diff --git a/.github/workflows/pr_build_linux.yml b/.github/workflows/pr_build_linux.yml
index 4823153f7b..586a31813c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pr_build_linux.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pr_build_linux.yml
@@ -343,6 +343,7 @@ jobs:
               org.apache.comet.expressions.conditional.CometIfSuite
               org.apache.comet.expressions.conditional.CometCoalesceSuite
               org.apache.comet.expressions.conditional.CometCaseWhenSuite
+              org.apache.comet.serde.SupportConditionSuite
           - name: "sql"
             value: |
               org.apache.spark.sql.CometToPrettyStringSuite
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pr_build_macos.yml b/.github/workflows/pr_build_macos.yml
index 6d6ac14ec9..2c8102d54f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pr_build_macos.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pr_build_macos.yml
@@ -219,6 +219,7 @@ jobs:
               org.apache.comet.expressions.conditional.CometIfSuite
               org.apache.comet.expressions.conditional.CometCoalesceSuite
               org.apache.comet.expressions.conditional.CometCaseWhenSuite
+              org.apache.comet.serde.SupportConditionSuite
           - name: "sql"
             value: |
               org.apache.spark.sql.CometToPrettyStringSuite
diff --git a/spark/src/main/scala/org/apache/comet/serde/CometExpressionSerde.scala b/spark/src/main/scala/org/apache/comet/serde/CometExpressionSerde.scala
index 20c0343037..bd8f4fbbb9 100644
--- a/spark/src/main/scala/org/apache/comet/serde/CometExpressionSerde.scala
+++ b/spark/src/main/scala/org/apache/comet/serde/CometExpressionSerde.scala
@@ -37,15 +37,39 @@ trait CometExpressionSerde[T <: Expression] {
    */
   def getExprConfigName(expr: T): String = expr.getClass.getSimpleName
 
+  /**
+   * Declarative support conditions for this expression. First match wins.
+   *
+   * Prefer declaring `conditions` over overriding [[getSupportLevel]]: the list is enumerable for
+   * documentation and tests, and each condition carries a stable id and static description.
+   *
+   * Subclasses should declare `conditions` as a `val` so the list is built once, not on every
+   * `getSupportLevel` call.
+   */
+  def conditions: Seq[SupportCondition[T]] = Seq.empty
+
   /**
    * Determine the support level of the expression based on its attributes.
    *
+   * The default implementation is derived from [[conditions]]. Subclasses may still override this
+   * during migration, but new serdes should prefer declaring `conditions`.
+   *
    * @param expr
    *   The Spark expression.
    * @return
    *   Support level (Compatible, Incompatible, or Unsupported).
    */
-  def getSupportLevel(expr: T): SupportLevel = Compatible(None)
+  def getSupportLevel(expr: T): SupportLevel =
+    conditions.find(_.fires(expr)) match {
+      case Some(c) =>
+        val msg = Some(c.message(expr)).filter(_.nonEmpty)
+        c.level match {
+          case SupportLevelKind.Compatible => Compatible(msg)
+          case SupportLevelKind.Incompatible => Incompatible(msg)
+          case SupportLevelKind.Unsupported => Unsupported(msg)
+        }
+      case None => Compatible(None)
+    }
 
   /**
    * Convert a Spark expression into a protocol buffer representation that can be passed into
diff --git a/spark/src/main/scala/org/apache/comet/serde/SupportLevel.scala b/spark/src/main/scala/org/apache/comet/serde/SupportLevel.scala
index cb78c7d2d4..6786f9e65c 100644
--- a/spark/src/main/scala/org/apache/comet/serde/SupportLevel.scala
+++ b/spark/src/main/scala/org/apache/comet/serde/SupportLevel.scala
@@ -19,8 +19,13 @@
 
 package org.apache.comet.serde
 
+import org.apache.spark.sql.catalyst.expressions.Expression
 import org.apache.spark.sql.types._
 
+/**
+ * @see
+ *   [[SupportLevelKind]]
+ */
 sealed trait SupportLevel
 
 /**
@@ -57,3 +62,101 @@ object SupportLevel {
     case _ => false
   }
 }
+
+/**
+ * The kind of support outcome produced by a [[SupportCondition]].
+ *
+ * The member names mirror the [[SupportLevel]] case classes on purpose so that a condition's
+ * `level` reads the same as the resulting `SupportLevel`. To disambiguate references in this file
+ * or in wildcard imports of the `serde` package, qualify as `SupportLevelKind.Compatible` etc.
+ */
+sealed trait SupportLevelKind
+object SupportLevelKind {
+  case object Compatible extends SupportLevelKind
+  case object Incompatible extends SupportLevelKind
+  case object Unsupported extends SupportLevelKind
+}
+
+/**
+ * A single support condition: a predicate that, when matched against an expression, yields a
+ * [[SupportLevel]] with an optional message.
+ *
+ * Conditions are declared statically per serde so that they can be enumerated at build time for
+ * documentation and tests. They evaluate at runtime by calling `fires(expr)`.
+ *
+ * Ordering within a serde's `conditions` list is significant: the first condition whose `fires`
+ * predicate matches determines the outcome. If no condition matches, the expression is treated as
+ * `Compatible(None)`.
+ */
+trait SupportCondition[-T <: Expression] {
+
+  /** Stable, machine-readable id, unique per serde. Used in docs and tests. */
+  def id: String
+
+  /** Static prose describing when this fires. For example, "Child is BinaryType". */
+  def description: String
+
+  /** The outcome if this condition matches. */
+  def level: SupportLevelKind
+
+  /** Runtime predicate. May consult `CometConf` or other dynamic state. */
+  def fires(expr: T): Boolean
+
+  /** Runtime message, usually constant. May interpolate from the expression. */
+  def message(expr: T): String
+
+  /** Optional issue links for doc output. */
+  def issues: Seq[String] = Nil
+}
+
+object SupportCondition {
+
+  private final case class Impl[T <: Expression](
+      id: String,
+      description: String,
+      level: SupportLevelKind,
+      firesFn: T => Boolean,
+      messageFn: T => String,
+      override val issues: Seq[String])
+      extends SupportCondition[T] {
+    override def fires(expr: T): Boolean = firesFn(expr)
+    override def message(expr: T): String = messageFn(expr)
+  }
+
+  /** Generic builder. Use this when `message` depends on the expression. */
+  def apply[T <: Expression](
+      id: String,
+      description: String,
+      level: SupportLevelKind,
+      fires: T => Boolean,
+      message: T => String,
+      issues: Seq[String] = Nil): SupportCondition[T] =
+    Impl(id, description, level, fires, message, issues)
+
+  /** Convenience: unsupported with a static message. */
+  def unsupported[T <: Expression](
+      id: String,
+      description: String,
+      fires: T => Boolean,
+      message: String,
+      issues: Seq[String] = Nil): SupportCondition[T] =
+    Impl(id, description, SupportLevelKind.Unsupported, fires, (_: T) => message, issues)
+
+  /** Convenience: incompatible with a static message. */
+  def incompatible[T <: Expression](
+      id: String,
+      description: String,
+      fires: T => Boolean,
+      message: String,
+      issues: Seq[String] = Nil): SupportCondition[T] =
+    Impl(id, description, SupportLevelKind.Incompatible, fires, (_: T) => message, issues)
+
+  /** Convenience: compatible-with-note (a caveat on an otherwise supported path). */
+  def compatibleWithNote[T <: Expression](
+      id: String,
+      description: String,
+      fires: T => Boolean,
+      message: String,
+      issues: Seq[String] = Nil): SupportCondition[T] =
+    Impl(id, description, SupportLevelKind.Compatible, fires, (_: T) => message, issues)
+}
diff --git a/spark/src/main/scala/org/apache/comet/serde/arrays.scala b/spark/src/main/scala/org/apache/comet/serde/arrays.scala
index 14d4536fc1..7f476a4907 100644
--- a/spark/src/main/scala/org/apache/comet/serde/arrays.scala
+++ b/spark/src/main/scala/org/apache/comet/serde/arrays.scala
@@ -141,21 +141,27 @@ object CometSortArray extends CometExpressionSerde[SortArray] {
     }
   }
 
-  override def getSupportLevel(expr: SortArray): SupportLevel = {
-    val elementType = expr.base.dataType.asInstanceOf[ArrayType].elementType
-
-    if (!supportedSortArrayElementType(elementType)) {
-      Unsupported(Some(s"Sort on array element type $elementType is not supported"))
-    } else if (CometConf.COMET_EXEC_STRICT_FLOATING_POINT.get() &&
-      SupportLevel.containsFloatingPoint(elementType)) {
-      Incompatible(
-        Some(
+  override val conditions: Seq[SupportCondition[SortArray]] = {
+    def elementType(e: SortArray): DataType =
+      e.base.dataType.asInstanceOf[ArrayType].elementType
+    Seq(
+      SupportCondition[SortArray](
+        id = "unsupported-element-type",
+        description = "Array element type is not supported for sorting",
+        level = SupportLevelKind.Unsupported,
+        fires = e => !supportedSortArrayElementType(elementType(e)),
+        message = e => s"Sort on array element type ${elementType(e)} is not supported"),
+      SupportCondition[SortArray](
+        id = "strict-floating-point",
+        description = "Strict floating-point mode is on and element type contains float/double",
+        level = SupportLevelKind.Incompatible,
+        fires = e =>
+          CometConf.COMET_EXEC_STRICT_FLOATING_POINT.get() &&
+            SupportLevel.containsFloatingPoint(elementType(e)),
+        message = _ =>
           "Sorting on floating-point is not 100% compatible with Spark, and Comet is running " +
             s"with ${CometConf.COMET_EXEC_STRICT_FLOATING_POINT.key}=true. " +
             s"${CometConf.COMPAT_GUIDE}"))
-    } else {
-      Compatible()
-    }
   }
 
   override def convert(
diff --git a/spark/src/main/scala/org/apache/comet/serde/strings.scala b/spark/src/main/scala/org/apache/comet/serde/strings.scala
index 50621fc389..7f54a3388d 100644
--- a/spark/src/main/scala/org/apache/comet/serde/strings.scala
+++ b/spark/src/main/scala/org/apache/comet/serde/strings.scala
@@ -68,10 +68,12 @@ object CometUpper extends CometCaseConversionBase[Upper]("upper")
 object CometLower extends CometCaseConversionBase[Lower]("lower")
 
 object CometLength extends CometScalarFunction[Length]("length") {
-  override def getSupportLevel(expr: Length): SupportLevel = expr.child.dataType match {
-    case _: BinaryType => Unsupported(Some("Length on BinaryType is not supported"))
-    case _ => Compatible()
-  }
+  override val conditions: Seq[SupportCondition[Length]] = Seq(
+    SupportCondition.unsupported[Length](
+      id = "binary-child",
+      description = "Child is BinaryType",
+      fires = _.child.dataType.isInstanceOf[BinaryType],
+      message = "Length on BinaryType is not supported"))
 }
 
 object CometInitCap extends CometScalarFunction[InitCap]("initcap") {
diff --git a/spark/src/test/scala/org/apache/comet/serde/SupportConditionSuite.scala b/spark/src/test/scala/org/apache/comet/serde/SupportConditionSuite.scala
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3fa598debf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spark/src/test/scala/org/apache/comet/serde/SupportConditionSuite.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,164 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.comet.serde
+
+import org.scalatest.funsuite.AnyFunSuite
+
+import org.apache.spark.sql.catalyst.expressions.{Attribute, Length, Literal}
+import org.apache.spark.sql.types.{BinaryType, IntegerType, LongType, StringType}
+import org.apache.spark.unsafe.types.UTF8String
+
+class SupportConditionSuite extends AnyFunSuite {
+
+  /** Serde with no conditions: default path yields Compatible(None). */
+  private object EmptySerde extends CometExpressionSerde[Literal] {
+    override def convert(
+        expr: Literal,
+        inputs: Seq[Attribute],
+        binding: Boolean): Option[ExprOuterClass.Expr] = None
+  }
+
+  /** Serde with three ordered conditions exercising each level. */
+  private object OrderedSerde extends CometExpressionSerde[Literal] {
+    override val conditions: Seq[SupportCondition[Literal]] = Seq(
+      SupportCondition.unsupported[Literal](
+        id = "null-literal",
+        description = "Literal value is null",
+        fires = _.value == null,
+        message = "null literal not supported"),
+      SupportCondition.incompatible[Literal](
+        id = "long-literal",
+        description = "Literal is LongType",
+        fires = _.dataType == LongType,
+        message = "Long literals are incompatible"),
+      SupportCondition.compatibleWithNote[Literal](
+        id = "string-with-note",
+        description = "Literal is StringType",
+        fires = _.dataType == StringType,
+        message = "string literal carries a note"))
+
+    override def convert(
+        expr: Literal,
+        inputs: Seq[Attribute],
+        binding: Boolean): Option[ExprOuterClass.Expr] = None
+  }
+
+  /** Serde with an expression-dependent message. */
+  private object DynamicMessageSerde extends CometExpressionSerde[Literal] {
+    override val conditions: Seq[SupportCondition[Literal]] = Seq(
+      SupportCondition[Literal](
+        id = "dynamic",
+        description = "Always fires, message includes data type",
+        level = SupportLevelKind.Unsupported,
+        fires = _ => true,
+        message = (e: Literal) => s"unsupported dtype ${e.dataType.simpleString}"))
+
+    override def convert(
+        expr: Literal,
+        inputs: Seq[Attribute],
+        binding: Boolean): Option[ExprOuterClass.Expr] = None
+  }
+
+  test("empty conditions returns Compatible(None)") {
+    val result = EmptySerde.getSupportLevel(Literal(1, IntegerType))
+    assert(result == Compatible(None))
+  }
+
+  test("no matching condition returns Compatible(None)") {
+    val result = OrderedSerde.getSupportLevel(Literal(1, IntegerType))
+    assert(result == Compatible(None))
+  }
+
+  test("first matching condition wins when multiple could fire") {
+    // null Long literal matches both "null-literal" (Unsupported) and
+    // "long-literal" (Incompatible). Unsupported must win because it is first.
+    val nullLong = Literal(null, LongType)
+    val result = OrderedSerde.getSupportLevel(nullLong)
+    assert(result == Unsupported(Some("null literal not supported")))
+  }
+
+  test("non-first matching condition produces its own message") {
+    val longLit = Literal(42L, LongType)
+    val result = OrderedSerde.getSupportLevel(longLit)
+    assert(result == Incompatible(Some("Long literals are incompatible")))
+  }
+
+  test("compatible-with-note produces Compatible(Some(msg))") {
+    val stringLit = Literal(UTF8String.fromString("hello"), StringType)
+    val result = OrderedSerde.getSupportLevel(stringLit)
+    assert(result == Compatible(Some("string literal carries a note")))
+  }
+
+  test("message can depend on the expression instance") {
+    val result =
+      DynamicMessageSerde.getSupportLevel(Literal(UTF8String.fromString("x"), StringType))
+    assert(result == Unsupported(Some("unsupported dtype string")))
+  }
+
+  test("CometLength: BinaryType child returns Unsupported") {
+    val expr = Length(Literal(Array[Byte](1, 2, 3), BinaryType))
+    val result = CometLength.getSupportLevel(expr)
+    assert(result == Unsupported(Some("Length on BinaryType is not supported")))
+  }
+
+  test("CometLength: StringType child returns Compatible") {
+    val expr = Length(Literal(UTF8String.fromString("hello"), StringType))
+    val result = CometLength.getSupportLevel(expr)
+    assert(result == Compatible(None))
+  }
+
+  test("CometLength: declared condition pins id, level, and description") {
+    val conditions = CometLength.conditions
+    assert(conditions.size == 1)
+    val c = conditions.head
+    assert(c.id == "binary-child")
+    assert(c.level == SupportLevelKind.Unsupported)
+    assert(c.description == "Child is BinaryType")
+  }
+
+  test("CometSortArray: unsupported element type returns Unsupported") {
+    import org.apache.spark.sql.catalyst.expressions.SortArray
+    import org.apache.spark.sql.types.{ArrayType, MapType}
+    val mapArray = Literal.create(null, ArrayType(MapType(StringType, StringType)))
+    val expr = SortArray(mapArray, Literal(true))
+    val result = CometSortArray.getSupportLevel(expr)
+    assert(result.isInstanceOf[Unsupported])
+    val msg = result.asInstanceOf[Unsupported].notes.getOrElse("")
+    assert(msg.startsWith("Sort on array element type"))
+  }
+
+  test("CometSortArray: non-float element type returns Compatible") {
+    import org.apache.spark.sql.catalyst.expressions.SortArray
+    import org.apache.spark.sql.types.{ArrayType, IntegerType}
+    val arr = Literal.create(null, ArrayType(IntegerType))
+    val expr = SortArray(arr, Literal(true))
+    val result = CometSortArray.getSupportLevel(expr)
+    assert(result == Compatible(None))
+  }
+
+  test("CometSortArray: declared conditions order is element-type then floating-point") {
+    val conditions = CometSortArray.conditions
+    assert(conditions.size == 2)
+    assert(conditions(0).id == "unsupported-element-type")
+    assert(conditions(0).level == SupportLevelKind.Unsupported)
+    assert(conditions(1).id == "strict-floating-point")
+    assert(conditions(1).level == SupportLevelKind.Incompatible)
+  }
+}