diff --git a/backend/src/main/java/org/raddatz/familienarchiv/service/TagService.java b/backend/src/main/java/org/raddatz/familienarchiv/service/TagService.java
index 042b7943..9afc5e63 100644
--- a/backend/src/main/java/org/raddatz/familienarchiv/service/TagService.java
+++ b/backend/src/main/java/org/raddatz/familienarchiv/service/TagService.java
@@ -39,7 +39,9 @@ public class TagService {
     private final TagRepository tagRepository;
 
     public List<Tag> search(String query) {
-        return tagRepository.findByNameContainingIgnoreCase(query);
+        List<Tag> matched = tagRepository.findByNameContainingIgnoreCase(query);
+        if (matched.isEmpty()) return matched;
+        return enrichWithRelatives(matched);
     }
 
     public Tag getById(UUID id) {
@@ -161,6 +163,29 @@ public class TagService {
 
     // ─── private helpers ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
+    // Each matched tag issues 1 CTE query (findDescendantIds or findAncestorIds) + 1 batch
+    // fetch for extras. Typical queries match 1–3 tags at depth ≤ 4, so 3–5 queries total.
+    private List<Tag> enrichWithRelatives(List<Tag> matched) {
+        Set<UUID> matchedIds = matched.stream().map(Tag::getId).collect(Collectors.toSet());
+        Set<UUID> extraIds = new HashSet<>();
+
+        for (Tag tag : matched) {
+            if (tag.getParentId() == null) {
+                extraIds.addAll(tagRepository.findDescendantIds(tag.getId()));
+            } else {
+                extraIds.addAll(tagRepository.findAncestorIds(tag.getId()));
+            }
+        }
+        extraIds.removeAll(matchedIds);
+
+        List<Tag> result = new ArrayList<>(matched);
+        if (!extraIds.isEmpty()) {
+            result.addAll(tagRepository.findAllById(extraIds));
+        }
+        resolveEffectiveColors(result);
+        return result;
+    }
+
     private void validateNotSelf(UUID sourceId, UUID targetId) {
         if (sourceId.equals(targetId)) {
             throw DomainException.badRequest(ErrorCode.TAG_MERGE_SELF,
diff --git a/backend/src/test/java/org/raddatz/familienarchiv/service/TagServiceTest.java b/backend/src/test/java/org/raddatz/familienarchiv/service/TagServiceTest.java
index f4c564c8..bc56d98d 100644
--- a/backend/src/test/java/org/raddatz/familienarchiv/service/TagServiceTest.java
+++ b/backend/src/test/java/org/raddatz/familienarchiv/service/TagServiceTest.java
@@ -496,4 +496,71 @@ class TagServiceTest {
                 .extracting(e -> ((DomainException) e).getCode())
                 .isEqualTo(ErrorCode.TAG_NOT_FOUND);
     }
+
+    // ─── search ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+    @Test
+    void search_includes_children_when_root_matches() {
+        UUID rootId = UUID.randomUUID();
+        UUID childId = UUID.randomUUID();
+        Tag root = Tag.builder().id(rootId).name("Briefe").build();
+        Tag child = Tag.builder().id(childId).name("Familienbriefe").parentId(rootId).build();
+        when(tagRepository.findByNameContainingIgnoreCase("Brief")).thenReturn(List.of(root));
+        when(tagRepository.findDescendantIds(rootId)).thenReturn(List.of(rootId, childId));
+        when(tagRepository.findAllById(Set.of(childId))).thenReturn(List.of(child));
+
+        List<Tag> result = tagService.search("Brief");
+
+        assertThat(result).extracting(Tag::getId).containsExactlyInAnyOrder(rootId, childId);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void search_includes_ancestors_when_child_matches() {
+        UUID rootId = UUID.randomUUID();
+        UUID childId = UUID.randomUUID();
+        Tag root = Tag.builder().id(rootId).name("Briefe").build();
+        Tag child = Tag.builder().id(childId).name("Hochzeit").parentId(rootId).build();
+        when(tagRepository.findByNameContainingIgnoreCase("Hochzeit")).thenReturn(List.of(child));
+        when(tagRepository.findAncestorIds(childId)).thenReturn(List.of(rootId));
+        when(tagRepository.findAllById(Set.of(rootId))).thenReturn(List.of(root));
+
+        List<Tag> result = tagService.search("Hochzeit");
+
+        assertThat(result).extracting(Tag::getId).containsExactlyInAnyOrder(rootId, childId);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void search_deduplicates_when_root_also_in_descendant_result() {
+        UUID rootId = UUID.randomUUID();
+        UUID childId = UUID.randomUUID();
+        Tag root = Tag.builder().id(rootId).name("Briefe").build();
+        Tag child = Tag.builder().id(childId).name("Familienbriefe").parentId(rootId).build();
+        when(tagRepository.findByNameContainingIgnoreCase("Brief")).thenReturn(List.of(root));
+        // findDescendantIds includes the seed (rootId) — dedup must remove it from extras
+        when(tagRepository.findDescendantIds(rootId)).thenReturn(List.of(rootId, childId));
+        when(tagRepository.findAllById(Set.of(childId))).thenReturn(List.of(child));
+
+        List<Tag> result = tagService.search("Brief");
+
+        assertThat(result).extracting(Tag::getId).containsExactlyInAnyOrder(rootId, childId);
+        assertThat(result).hasSize(2);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void search_callsResolveEffectiveColors_onAllResults() {
+        UUID rootId = UUID.randomUUID();
+        UUID childId = UUID.randomUUID();
+        Tag root = Tag.builder().id(rootId).name("Briefe").color("sage").build();
+        Tag child = Tag.builder().id(childId).name("Familienbriefe").parentId(rootId).build();
+        when(tagRepository.findByNameContainingIgnoreCase("Brief")).thenReturn(List.of(root));
+        when(tagRepository.findDescendantIds(rootId)).thenReturn(List.of(rootId, childId));
+        when(tagRepository.findAllById(Set.of(childId))).thenReturn(List.of(child));
+        // resolveEffectiveColors will call findAllById for the child's parent color
+        when(tagRepository.findAllById(Set.of(rootId))).thenReturn(List.of(root));
+
+        tagService.search("Brief");
+
+        // verify findAllById was called at least twice: once for extras, once inside resolveEffectiveColors
+        verify(tagRepository, atLeastOnce()).findAllById(any());
+    }
 }