diff --git a/letsencrypt/cli.py b/letsencrypt/cli.py
index 2976a2df5..0498d66c4 100644
--- a/letsencrypt/cli.py
+++ b/letsencrypt/cli.py
@@ -1181,11 +1181,19 @@ def _handle_exception(exc_type, exc_value, trace, args):
         if issubclass(exc_type, errors.Error):
             sys.exit(exc_value)
         else:
+            # Here we're passing a client or ACME error out to the client at the shell
             # Tell the user a bit about what happened, without overwhelming
             # them with a full traceback
-            msg = ("An unexpected error occurred.\n" +
-                   traceback.format_exception_only(exc_type, exc_value)[0] +
-                   "Please see the ")
+            err = traceback.format_exception_only(exc_type, exc_value)[0]
+            # Typical error from the ACME module:
+            # acme.messages.Error: urn:acme:error:malformed :: The request message was
+            # malformed :: Error creating new registration :: Validation of contact
+            # mailto:none@longrandomstring.biz failed: Server failure at resolver
+            if ("urn:acme" in err and ":: " in err
+                and args.verbose_count <= flag_default("verbose_count")):
+                # prune ACME error code, we have a human description
+                _code, _sep, err = err.partition(":: ")
+            msg = "An unexpected error occurred:\n" + err + "Please see the "
             if args is None:
                 msg += "logfile '{0}' for more details.".format(logfile)
             else:
diff --git a/letsencrypt/tests/cli_test.py b/letsencrypt/tests/cli_test.py
index e07f5e83c..e0fd145e4 100644
--- a/letsencrypt/tests/cli_test.py
+++ b/letsencrypt/tests/cli_test.py
@@ -471,9 +471,14 @@ class CLITest(unittest.TestCase):  # pylint: disable=too-many-public-methods
     @mock.patch('letsencrypt.cli.sys')
     def test_handle_exception(self, mock_sys):
         # pylint: disable=protected-access
+        from acme import messages
+
+        args = mock.MagicMock()
         mock_open = mock.mock_open()
+
         with mock.patch('letsencrypt.cli.open', mock_open, create=True):
             exception = Exception('detail')
+            args.verbose_count = 1
             cli._handle_exception(
                 Exception, exc_value=exception, trace=None, args=None)
             mock_open().write.assert_called_once_with(''.join(
@@ -490,11 +495,23 @@ class CLITest(unittest.TestCase):  # pylint: disable=too-many-public-methods
             mock_sys.exit.assert_any_call(''.join(
                 traceback.format_exception_only(errors.Error, error)))
 
-        args = mock.MagicMock(debug=False)
+        exception = messages.Error(detail='alpha', typ='urn:acme:error:triffid',
+                                   title='beta')
+        args = mock.MagicMock(debug=False, verbose_count=-3)
         cli._handle_exception(
-            Exception, exc_value=Exception('detail'), trace=None, args=args)
+            messages.Error, exc_value=exception, trace=None, args=args)
         error_msg = mock_sys.exit.call_args_list[-1][0][0]
         self.assertTrue('unexpected error' in error_msg)
+        self.assertTrue('acme:error' not in error_msg)
+        self.assertTrue('alpha' in error_msg)
+        self.assertTrue('beta' in error_msg)
+        args = mock.MagicMock(debug=False, verbose_count=1)
+        cli._handle_exception(
+            messages.Error, exc_value=exception, trace=None, args=args)
+        error_msg = mock_sys.exit.call_args_list[-1][0][0]
+        self.assertTrue('unexpected error' in error_msg)
+        self.assertTrue('acme:error' in error_msg)
+        self.assertTrue('alpha' in error_msg)
 
         interrupt = KeyboardInterrupt('detail')
         cli._handle_exception(