diff --git a/.last-branch b/.last-branch
index 58c7cf5..d9aeb76 100644
--- a/.last-branch
+++ b/.last-branch
@@ -1 +1 @@
-v20260115-19-autotask-ticket-create-debug-logging
+v20260116-01-autotask-ticket-id-normalization
diff --git a/containers/backupchecks/src/backend/app/integrations/autotask/client.py b/containers/backupchecks/src/backend/app/integrations/autotask/client.py
index 0034119..609dc74 100644
--- a/containers/backupchecks/src/backend/app/integrations/autotask/client.py
+++ b/containers/backupchecks/src/backend/app/integrations/autotask/client.py
@@ -451,7 +451,19 @@ class AutotaskClient:
         if not isinstance(ticket_id, int) or ticket_id <= 0:
             raise AutotaskError("Invalid Autotask ticket id.")
         data = self._request("GET", f"Tickets/{ticket_id}")
+        # Autotask commonly wraps single-entity GET results in an "item" object.
+        # Normalize to the entity dict so callers can access fields like "id" and
+        # "ticketNumber" without having to unwrap.
         if isinstance(data, dict) and data:
+            if isinstance(data.get("item"), dict) and data.get("item"):
+                return data["item"]
+
+            # Some endpoints/tenants may return a list even for a single ID.
+            if isinstance(data.get("items"), list) and data.get("items"):
+                first = data.get("items")[0]
+                if isinstance(first, dict) and first:
+                    return first
+
             return data
         raise AutotaskError("Autotask did not return a ticket object.")
 
diff --git a/docs/changelog.md b/docs/changelog.md
index e70b3f0..ae380bf 100644
--- a/docs/changelog.md
+++ b/docs/changelog.md
@@ -129,6 +129,15 @@ Changes:
 - Logged POST /Tickets response characteristics (status, headers, body preview) to diagnose tenants returning incomplete create responses.
 - Logged fallback Tickets/query lookup payload and result shape to pinpoint why deterministic lookup fails.
 
+## v20260116-01-autotask-ticket-id-normalization
+
+### Changes:
+- Normalized Autotask GET /Tickets/{id} API responses by unwrapping the returned "item" object.
+- Ensured the ticket data is returned as a flat object so existing logic can reliably read the ticket id.
+- Enabled correct retrieval of the Autotask ticketNumber via a follow-up GET after ticket creation.
+- Prevented false error messages where ticket creation succeeded but no ticket id was detected.
+
+
 ***
 
 ## v0.1.21