`) |
-| `GET`  | `/.well-known/healthcheck`  | Health check (JSON: `status`, `now`, `uptimeSeconds`, `uptimeHuman`, `version`, `appname`, `maintenanceMode`) |
+| `GET`  | `/.well-known/healthcheck`  | Health check (JSON: `status`, `now`, `uptimeSeconds`, `uptimeHuman`, `version`, `appname`) |
 | `GET`, `HEAD` | `/s/*`              | Static file serving (embedded CSS, JS). `GET` and `HEAD` only — `POST`, `PUT`, `PATCH`, `DELETE`, `OPTIONS`, `TRACE` and `CONNECT` are answered `405 Method Not Allowed` with `Allow: GET, HEAD`. Any other method (such as `PROPFIND`) is refused by chi before it reaches this route, and gets `405` without an `Allow` header. Pinned by `TestStaticServesOnlyGetAndHead` |
 | `POST` | `/h/{uuid}`                 | Webhook receiver endpoint. `POST` only — every other method is answered `405 Method Not Allowed` with `Allow: POST`. Rate limited (see [Rate Limiting](#rate-limiting)) |
 
diff --git a/internal/config/config.go b/internal/config/config.go
index f1b74b8..386f17a 100644
--- a/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/internal/config/config.go
@@ -149,7 +149,6 @@ type ConfigParams struct {
 type Config struct {
 	DataDir         string
 	Debug           bool
-	MaintenanceMode bool
 	Environment     string
 	MetricsPassword string
 	MetricsUsername string
@@ -658,11 +657,6 @@ func loadFromEnv() (*Config, error) {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
-	maintenanceMode, err := envBool("MAINTENANCE_MODE", false)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-
 	retentionSweepInterval, err := envPositiveDuration(
 		"RETENTION_SWEEP_INTERVAL",
 		defaultRetentionSweepInterval,
@@ -712,7 +706,6 @@ func loadFromEnv() (*Config, error) {
 	return &Config{
 		DataDir:                DataDir(),
 		Debug:                  debug,
-		MaintenanceMode:        maintenanceMode,
 		Environment:            environment,
 		MetricsUsername:        metricsUsername,
 		MetricsPassword:        metricsPassword,
@@ -799,7 +792,6 @@ func New(lc fx.Lifecycle, params ConfigParams) (*Config, error) {
 		// host can reach the admin UI.
 		"bindAddress", s.BindAddress,
 		"debug", s.Debug,
-		"maintenanceMode", s.MaintenanceMode,
 		"dataDir", s.DataDir,
 		"retentionSweepInterval", s.RetentionSweepInterval.String(),
 		// Logged because a perfectly valid non-positive value here
diff --git a/internal/config/env_test.go b/internal/config/env_test.go
index 29985c6..6978f0f 100644
--- a/internal/config/env_test.go
+++ b/internal/config/env_test.go
@@ -18,10 +18,9 @@ const testEnvKey = "WEBHOOKER_TEST_VALUE"
 
 // Real configuration variables exercised by the config.New tests.
 const (
-	envKeyPort            = "PORT"
-	envKeyDebug           = "DEBUG"
-	envKeyMaintenanceMode = "MAINTENANCE_MODE"
-	envKeyBindAddress     = "BIND_ADDRESS"
+	envKeyPort        = "PORT"
+	envKeyDebug       = "DEBUG"
+	envKeyBindAddress = "BIND_ADDRESS"
 )
 
 // Sample BIND_ADDRESS values used by the tables below.
@@ -604,12 +603,6 @@ func flagEnvValueCases() []badEnvValueCase {
 			value:       "ture",
 			expectError: true,
 		},
-		{
-			name:        "unparseable MAINTENANCE_MODE aborts startup",
-			key:         envKeyMaintenanceMode,
-			value:       "sometimes",
-			expectError: true,
-		},
 	}
 }
 
@@ -656,8 +649,7 @@ func TestNewUsesDefaultsWhenUnset(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Setenv("WEBHOOKER_ENVIRONMENT", "dev")
 
 	for _, key := range []string{
-		envKeyPort, envKeyDebug, envKeyMaintenanceMode,
-		envKeyBindAddress, envKeySentryDSN,
+		envKeyPort, envKeyDebug, envKeyBindAddress, envKeySentryDSN,
 	} {
 		require.NoError(t, os.Unsetenv(key))
 	}
@@ -668,7 +660,6 @@ func TestNewUsesDefaultsWhenUnset(t *testing.T) {
 
 	assert.Equal(t, 8080, cfg.Port)
 	assert.False(t, cfg.Debug)
-	assert.False(t, cfg.MaintenanceMode)
 
