diff --git a/app/database/helpers/__init__.py b/app/database/helpers/__init__.py
index 310583607..5a8e87b2c 100644
--- a/app/database/helpers/__init__.py
+++ b/app/database/helpers/__init__.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+from .escape_like import escape_like_prefix
 from .filters import apply_metadata_filter, apply_tag_filters
 from .ownership import visible_owner_clause
 from .projection import is_scalar, project_kv
@@ -10,6 +11,7 @@ from .tags import (
 __all__ = [
     "apply_tag_filters",
     "apply_metadata_filter",
+    "escape_like_prefix",
     "is_scalar",
     "project_kv",
     "ensure_tags_exist",
diff --git a/app/database/helpers/escape_like.py b/app/database/helpers/escape_like.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f905bd40b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/database/helpers/escape_like.py
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+def escape_like_prefix(s: str, escape: str = "!") -> tuple[str, str]:
+    """Escapes %, _ and the escape char itself in a LIKE prefix.
+    Returns (escaped_prefix, escape_char). Caller should append '%' and pass escape=escape_char to .like().
+    """
+    s = s.replace(escape, escape + escape)  # escape the escape char first
+    s = s.replace("%", escape + "%").replace("_", escape + "_")  # escape LIKE wildcards
+    return s, escape
diff --git a/app/database/services/info.py b/app/database/services/info.py
index d2fd1f503..13af76ea0 100644
--- a/app/database/services/info.py
+++ b/app/database/services/info.py
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ from ..helpers import (
     apply_metadata_filter,
     apply_tag_filters,
     ensure_tags_exist,
+    escape_like_prefix,
     project_kv,
     visible_owner_clause,
 )
@@ -527,7 +528,8 @@ async def list_tags_with_usage(
     )
 
     if prefix:
-        q = q.where(Tag.name.like(prefix.strip().lower() + "%"))
+        escaped, esc = escape_like_prefix(prefix.strip().lower())
+        q = q.where(Tag.name.like(escaped + "%", escape=esc))
 
     if not include_zero:
         q = q.where(func.coalesce(counts_sq.c.cnt, 0) > 0)
@@ -539,7 +541,8 @@ async def list_tags_with_usage(
 
     total_q = select(func.count()).select_from(Tag)
     if prefix:
-        total_q = total_q.where(Tag.name.like(prefix.strip().lower() + "%"))
+        escaped, esc = escape_like_prefix(prefix.strip().lower())
+        total_q = total_q.where(Tag.name.like(escaped + "%", escape=esc))
     if not include_zero:
         total_q = total_q.where(
             Tag.name.in_(select(AssetInfoTag.tag_name).group_by(AssetInfoTag.tag_name))
diff --git a/tests-assets/test_tags.py b/tests-assets/test_tags.py
index 9ad3c3f86..9bdf770c4 100644
--- a/tests-assets/test_tags.py
+++ b/tests-assets/test_tags.py
@@ -201,3 +201,28 @@ async def test_tags_endpoints_invalid_bodies(http: aiohttp.ClientSession, api_ba
         b3 = await r3.json()
         assert r3.status == 400
         assert b3["error"]["code"] == "INVALID_QUERY"
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_tags_prefix_treats_underscore_literal(
+    http,
+    api_base,
+    asset_factory,
+    make_asset_bytes,
+):
+    """'prefix' for /api/tags must treat '_' literally, not as a wildcard."""
+    base = f"pref_{uuid.uuid4().hex[:6]}"
+    tag_ok = f"{base}_ok"   # should match prefix=f"{base}_"
+    tag_bad = f"{base}xok"  # must NOT match if '_' is escaped
+    scope = f"tags-underscore-{uuid.uuid4().hex[:6]}"
+
+    await asset_factory("t1.bin", ["input", "unit-tests", scope, tag_ok], {}, make_asset_bytes("t1", 512))
+    await asset_factory("t2.bin", ["input", "unit-tests", scope, tag_bad], {}, make_asset_bytes("t2", 512))
+
+    async with http.get(api_base + "/api/tags", params={"include_zero": "false", "prefix": f"{base}_"}) as r:
+        body = await r.json()
+        assert r.status == 200, body
+        names = [t["name"] for t in body["tags"]]
+        assert tag_ok in names, f"Expected {tag_ok} to be returned for prefix '{base}_'"
+        assert tag_bad not in names, f"'{tag_bad}' must not match — '_' is not a wildcard"
+        assert body["total"] == 1