diff --git a/lib/gc_index_relay/nostr/event.ex b/lib/gc_index_relay/nostr/event.ex
index 7a590fa..a4cc053 100644
--- a/lib/gc_index_relay/nostr/event.ex
+++ b/lib/gc_index_relay/nostr/event.ex
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ defmodule GcIndexRelay.Nostr.Event do
     field :kind, :integer
     field :content, :string
     field :sig, :binary
-    has_many :tags, GcIndexRelay.Nostr.Tag
+    has_many :tags, GcIndexRelay.Nostr.Tag, preload_order: [asc: :id]
   end
 
   @doc false
diff --git a/lib/gc_index_relay/nostr/pub_event.ex b/lib/gc_index_relay/nostr/pub_event.ex
index 4b12a9a..d5d271c 100644
--- a/lib/gc_index_relay/nostr/pub_event.ex
+++ b/lib/gc_index_relay/nostr/pub_event.ex
@@ -103,11 +103,21 @@ defmodule GcIndexRelay.Nostr.PubEvent do
   end
 
   defp from_tags(tags) when is_list(tags) do
-    for t <- tags do
+    tags
+    |> sort_tags_for_read()
+    |> Enum.map(fn t ->
       case t.value do
         nil -> [t.name]
         value -> [t.name, value | t.additional_values]
       end
-    end
+    end)
+  end
+
+  # Tag rows have no explicit position column; insertion id matches Nostr signing order.
+  defp sort_tags_for_read(tags) do
+    Enum.sort_by(tags, fn
+      %Tag{id: id} when is_integer(id) -> {0, id}
+      %Tag{} -> {1, 0}
+    end)
   end
 end
diff --git a/test/gc_index_relay/nostr/pub_event_test.exs b/test/gc_index_relay/nostr/pub_event_test.exs
index 893b894..1421184 100644
--- a/test/gc_index_relay/nostr/pub_event_test.exs
+++ b/test/gc_index_relay/nostr/pub_event_test.exs
@@ -59,6 +59,25 @@ defmodule GcIndexRelay.Nostr.PubEventTest do
       assert {:error, :not_found} = PubEvent.from_db(nil)
     end
 
+    test "restores Nostr tag order from shuffled tag rows by database id" do
+      event = %Event{
+        id: Base.decode16!(String.duplicate("ab", 32), case: :lower),
+        pubkey: Base.decode16!(String.duplicate("cd", 32), case: :lower),
+        created_at: ~U[2021-12-20 17:46:40Z],
+        kind: 30_040,
+        content: "",
+        sig: Base.decode16!(String.duplicate("ef", 64), case: :lower),
+        tags: [
+          %Tag{id: 300, name: "a", value: "chapter-2", additional_values: []},
+          %Tag{id: 100, name: "d", value: "book", additional_values: []},
+          %Tag{id: 200, name: "title", value: "Title", additional_values: []}
+        ]
+      }
+
+      assert {:ok, pub_event} = PubEvent.from_db(event)
+      assert pub_event.tags == [["d", "book"], ["title", "Title"], ["a", "chapter-2"]]
+    end
+
     test "converts Tag structs back to nested lists" do
       event = %Event{
         id: Base.decode16!(String.duplicate("ab", 32), case: :lower),
diff --git a/test/gc_index_relay/nostr/publication_search_test.exs b/test/gc_index_relay/nostr/publication_search_test.exs
index 26cf17e..28763ca 100644
--- a/test/gc_index_relay/nostr/publication_search_test.exs
+++ b/test/gc_index_relay/nostr/publication_search_test.exs
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ defmodule GcIndexRelay.Nostr.PublicationSearchTest do
 
   alias GcIndexRelay.Nostr
   alias GcIndexRelay.Nostr.PublicationSearch
+  alias GcIndexRelay.Nostr.Validator
 
   @moduletag :integration
 
@@ -62,6 +63,19 @@ defmodule GcIndexRelay.Nostr.PublicationSearchTest do
     assert length(results) == 1
   end
 
+  test "search returns signature-valid events" do
+    insert_publication!(
+      "pg1342-pride-and-prejudice",
+      "Pride and Prejudice",
+      "Jane Austen",
+      "https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1342"
+    )
+
+    assert {:ok, [result | _]} = PublicationSearch.search("pride and prejudice", limit: 10)
+    assert {:ok, ^result} = Validator.validate_signature(result)
+    assert {:ok, ^result} = Validator.validate_id(result)
+  end
+
   test "search rejects partial substring matches" do
     insert_publication!(
       "pg1342-pride-and-prejudice",