diff --git a/.changeset/short-deer-eat.md b/.changeset/short-deer-eat.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8f09f1fbe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/short-deer-eat.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"github.com/livekit/protocol": patch
+---
+
+support parsing rtc as grant in addition to video
diff --git a/auth/grants.go b/auth/grants.go
index 1073073eb..3a2a1ff5a 100644
--- a/auth/grants.go
+++ b/auth/grants.go
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 package auth
 
 import (
+	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
 	"maps"
 	"strings"
@@ -245,6 +246,58 @@ func (c *ClaimGrants) MarshalLogObject(e zapcore.ObjectEncoder) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// claimGrantsJSON is used for JSON marshaling/unmarshaling to support both
+// "video" (legacy) and "rtc" (new) field names for VideoGrant.
+// This enables backwards compatibility during the migration from VideoGrant to RTCGrant.
+type claimGrantsJSON struct {
+	Identity      string              `json:"identity,omitempty"`
+	Name          string              `json:"name,omitempty"`
+	Kind          string              `json:"kind,omitempty"`
+	KindDetails   []string            `json:"kindDetails,omitempty"`
+	Video         *VideoGrant         `json:"video,omitempty"`
+	RTC           *VideoGrant         `json:"rtc,omitempty"`
+	SIP           *SIPGrant           `json:"sip,omitempty"`
+	Agent         *AgentGrant         `json:"agent,omitempty"`
+	Inference     *InferenceGrant     `json:"inference,omitempty"`
+	Observability *ObservabilityGrant `json:"observability,omitempty"`
+	RoomConfig    *RoomConfiguration  `json:"roomConfig,omitempty"`
+	RoomPreset    string              `json:"roomPreset,omitempty"`
+	Sha256        string              `json:"sha256,omitempty"`
+	Metadata      string              `json:"metadata,omitempty"`
+	Attributes    map[string]string   `json:"attributes,omitempty"`
+}
+
+func (c *ClaimGrants) UnmarshalJSON(data []byte) error {
+	var j claimGrantsJSON
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(data, &j); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	c.Identity = j.Identity
+	c.Name = j.Name
+	c.Kind = j.Kind
+	c.KindDetails = j.KindDetails
+	c.SIP = j.SIP
+	c.Agent = j.Agent
+	c.Inference = j.Inference
+	c.Observability = j.Observability
+	c.RoomConfig = j.RoomConfig
+	c.RoomPreset = j.RoomPreset
+	c.Sha256 = j.Sha256
+	c.Metadata = j.Metadata
+	c.Attributes = j.Attributes
+
+	// Support both "video" (legacy) and "rtc" (new) field names.
+	// If both are present, "rtc" takes precedence.
+	if j.RTC != nil {
+		c.Video = j.RTC
+	} else {
+		c.Video = j.Video
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 // -------------------------------------------------------------
 
 type VideoGrant struct {
diff --git a/auth/grants_test.go b/auth/grants_test.go
index 211bc2097..459805a2e 100644
--- a/auth/grants_test.go
+++ b/auth/grants_test.go
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 package auth
 
 import (
+	"encoding/json"
 	"reflect"
 	"strconv"
 	"testing"
@@ -159,6 +160,120 @@ func TestGrants(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 }
 
+func TestClaimGrantsVideoRTCCompat(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	t.Run("unmarshal with video field", func(t *testing.T) {
+		jsonData := `{"identity":"user1","video":{"roomJoin":true,"room":"test-room","canPublish":true}}`
+
+		var grants ClaimGrants
+		err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(jsonData), &grants)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.Equal(t, "user1", grants.Identity)
+		require.NotNil(t, grants.Video)
+		require.True(t, grants.Video.RoomJoin)
+		require.Equal(t, "test-room", grants.Video.Room)
+		require.True(t, grants.Video.GetCanPublish())
+	})
+
+	t.Run("unmarshal with rtc field", func(t *testing.T) {
+		jsonData := `{"identity":"user2","rtc":{"roomJoin":true,"room":"rtc-room","canSubscribe":false}}`
+
+		var grants ClaimGrants
+		err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(jsonData), &grants)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.Equal(t, "user2", grants.Identity)
+		require.NotNil(t, grants.Video)
+		require.True(t, grants.Video.RoomJoin)
+		require.Equal(t, "rtc-room", grants.Video.Room)
+		require.False(t, grants.Video.GetCanSubscribe())
+	})
+
+	t.Run("unmarshal with both video and rtc fields prefers rtc", func(t *testing.T) {
+		jsonData := `{"identity":"user3","video":{"room":"video-room"},"rtc":{"room":"rtc-room"}}`
+
+		var grants ClaimGrants
+		err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(jsonData), &grants)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.NotNil(t, grants.Video)
+		require.Equal(t, "rtc-room", grants.Video.Room, "rtc field should take precedence over video")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("marshal outputs video field", func(t *testing.T) {
+		grants := &ClaimGrants{
+			Identity: "user4",
+			Video: &VideoGrant{
+				RoomJoin: true,
+				Room:     "my-room",
+			},
+		}
+
+		data, err := json.Marshal(grants)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+
+		// Verify the output contains "video" not "rtc"
+		var rawMap map[string]interface{}
+		err = json.Unmarshal(data, &rawMap)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.Contains(t, rawMap, "video", "marshaled JSON should contain 'video' field")
+		require.NotContains(t, rawMap, "rtc", "marshaled JSON should not contain 'rtc' field")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("roundtrip with video field preserves data", func(t *testing.T) {
+		original := &ClaimGrants{
+			Identity: "user5",
+			Name:     "Test User",
+			Video: &VideoGrant{
+				RoomJoin:   true,
+				Room:       "test-room",
+				RoomCreate: true,
+			},
+			SIP: &SIPGrant{Admin: true},
+		}
+
+		data, err := json.Marshal(original)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+
+		var decoded ClaimGrants
+		err = json.Unmarshal(data, &decoded)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+
+		require.Equal(t, original.Identity, decoded.Identity)
+		require.Equal(t, original.Name, decoded.Name)
+		require.Equal(t, original.Video.RoomJoin, decoded.Video.RoomJoin)
+		require.Equal(t, original.Video.Room, decoded.Video.Room)
+		require.Equal(t, original.Video.RoomCreate, decoded.Video.RoomCreate)
+		require.Equal(t, original.SIP.Admin, decoded.SIP.Admin)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("unmarshal with all grant types via rtc", func(t *testing.T) {
+		jsonData := `{
+			"identity": "agent1",
+			"kind": "agent",
+			"rtc": {"roomJoin": true, "room": "agent-room", "agent": true},
+			"sip": {"admin": true},
+			"agent": {"admin": true},
+			"inference": {"perform": true}
+		}`
+
+		var grants ClaimGrants
+		err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(jsonData), &grants)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.Equal(t, "agent1", grants.Identity)
+		require.Equal(t, "agent", grants.Kind)
+		require.NotNil(t, grants.Video)
+		require.True(t, grants.Video.RoomJoin)
+		require.Equal(t, "agent-room", grants.Video.Room)
+		require.True(t, grants.Video.Agent)
+		require.NotNil(t, grants.SIP)
+		require.True(t, grants.SIP.Admin)
+		require.NotNil(t, grants.Agent)
+		require.True(t, grants.Agent.Admin)
+		require.NotNil(t, grants.Inference)
+		require.True(t, grants.Inference.Perform)
+	})
+}
+
 func TestParticipantKind(t *testing.T) {
 	const kindMin, kindMax = livekit.ParticipantInfo_STANDARD, livekit.ParticipantInfo_AGENT
 	for k := kindMin; k <= kindMax; k++ {