diff --git a/src/app/api/devops/tickets/[id]/type/route.ts b/src/app/api/devops/tickets/[id]/type/route.ts
index 7c7b4509..e2fa6304 100644
--- a/src/app/api/devops/tickets/[id]/type/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/devops/tickets/[id]/type/route.ts
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ export async function PATCH(request: NextRequest, { params }: { params: Promise<
     }
 
     const body = await request.json();
-    const { type, project, additionalFields } = body;
+    const { type, additionalFields } = body;
 
     if (!type) {
       return NextResponse.json({ error: 'Type is required' }, { status: 400 });
@@ -62,26 +62,43 @@ export async function PATCH(request: NextRequest, { params }: { params: Promise<
       }
     }
 
-    // If project is provided, use it directly
-    if (project) {
-      const updatedWorkItem = await devopsService.changeWorkItemType(
-        project,
-        ticketId,
-        type,
-        validatedAdditionalFields
+    // Resolve the owning project from the WIT API. This is the source of
+    // truth: clients may not know (or may have a stale guess of) which
+    // project owns the ticket, especially after a move. One org-level
+    // work-item fetch is cheaper and more reliable than the older
+    // findProjectForWorkItem iteration that silently swallowed per-project
+    // errors and surfaced bogus 404s.
+    let projectName: string | undefined;
+    try {
+      const orgWorkItem = await devopsService.getWorkItemByIdOrgLevel(ticketId, [
+        'System.TeamProject',
+      ]);
+      if (!orgWorkItem) {
+        return NextResponse.json(
+          { error: `Ticket ${ticketId} not found in this organization` },
+          { status: 404 }
+        );
+      }
+      projectName = orgWorkItem.fields['System.TeamProject'] as string;
+    } catch (err) {
+      console.error(`Org-level lookup failed for ticket ${ticketId}:`, err);
+      return NextResponse.json(
+        {
+          error: `Could not resolve the project for ticket ${ticketId}: ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : 'unknown error'}`,
+        },
+        { status: 500 }
       );
-      const ticket = workItemToTicket(updatedWorkItem);
-      return NextResponse.json({ ticket });
     }
 
-    // Fallback: find the project
-    const found = await devopsService.findProjectForWorkItem(ticketId);
-    if (!found) {
-      return NextResponse.json({ error: 'Ticket not found' }, { status: 404 });
+    if (!projectName) {
+      return NextResponse.json(
+        { error: `Ticket ${ticketId} has no project assigned` },
+        { status: 404 }
+      );
     }
 
     const updatedWorkItem = await devopsService.changeWorkItemType(
-      found.project.name,
+      projectName,
       ticketId,
       type,
       validatedAdditionalFields
diff --git a/src/lib/devops.ts b/src/lib/devops.ts
index 1074c895..c2da570d 100644
--- a/src/lib/devops.ts
+++ b/src/lib/devops.ts
@@ -492,6 +492,42 @@ export class AzureDevOpsService {
     return response.json();
   }
 
+  // Org-level work item fetch — works without knowing the project up front.
+  // Used by routes that mutate a single work item: cheaper and more reliable
+  // than iterating every accessible project to find which one owns it.
+  // Pass `fields` to request a minimal payload (e.g. ['System.TeamProject'])
+  // when the caller only needs a specific field; omit it for the full expansion.
+  async getWorkItemByIdOrgLevel(
+    workItemId: number,
+    fields?: string[]
+  ): Promise<DevOpsWorkItem | null> {
+    const selector =
+      fields && fields.length > 0
+        ? `fields=${fields.map(encodeURIComponent).join(',')}`
+        : `$expand=all`;
+    const response = await fetch(
+      `${this.baseUrl}/_apis/wit/workitems/${workItemId}?${selector}&api-version=7.1`,
+      { headers: this.headers }
+    );
+    if (response.status === 404) return null;
+    if (!response.ok) {
+      // Azure DevOps usually puts the actionable reason (permission scope,
+      // invalid request, etc.) in the response body — include it so the 500s
+      // surfaced by callers aren't just bare status codes.
+      let detail = '';
+      try {
+        const body = await response.text();
+        if (body) detail = `: ${body.slice(0, 500)}`;
+      } catch {
+        // ignore — body read shouldn't mask the underlying HTTP failure
+      }
+      throw new Error(
+        `Failed to fetch work item ${workItemId}: ${response.status} ${response.statusText}${detail}`
+      );
+    }
+    return response.json();
+  }
+
   // Lightweight check if a work item exists (org-level, no project needed, minimal fields)
   // Returns: 'exists' | 'not_found' | 'error'
   async workItemExists(workItemId: number): Promise<'exists' | 'not_found' | 'error'> {