diff --git a/changelog/47707.fixed.md b/changelog/47707.fixed.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..1160b27c0cd2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/47707.fixed.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Include the offending path in the "A valid directory was not specified" error raised by file.readdir and file.rmdir
diff --git a/salt/modules/file.py b/salt/modules/file.py
index dfb1c66625fe..834cd8437a3e 100644
--- a/salt/modules/file.py
+++ b/salt/modules/file.py
@@ -4192,7 +4192,7 @@ def readdir(path):
         raise SaltInvocationError("Dir path must be absolute.")
 
     if not os.path.isdir(path):
-        raise SaltInvocationError("A valid directory was not specified.")
+        raise SaltInvocationError(f"A valid directory was not specified: {path}")
 
     dirents = [".", ".."]
     dirents.extend(os.listdir(path))
@@ -4342,7 +4342,7 @@ def rmdir(path, recurse=False, verbose=False, older_than=None):
         raise SaltInvocationError("File path must be absolute.")
 
     if not os.path.isdir(path):
-        raise SaltInvocationError("A valid directory was not specified.")
+        raise SaltInvocationError(f"A valid directory was not specified: {path}")
 
     if older_than:
         now = time.time()
diff --git a/tests/pytests/unit/modules/file/test_file_rmdir.py b/tests/pytests/unit/modules/file/test_file_rmdir.py
index d40a50be50e4..22160f90ecb8 100644
--- a/tests/pytests/unit/modules/file/test_file_rmdir.py
+++ b/tests/pytests/unit/modules/file/test_file_rmdir.py
@@ -37,6 +37,54 @@ def test_file_rmdir_not_found_exception():
         filemod.rmdir("/tmp/not_there")
 
 
+def test_file_rmdir_not_found_exception_includes_path():
+    with pytest.raises(SaltInvocationError, match="/tmp/not_there"):
+        filemod.rmdir("/tmp/not_there")
+
+
+def test_file_readdir_not_found_exception_includes_path():
+    with pytest.raises(SaltInvocationError, match="/tmp/not_there"):
+        filemod.readdir("/tmp/not_there")
+
+
+def test_file_rmdir_not_found_includes_path_with_state_args_47707():
+    # The file.rmdir state (salt/states/file.py) calls this as
+    # rmdir(name, recurse=recurse, verbose=True, older_than=older_than).
+    # verbose=True is the decisive flag: with it, removal failures are
+    # normally collected into the returned dict's "errors" list instead of
+    # raised, but an invalid directory must still raise, and the message
+    # must include the offending path.
+    with pytest.raises(SaltInvocationError, match="/tmp/not_there"):
+        filemod.rmdir("/tmp/not_there", recurse=True, verbose=True, older_than=None)
+
+
+def test_file_rmdir_relative_path_error_unchanged_47707():
+    """
+    Guard against overcorrection: a relative path must still fail the
+    absolute-path check, not the valid-directory check changed for #47707.
+    """
+    with pytest.raises(SaltInvocationError, match="must be absolute"):
+        filemod.rmdir("not_absolute")
+
+
+def test_file_readdir_relative_path_error_unchanged_47707():
+    """
+    Guard against overcorrection: a relative path must still fail readdir's
+    absolute-path check, not the valid-directory check changed for #47707.
+    """
+    with pytest.raises(SaltInvocationError, match="must be absolute"):
+        filemod.readdir("not_absolute")
+
+
+def test_file_readdir_valid_directory_47707(tmp_path):
+    """
+    Guard against overcorrection: readdir on an existing directory must
+    still return the directory listing without raising.
+    """
+    (tmp_path / "afile").write_text("data")
+    assert filemod.readdir(str(tmp_path)) == [".", "..", "afile"]
+
+
 def test_file_rmdir_success_return():
     with patch("os.rmdir", MagicMock(return_value=True)), patch(
         "os.path.isdir", MagicMock(return_value=True)