 	// Loopback, not the wildcard: the default must not publish the
 	// cleartext admin UI and the unauthenticated receiver on every
diff --git a/internal/handlers/settings.go b/internal/handlers/settings.go
index 0ba9f78..a21f878 100644
--- a/internal/handlers/settings.go
+++ b/internal/handlers/settings.go
@@ -53,13 +53,6 @@ func settingRows(cfg *config.Config) []settingRow {
 		},
 		{"DATA_DIR", "Directory for all SQLite databases", cfg.DataDir},
 		{"DEBUG", "Enable debug logging", strconv.FormatBool(cfg.Debug)},
-		{
-			"MAINTENANCE_MODE",
-			"Report maintenanceMode: true in the healthcheck JSON. " +
-				"It does not change how any request is served — no " +
-				"maintenance page exists",
-			strconv.FormatBool(cfg.MaintenanceMode),
-		},
 		{
 			"METRICS_USERNAME",
 			"Basic auth username for /metrics. Must be set together " +
diff --git a/internal/handlers/settings_test.go b/internal/handlers/settings_test.go
index 1155bcf..f8b06a8 100644
--- a/internal/handlers/settings_test.go
+++ b/internal/handlers/settings_test.go
@@ -62,14 +62,12 @@ func settingsShown(
 func TestSettingsPageShowsLoadedConfiguration(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 
-	// DEBUG and MAINTENANCE_MODE get opposite values, and each of
-	// METRICS_USERNAME, METRICS_PASSWORD and SENTRY_DSN is the only one
-	// of the three set in one of the content tests, so each row is
-	// checked against its own field.
+	// Each of METRICS_USERNAME, METRICS_PASSWORD and SENTRY_DSN is the
+	// only one of the three set in one of the content tests, so each
+	// row is checked against its own field.
 	cfg := &config.Config{
 		DataDir:                t.TempDir(),
 		Debug:                  true,
-		MaintenanceMode:        false,
 		Environment:            config.EnvironmentDev,
 		MetricsUsername:        "scraper",
 		MetricsPassword:        "",
@@ -96,7 +94,6 @@ func TestSettingsPageShowsLoadedConfiguration(t *testing.T) {
 		"BIND_ADDRESS":             "192.0.2.10",
 		"DATA_DIR":                 cfg.DataDir,
 		"DEBUG":                    "true",
-		"MAINTENANCE_MODE":         "false",
 		"METRICS_USERNAME":         "scraper",
 		"METRICS_PASSWORD":         "not set",
 		"SENTRY_DSN":               "not set",
diff --git a/internal/healthcheck/healthcheck.go b/internal/healthcheck/healthcheck.go
index 03c7281..cd3fcef 100644
--- a/internal/healthcheck/healthcheck.go
+++ b/internal/healthcheck/healthcheck.go
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"go.uber.org/fx"
-	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/config"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/database"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/globals"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/logger"
@@ -18,7 +17,6 @@ type HealthcheckParams struct {
 	fx.In
 
 	Globals  *globals.Globals
-	Config   *config.Config
 	Logger   *logger.Logger
 	Database *database.Database
 }
@@ -64,7 +62,6 @@ func (s *Healthcheck) Healthcheck() *Response {
 		UptimeHuman:   s.uptime().String(),
 		Appname:       s.params.Globals.Appname,
 		Version:       s.params.Globals.Version,
-		Maintenance:   s.params.Config.MaintenanceMode,
 	}
 
 	return resp
@@ -78,7 +75,6 @@ type Response struct {
 	UptimeHuman   string `json:"uptimeHuman"`
 	Version       string `json:"version"`
 	Appname       string `json:"appname"`
-	Maintenance   bool   `json:"maintenanceMode"`
 }
 
 func (s *Healthcheck) uptime() time.Duration {
diff --git a/internal/server/server.go b/internal/server/server.go
index 86dee1c..12521c1 100644
--- a/internal/server/server.go
+++ b/internal/server/server.go
@@ -159,12 +159,6 @@ func (s *Server) Run() {
 	s.serve()
 }
 
-// MaintenanceMode returns whether the server is in maintenance
-// mode.
-func (s *Server) MaintenanceMode() bool {
-	return s.params.Config.MaintenanceMode
-}
-
 // enableSentry initialises the Sentry SDK when error reporting is
 // configured, and reports the failure when it is configured and cannot
 // be initialised. A DSN that is not set is not a failure: reporting