diff --git a/apps/api/src/orders/order-repository.ts b/apps/api/src/orders/order-repository.ts
index 5a904e1..21cd809 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/orders/order-repository.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/orders/order-repository.ts
@@ -37,11 +37,13 @@ function toOrderItemDetail(row: {
 export async function listOrderSummaries(context: DatabaseContext, query?: string) {
   const search = query?.trim();
 
+  // Support staff type search terms in any case. instr() is case-sensitive, so compare lowercased
+  // values; LIKE is avoided because it would treat % and _ in the search text as wildcards.
   const filters = search
     ? or(
-        sql`instr(${orders.orderNumber}, ${search}) > 0`,
-        sql`instr(${users.name}, ${search}) > 0`,
-        sql`instr(${users.email}, ${search}) > 0`
+        sql`instr(lower(${orders.orderNumber}), lower(${search})) > 0`,
+        sql`instr(lower(${users.name}), lower(${search})) > 0`,
+        sql`instr(lower(${users.email}), lower(${search})) > 0`
       )
     : undefined;
 
diff --git a/apps/api/src/orders/orders-routes.test.ts b/apps/api/src/orders/orders-routes.test.ts
index 9266907..8885282 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/orders/orders-routes.test.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/orders/orders-routes.test.ts
@@ -44,6 +44,20 @@ describe("order routes", () => {
     expect(response.json()).toHaveLength(7);
   });
 
+  test("finds orders by customer name regardless of letter case", async () => {
+    const response = await app.inject({ method: "GET", url: "/api/orders?query=JOHN", headers: { cookie: employeeCookie } });
+
+    expect(response.statusCode).toBe(200);
+    expect(response.json().map((order: { orderNumber: string }) => order.orderNumber)).toEqual(["ORD-1001", "ORD-1003"]);
+  });
+
+  test("finds orders by order number regardless of letter case", async () => {
+    const response = await app.inject({ method: "GET", url: "/api/orders?query=ord-1001", headers: { cookie: employeeCookie } });
+
+    expect(response.statusCode).toBe(200);
+    expect(response.json().map((order: { orderNumber: string }) => order.orderNumber)).toEqual(["ORD-1001"]);
+  });
+
   test("returns order detail", async () => {
     const response = await app.inject({ method: "GET", url: "/api/orders/order_1", headers: { cookie: employeeCookie } });
     const order = response.json();