diff --git a/rust/agents/validator/src/submit.rs b/rust/agents/validator/src/submit.rs
index a08aa15620..3faf8bb263 100644
--- a/rust/agents/validator/src/submit.rs
+++ b/rust/agents/validator/src/submit.rs
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ impl ValidatorSubmitter {
         }
     }
 
-    #[instrument(err, skip(self), fields(domain=%self.mailbox.domain()))]
+    #[instrument(err, skip(self, tree), fields(domain=%self.mailbox.domain()))]
     pub(crate) async fn checkpoint_submitter(
         self,
         mut tree: IncrementalMerkle,
@@ -97,20 +97,37 @@ impl ValidatorSubmitter {
 
                 // compare against every queued checkpoint to prevent ingesting past target
                 if checkpoint == correctness_checkpoint {
-                    debug!(
-                        index = checkpoint.index,
-                        "Reached tree consistency, signing queued checkpoints"
-                    );
+                    debug!(index = checkpoint.index, "Reached tree consistency");
 
                     // drain and sign all checkpoints in the queue
                     for queued_checkpoint in checkpoint_queue.drain(..) {
+                        let existing = self
+                            .checkpoint_syncer
+                            .fetch_checkpoint(queued_checkpoint.index)
+                            .await?;
+                        if existing.is_some() {
+                            debug!(
+                                index = queued_checkpoint.index,
+                                "Checkpoint already submitted"
+                            );
+                            continue;
+                        }
+
                         let signed_checkpoint = self.signer.sign(queued_checkpoint).await?;
                         self.checkpoint_syncer
                             .write_checkpoint(&signed_checkpoint)
                             .await?;
-                        info!(index = queued_checkpoint.index, "Signed checkpoint");
+                        debug!(
+                            index = queued_checkpoint.index,
+                            "Signed and submitted checkpoint"
+                        );
+
+                        // small sleep before signing next checkpoint to avoid rate limiting
+                        sleep(Duration::from_millis(100)).await;
                     }
 
+                    info!(index = checkpoint.index, "Signed all queued checkpoints");
+
                     self.metrics
                         .latest_checkpoint_processed
                         .set(checkpoint.index as i64);