diff --git a/packages/server/src/utils/inviteService.test.ts b/packages/server/src/utils/inviteService.test.ts
index 63713514..56f39865 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/utils/inviteService.test.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/utils/inviteService.test.ts
@@ -135,23 +135,23 @@ describe('createInvite', () => {
 
   it('rejects empty name', () => {
     const adminId = seedAdmin();
-    expect(() => createInvite({ name: '', maxUses: null, expiresAt: null }, adminId)).toThrow();
+    expect(() => createInvite({ name: '', maxUses: null, expiresAt: null }, adminId)).toThrow(InviteValidationError);
   });
 
   it('rejects name longer than 64 chars', () => {
     const adminId = seedAdmin();
-    expect(() => createInvite({ name: 'x'.repeat(65), maxUses: null, expiresAt: null }, adminId)).toThrow();
+    expect(() => createInvite({ name: 'x'.repeat(65), maxUses: null, expiresAt: null }, adminId)).toThrow(InviteValidationError);
   });
 
   it('rejects non-positive maxUses', () => {
     const adminId = seedAdmin();
-    expect(() => createInvite({ name: 'a', maxUses: 0, expiresAt: null }, adminId)).toThrow();
-    expect(() => createInvite({ name: 'a', maxUses: -1, expiresAt: null }, adminId)).toThrow();
+    expect(() => createInvite({ name: 'a', maxUses: 0, expiresAt: null }, adminId)).toThrow(InviteValidationError);
+    expect(() => createInvite({ name: 'a', maxUses: -1, expiresAt: null }, adminId)).toThrow(InviteValidationError);
   });
 
   it('rejects past expiresAt', () => {
     const adminId = seedAdmin();
-    expect(() => createInvite({ name: 'a', maxUses: null, expiresAt: Date.now() - 1000 }, adminId)).toThrow();
+    expect(() => createInvite({ name: 'a', maxUses: null, expiresAt: Date.now() - 1000 }, adminId)).toThrow(InviteValidationError);
   });
 });
 
diff --git a/packages/server/src/utils/inviteService.ts b/packages/server/src/utils/inviteService.ts
index b4a8bea5..fe3190e8 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/utils/inviteService.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/utils/inviteService.ts
@@ -154,10 +154,16 @@ function rowToSummary(
  * Resolve the username to display for an invite's creator. Returns the live
  * username, `'Deleted User'` for tombstoned accounts (spec §3.1, §4.1), or
  * `null` if the FK is unresolvable (defensive — should not happen in practice).
+ *
+ * Accepts an optional Drizzle handle so callers inside a `db.transaction`
+ * body can pass the `tx` proxy and keep the read on the same logical txn as
+ * surrounding writes. Defaults to the outer `getDb()` for non-txn callers.
  */
-function resolveCreatorUsername(creatorId: string): string | null {
-  const db = getDb();
-  const u = db.select({ username: schema.users.username, isDeleted: schema.users.isDeleted })
+function resolveCreatorUsername(
+  creatorId: string,
+  dbHandle: ReturnType<typeof getDb> = getDb(),
+): string | null {
+  const u = dbHandle.select({ username: schema.users.username, isDeleted: schema.users.isDeleted })
     .from(schema.users)
     .where(eq(schema.users.id, creatorId))
     .get();
@@ -342,13 +348,13 @@ export function patchInvite(id: string, req: UpdateInviteRequest): InviteLinkSum
 
     if (Object.keys(updates).length === 0) {
       // No-op: just return current summary
-      return rowToSummary(row, resolveCreatorUsername(row.createdBy));
+      return rowToSummary(row, resolveCreatorUsername(row.createdBy, tx));
     }
 
     tx.update(schema.inviteLinks).set(updates).where(eq(schema.inviteLinks.id, id)).run();
     const updated = tx.select().from(schema.inviteLinks).where(eq(schema.inviteLinks.id, id)).get();
     if (!updated) throw new Error('Failed to read updated invite');
-    return rowToSummary(updated, resolveCreatorUsername(updated.createdBy));
+    return rowToSummary(updated, resolveCreatorUsername(updated.createdBy, tx));
   });
 }
 
@@ -372,6 +378,6 @@ export function revokeInvite(id: string): InviteLinkSummary {
     tx.update(schema.inviteLinks).set({ revokedAt: Date.now() }).where(eq(schema.inviteLinks.id, id)).run();
     const updated = tx.select().from(schema.inviteLinks).where(eq(schema.inviteLinks.id, id)).get();
     if (!updated) throw new Error('Failed to read updated invite');
-    return rowToSummary(updated, resolveCreatorUsername(updated.createdBy));
+    return rowToSummary(updated, resolveCreatorUsername(updated.createdBy, tx));
   });
 }