diff --git a/docs/sources/developers/http_api/folder.md b/docs/sources/developers/http_api/folder.md
index 73a9c54ba39..7a65f7fa56d 100644
--- a/docs/sources/developers/http_api/folder.md
+++ b/docs/sources/developers/http_api/folder.md
@@ -205,7 +205,7 @@ Status Codes:
 - **400** – Errors (invalid json, missing or invalid fields, etc)
 - **401** – Unauthorized
 - **403** – Access Denied
-- **409** - Folder already exists
+- **412** - Folder already exists
 
 ## Update folder
 
diff --git a/pkg/api/apierrors/folder.go b/pkg/api/apierrors/folder.go
index b29d5000fad..19cf5323e56 100644
--- a/pkg/api/apierrors/folder.go
+++ b/pkg/api/apierrors/folder.go
@@ -44,9 +44,13 @@ func ToFolderErrorResponse(err error) response.Response {
 		return response.JSON(http.StatusPreconditionFailed, util.DynMap{"status": "version-mismatch", "message": dashboards.ErrFolderVersionMismatch.Error()})
 	}
 
-	// folder errors are wrapped in an error util, so this is the only way of comparing errors
-	if err.Error() == folder.ErrMaximumDepthReached.Error() {
-		return response.JSON(http.StatusBadRequest, util.DynMap{"messageId": "folder.maximum-depth-reached", "message": "Maximum nested folder depth reached"})
+	if errors.Is(err, folder.ErrMaximumDepthReached) {
+		return response.JSON(http.StatusBadRequest, util.DynMap{"messageId": "folder.maximum-depth-reached", "message": folder.ErrMaximumDepthReached.Error()})
+	}
+
+	var statusErr *k8sErrors.StatusError
+	if errors.As(err, &statusErr) {
+		return response.Error(int(statusErr.ErrStatus.Code), statusErr.ErrStatus.Message, err)
 	}
 
 	return response.ErrOrFallback(http.StatusInternalServerError, "Folder API error", err)
diff --git a/pkg/api/apierrors/folder_test.go b/pkg/api/apierrors/folder_test.go
index e3d70bded31..09cd5aba16b 100644
--- a/pkg/api/apierrors/folder_test.go
+++ b/pkg/api/apierrors/folder_test.go
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ import (
 	"github.com/grafana/grafana/pkg/services/folder"
 	"github.com/grafana/grafana/pkg/util"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+	k8sErrors "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors"
+	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 )
 
 func TestToFolderErrorResponse(t *testing.T) {
@@ -66,13 +68,28 @@ func TestToFolderErrorResponse(t *testing.T) {
 		{
 			name:  "folder max depth reached",
 			input: folder.ErrMaximumDepthReached,
-			want:  response.JSON(http.StatusBadRequest, util.DynMap{"messageId": "folder.maximum-depth-reached", "message": "Maximum nested folder depth reached"}),
+			want:  response.JSON(http.StatusBadRequest, util.DynMap{"messageId": "folder.maximum-depth-reached", "message": folder.ErrMaximumDepthReached.Error()}),
 		},
 		{
 			name:  "fallback error",
 			input: errors.New("some error"),
 			want:  response.ErrOrFallback(http.StatusInternalServerError, "Folder API error", errors.New("some error")),
 		},
+		{
+			name: "kubernetes status error",
+			input: &k8sErrors.StatusError{
+				ErrStatus: metav1.Status{
+					Code:    412,
+					Message: "the folder has been changed by someone else",
+				},
+			},
+			want: response.Error(412, "the folder has been changed by someone else", &k8sErrors.StatusError{
+				ErrStatus: metav1.Status{
+					Code:    412,
+					Message: "the folder has been changed by someone else",
+				},
+			}),
+		},
 	}
 	for _, tt := range tests {
 		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {