diff --git a/docs/api.md b/docs/api.md
index f1bd50c993..963036b6f3 100644
--- a/docs/api.md
+++ b/docs/api.md
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@
   [total_seconds()](https://docs.python.org/3/library/datetime.html#datetime.timedelta.total_seconds) to correctly get
   the total elapsed seconds.
 * `def .raise_for_status()` - **Response**
+* `def .raise_for_excepted_status(expected)` - **Response**
 * `def .json()` - **Any**
 * `def .read()` - **bytes**
 * `def .iter_raw([chunk_size])` - **bytes iterator**
diff --git a/docs/quickstart.md b/docs/quickstart.md
index e140b53cd7..a9f4f0142f 100644
--- a/docs/quickstart.md
+++ b/docs/quickstart.md
@@ -305,6 +305,30 @@ The method returns the response instance, allowing you to use it inline. For exa
 >>> data = httpx.get('...').raise_for_status().json()
 ```
 
+### Allowing Specific Status Codes
+
+Sometimes you may expect certain non-2xx status codes as valid responses (e.g., 404 when checking if a resource exists). Use `raise_for_excepted_status()` to specify which status codes are acceptable:
+
+```pycon
+>>> r = httpx.get('https://httpbin.org/status/404')
+>>> r.raise_for_excepted_status([200, 404])  # 404 is expected, no exception raised
+<Response [404 Not Found]>
+```
+
+Note that `raise_for_excepted_status()` only allows the status codes explicitly listed in the `expected` parameter. Even 2xx success codes must be included:
+
+```pycon
+>>> r = httpx.get('https://httpbin.org/get')
+>>> r.status_code
+200
+>>> r.raise_for_excepted_status([201])  # 200 not in list, raises exception
+Traceback (most recent call last):
+  ...
+httpx._exceptions.HTTPStatusError: ...
+>>> r.raise_for_excepted_status([200, 201])  # 200 is in list, passes
+<Response [200 OK]>
+```
+
 ## Response Headers
 
 The response headers are available as a dictionary-like interface.
diff --git a/httpx/_models.py b/httpx/_models.py
index 2cc86321a4..67cb771cd0 100644
--- a/httpx/_models.py
+++ b/httpx/_models.py
@@ -791,20 +791,19 @@ def has_redirect_location(self) -> bool:
             and "Location" in self.headers
         )
 
-    def raise_for_status(self) -> Response:
-        """
-        Raise the `HTTPStatusError` if one occurred.
-        """
-        request = self._request
-        if request is None:
+    def _ensure_request(self, method_name: str) -> Request:
+        """Ensure request is set, raise RuntimeError if not."""
+        if self._request is None:
             raise RuntimeError(
-                "Cannot call `raise_for_status` as the request "
+                f"Cannot call `{method_name}` as the request "
                 "instance has not been set on this response."
             )
+        return self._request
 
-        if self.is_success:
-            return self
-
+    def _raise_status_error(
+        self, request: Request, *, error_type_for_2xx: str | None = None
+    ) -> typing.NoReturn:
+        """Internal helper to raise HTTPStatusError with appropriate message."""
         if self.has_redirect_location:
             message = (
                 "{error_type} '{0.status_code} {0.reason_phrase}' for url '{0.url}'\n"
@@ -818,16 +817,56 @@ def raise_for_status(self) -> Response:
             )
 
         status_class = self.status_code // 100
-        error_types = {
+        error_types: dict[int, str] = {
             1: "Informational response",
             3: "Redirect response",
             4: "Client error",
             5: "Server error",
         }
+        if error_type_for_2xx is not None:
+            error_types[2] = error_type_for_2xx
+
         error_type = error_types.get(status_class, "Invalid status code")
         message = message.format(self, error_type=error_type)
         raise HTTPStatusError(message, request=request, response=self)
 
+    def raise_for_status(self) -> Response:
+        """
+        Raise the `HTTPStatusError` if one occurred.
+        """
+        request = self._ensure_request("raise_for_status")
+
+        if self.is_success:
+            return self
+
+        self._raise_status_error(request)
+
+    def raise_for_excepted_status(self, expected: typing.Sequence[int]) -> Response:
+        """
+        Raise the `HTTPStatusError` unless the status code is in the `expected` list.
+
+        Only status codes explicitly listed in `expected` are allowed to pass.
+        All other status codes (including 2xx) will raise an exception.
+
+        Args:
+            expected: A sequence of status codes that are considered acceptable
+                      and should not raise an exception.
+
+        Returns:
+            This response instance if the status code is in the expected list.
+
+        Raises:
+            HTTPStatusError: If the response status code is not in the expected list.
+        """
+        request = self._ensure_request("raise_for_excepted_status")
+
+        if self.status_code in expected:
+            return self
+
+        self._raise_status_error(
+            request, error_type_for_2xx="Unexpected success response"
+        )
+
     def json(self, **kwargs: typing.Any) -> typing.Any:
         return jsonlib.loads(self.content, **kwargs)
 
diff --git a/tests/models/test_responses.py b/tests/models/test_responses.py
index 06c28e1e30..11cf991633 100644
--- a/tests/models/test_responses.py
+++ b/tests/models/test_responses.py
@@ -146,6 +146,64 @@ def test_raise_for_status():
         response.raise_for_status()
 
 
+def test_raise_for_excepted_status():
+    request = httpx.Request("GET", "https://example.org")
+
+    # 2xx status code in expected list - should pass
+    response = httpx.Response(200, request=request)
+    assert response.raise_for_excepted_status([200]) is response
+
+    # 2xx status code NOT in expected list - should raise with "Unexpected success"
+    response = httpx.Response(200, request=request)
+    with pytest.raises(httpx.HTTPStatusError) as exc_info:
+        response.raise_for_excepted_status([201, 204])
+    assert "Unexpected success response '200 OK'" in str(exc_info.value)
+
+    # 4xx status code in expected list - should pass
+    response = httpx.Response(404, request=request)
+    assert response.raise_for_excepted_status([200, 404]) is response
+
+    # 4xx status code NOT in expected list - should raise
+    response = httpx.Response(404, request=request)
+    with pytest.raises(httpx.HTTPStatusError) as exc_info:
+        response.raise_for_excepted_status([200, 400])
+    assert "Client error '404 Not Found'" in str(exc_info.value)
+
+    # 5xx status code in expected list - should pass
+    response = httpx.Response(500, request=request)
+    assert response.raise_for_excepted_status([500, 502, 503]) is response
+
+    # 5xx status code NOT in expected list - should raise
+    response = httpx.Response(500, request=request)
+    with pytest.raises(httpx.HTTPStatusError) as exc_info:
+        response.raise_for_excepted_status([200])
+    assert "Server error '500 Internal Server Error'" in str(exc_info.value)
+
+    # 3xx redirect in expected list - should pass
+    headers = {"location": "https://other.org"}
+    response = httpx.Response(301, headers=headers, request=request)
+    assert response.raise_for_excepted_status([301, 302]) is response
+
+    # 3xx redirect NOT in expected list - should raise with redirect location
+    response = httpx.Response(301, headers=headers, request=request)
+    with pytest.raises(httpx.HTTPStatusError) as exc_info:
+        response.raise_for_excepted_status([200])
+    assert "Redirect response '301 Moved Permanently'" in str(exc_info.value)
+    assert "Redirect location: 'https://other.org'" in str(exc_info.value)
+
+    # Empty expected list - all status codes should raise
+    response = httpx.Response(200, request=request)
+    with pytest.raises(httpx.HTTPStatusError):
+        response.raise_for_excepted_status([])
+
+    # Calling .raise_for_excepted_status without setting a request instance
+    # should raise a runtime error.
+    response = httpx.Response(200)
+    with pytest.raises(RuntimeError) as runtime_exc_info:
+        response.raise_for_excepted_status([200])
+    assert "raise_for_excepted_status" in str(runtime_exc_info.value)
+
+
 def test_response_repr():
     response = httpx.Response(
         200,