diff --git a/apps/backend/internal/github/client_helpers.go b/apps/backend/internal/github/client_helpers.go
index 7df629414a..2ac9b07938 100644
--- a/apps/backend/internal/github/client_helpers.go
+++ b/apps/backend/internal/github/client_helpers.go
@@ -399,11 +399,17 @@ func isNewerCheck(a, b CheckRun) bool {
 }
 
 // convertSearchItemToPR converts common search result fields into a PR struct.
+// GitHub's /search/issues API returns merged PRs with state "closed" and a
+// non-empty pull_request.merged_at; promote those to the "merged" state so the
+// UI renders the purple merged icon instead of the red closed one.
 func convertSearchItemToPR(
-	number int, title, htmlURL, state, authorLogin, repositoryURL string,
+	number int, title, htmlURL, state, authorLogin, repositoryURL, mergedAt string,
 	draft bool, createdAt, updatedAt time.Time,
 ) *PR {
 	owner, repo := parseRepoURL(repositoryURL)
+	if mergedAt != "" {
+		state = prStateMerged
+	}
 	return &PR{
 		Number:      number,
 		Title:       title,
@@ -415,6 +421,7 @@ func convertSearchItemToPR(
 		RepoName:    repo,
 		CreatedAt:   createdAt,
 		UpdatedAt:   updatedAt,
+		MergedAt:    parseTimePtr(mergedAt),
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/apps/backend/internal/github/client_helpers_test.go b/apps/backend/internal/github/client_helpers_test.go
index 5a869c4d92..f95da72c2c 100644
--- a/apps/backend/internal/github/client_helpers_test.go
+++ b/apps/backend/internal/github/client_helpers_test.go
@@ -322,7 +322,7 @@ func TestConvertSearchItemToPR(t *testing.T) {
 	now := time.Now()
 	pr := convertSearchItemToPR(
 		42, "Fix bug", "https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/42", "open",
-		"alice", "https://api.github.com/repos/myorg/myrepo", false,
+		"alice", "https://api.github.com/repos/myorg/myrepo", "", false,
 		now, now,
 	)
 
@@ -338,6 +338,29 @@ func TestConvertSearchItemToPR(t *testing.T) {
 	if pr.RepoName != "myrepo" {
 		t.Errorf("expected repo myrepo, got %s", pr.RepoName)
 	}
+	if pr.State != "open" {
+		t.Errorf("expected state open, got %s", pr.State)
+	}
+}
+
+// GitHub's search API returns merged PRs with state "closed" plus a non-empty
+// pull_request.merged_at. The converter must promote those to "merged" so the
+// UI shows the purple merged icon instead of the red closed one.
+func TestConvertSearchItemToPRMerged(t *testing.T) {
+	now := time.Now()
+	mergedAt := "2025-01-02T03:04:05Z"
+	pr := convertSearchItemToPR(
+		7, "Land feature", "https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/7", "closed",
+		"bob", "https://api.github.com/repos/myorg/myrepo", mergedAt, false,
+		now, now,
+	)
+
+	if pr.State != prStateMerged {
+		t.Errorf("expected state %q, got %q", prStateMerged, pr.State)
+	}
+	if pr.MergedAt == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected MergedAt to be set, got nil")
+	}
 }
 
 func TestLatestReviewByAuthor(t *testing.T) {
diff --git a/apps/backend/internal/github/gh_client.go b/apps/backend/internal/github/gh_client.go
index 14b9a52503..07983d35d6 100644
--- a/apps/backend/internal/github/gh_client.go
+++ b/apps/backend/internal/github/gh_client.go
@@ -1049,7 +1049,8 @@ type ghSearchItem struct {
 		Login string `json:"login"`
 	} `json:"user"`
 	PullRequest struct {
-		URL string `json:"url"`
+		URL      string `json:"url"`
+		MergedAt string `json:"merged_at"`
 	} `json:"pull_request"`
 	RepositoryURL string `json:"repository_url"`
 }
@@ -1063,8 +1064,8 @@ func (c *GHClient) parseSearchResults(data string) ([]*PR, error) {
 	for i, item := range items {
 		prs[i] = convertSearchItemToPR(
 			item.Number, item.Title, item.HTMLURL, item.State,
-			item.User.Login, item.RepositoryURL, item.Draft,
-			item.CreatedAt, item.UpdatedAt,
+			item.User.Login, item.RepositoryURL, item.PullRequest.MergedAt,
+			item.Draft, item.CreatedAt, item.UpdatedAt,
 		)
 	}
 	return prs, nil
diff --git a/apps/backend/internal/github/pat_client.go b/apps/backend/internal/github/pat_client.go
index a260dce0aa..5e370801e9 100644
--- a/apps/backend/internal/github/pat_client.go
+++ b/apps/backend/internal/github/pat_client.go
@@ -222,8 +222,8 @@ func (c *PATClient) ListReviewRequestedPRs(ctx context.Context, scope, filter, c
 	for i, item := range result.Items {
 		prs[i] = convertSearchItemToPR(
 			item.Number, item.Title, item.HTMLURL, item.State,
-			item.User.Login, item.RepositoryURL, item.Draft,
-			item.CreatedAt, item.UpdatedAt,
+			item.User.Login, item.RepositoryURL, item.PullRequest.MergedAt,
+			item.Draft, item.CreatedAt, item.UpdatedAt,
 		)
 	}
 	return prs, nil
@@ -253,8 +253,8 @@ func (c *PATClient) SearchPRsPaged(ctx context.Context, filter, customQuery stri
 	for i, item := range result.Items {
 		prs[i] = convertSearchItemToPR(
 			item.Number, item.Title, item.HTMLURL, item.State,
-			item.User.Login, item.RepositoryURL, item.Draft,
-			item.CreatedAt, item.UpdatedAt,
+			item.User.Login, item.RepositoryURL, item.PullRequest.MergedAt,
+			item.Draft, item.CreatedAt, item.UpdatedAt,
 		)
 	}
 	return &PRSearchPage{PRs: prs, TotalCount: result.TotalCount, Page: page, PerPage: perPage}, nil
@@ -946,6 +946,9 @@ type patSearchItem struct {
 	User          struct {
 		Login string `json:"login"`
 	} `json:"user"`
+	PullRequest struct {
+		MergedAt string `json:"merged_at"`
+	} `json:"pull_request"`
 }
 
 func convertPatPR(raw *patPR, owner, repo string) *PR {