diff --git a/.last-branch b/.last-branch
index a340f78..800bf22 100644
--- a/.last-branch
+++ b/.last-branch
@@ -1 +1 @@
-v20260115-16-autotask-ticket-create-response-fix
+v20260115-17-autotask-ticket-create-trackingid-lookup
diff --git a/containers/backupchecks/src/backend/app/integrations/autotask/client.py b/containers/backupchecks/src/backend/app/integrations/autotask/client.py
index a9dab64..847867a 100644
--- a/containers/backupchecks/src/backend/app/integrations/autotask/client.py
+++ b/containers/backupchecks/src/backend/app/integrations/autotask/client.py
@@ -426,6 +426,51 @@ class AutotaskClient:
             return data
         raise AutotaskError("Autotask did not return a ticket object.")
 
+    def _lookup_created_ticket_id(
+        self,
+        tracking_identifier: str,
+        company_id: Optional[int] = None,
+    ) -> Optional[int]:
+        """Lookup the most recently created ticket by tracking identifier.
+
+        Some Autotask tenants return an empty body and omit Location headers on
+        successful POST /Tickets calls. In that case, we must lookup the created
+        ticket deterministically via query.
+
+        We prefer filtering by CompanyID when available to reduce ambiguity.
+        """
+
+        tid = (tracking_identifier or "").strip()
+        if not tid:
+            return None
+
+        filters: List[Dict[str, Any]] = [
+            {"op": "eq", "field": "TrackingIdentifier", "value": tid},
+        ]
+        if isinstance(company_id, int) and company_id > 0:
+            filters.append({"op": "eq", "field": "CompanyID", "value": int(company_id)})
+
+        # Order by createDate desc when supported; fall back to id desc.
+        search_payload: Dict[str, Any] = {
+            "filter": filters,
+            "maxRecords": 1,
+            "orderby": [
+                {"field": "createDate", "direction": "desc"},
+                {"field": "id", "direction": "desc"},
+            ],
+        }
+
+        params = {"search": json.dumps(search_payload)}
+        data = self._request("GET", "Tickets/query", params=params)
+        items = self._as_items_list(data)
+        if not items:
+            return None
+
+        first = items[0]
+        if isinstance(first, dict) and str(first.get("id") or "").isdigit():
+            return int(first["id"])
+        return None
+
     def create_ticket(self, payload: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
         """Create a Ticket in Autotask.
 
@@ -485,11 +530,30 @@ class AutotaskClient:
         if ticket_id is not None:
             return self.get_ticket(ticket_id)
 
+        # Deterministic fallback: query by tracking identifier (+ company) if present.
+        tracking_identifier = (
+            payload.get("trackingIdentifier")
+            or payload.get("TrackingIdentifier")
+            or ""
+        )
+        company_id: Optional[int] = None
+        for ck in ("companyID", "companyId", "CompanyID"):
+            if str(payload.get(ck) or "").isdigit():
+                company_id = int(payload[ck])
+                break
+
+        looked_up_id = self._lookup_created_ticket_id(str(tracking_identifier), company_id=company_id)
+        if looked_up_id is not None:
+            return self.get_ticket(looked_up_id)
+
         # Last-resort fallback: normalize first item if possible.
         items = self._as_items_list(data)
         if items:
             return items[0]
 
         raise AutotaskError(
-            f"Autotask did not return a created ticket object (HTTP {resp.status_code})."
+            "Autotask did not return a ticket id. "
+            "Ticket creation may still have succeeded; configure ticket TrackingIdentifier to be unique per run "
+            "to allow deterministic lookup. "
+            f"(HTTP {resp.status_code})."
         )
diff --git a/docs/changelog.md b/docs/changelog.md
index 6715874..c68b209 100644
--- a/docs/changelog.md
+++ b/docs/changelog.md
@@ -117,6 +117,12 @@ Changes:
 - Added support for extracting the created ticket ID from itemId/id fields and from the Location header.
 - Added a follow-up GET /Tickets/{id} to always retrieve the full created ticket object (ensuring ticketNumber/id are available).
 
+## v20260115-17-autotask-ticket-create-trackingid-lookup
+- Reworked Autotask ticket creation flow to no longer rely on POST /Tickets response data for returning an ID.
+- Added deterministic fallback lookup using Tickets/query filtered by TrackingIdentifier (and CompanyID when available).
+- Ensured the created ticket is reliably retrieved via follow-up GET /Tickets/{id} so ticketNumber/id can always be stored.
+- Eliminated false-negative ticket creation errors when Autotask returns an empty body and no Location header.
+
 ***
 
 ## v0.1.21