diff --git a/actions/persistent-stores/action.yml b/actions/persistent-stores/action.yml
index 8bb5ad3..1e022fd 100644
--- a/actions/persistent-stores/action.yml
+++ b/actions/persistent-stores/action.yml
@@ -81,9 +81,28 @@ runs:
       # https://github.com/hashicorp/consul/issues/22822 so we need to run
       # 1.20.1 until they fix the issue
       run: |
-        choco install consul --version=1.20.1
+        # The chocolatey package would otherwise register Consul as a Windows
+        # service which races with the dev agent for port binding. /noservice
+        # skips that registration so only the dev agent runs.
+        choco install consul --version=1.20.1 --params="'/noservice'"
+
         Start-Process consul -ArgumentList 'agent', '-dev', '-http-port=${{ inputs.consul_port }}'
 
+        # consul members exits non-zero until the agent's HTTP API responds.
+        # In dev mode the leader is self-elected immediately on startup, so
+        # this is purely a process-readiness check.
+        $deadline = (Get-Date).AddSeconds(30)
+        $ready = $false
+        while ((Get-Date) -lt $deadline) {
+          consul members -http-addr="http://127.0.0.1:${{ inputs.consul_port }}" 2>&1 | Out-Null
+          if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) { $ready = $true; break }
+          Start-Sleep -Seconds 1
+        }
+        if (-not $ready) {
+          Write-Error "Consul did not become ready within 30 seconds"
+          exit 1
+        }
+
     - name: "DynamoDB for Windows"
       shell: powershell
       if: ${{ inputs.dynamodb == 'true' && runner.os == 'Windows' }}