diff --git a/crates/buzz-db/src/event.rs b/crates/buzz-db/src/event.rs
index c0550e7e22..6c84950a2c 100644
--- a/crates/buzz-db/src/event.rs
+++ b/crates/buzz-db/src/event.rs
@@ -17,6 +17,13 @@ use buzz_core::{CommunityId, StoredEvent};
 
 use crate::error::{DbError, Result};
 
+/// Largest page [`query_events`] will return when [`EventQuery::max_limit`] is
+/// unset — the effective ceiling on any client-requested `limit`.
+///
+/// This is the value the relay advertises as NIP-11 `limitation.max_limit`, so
+/// the advertised ceiling and the enforced one cannot drift.
+pub const DEFAULT_MAX_PAGE_LIMIT: i64 = 1_000;
+
 /// Optional filters for [`query_events`].
 #[derive(Debug, Clone)]
 pub struct EventQuery {
@@ -67,9 +74,9 @@ pub struct EventQuery {
     /// channel-less global events. Applied before SQL `LIMIT` so access-filtered
     /// historical pages have exact exhaustion semantics.
     pub channel_ids: Option<Vec<uuid::Uuid>>,
-    /// Override the default limit clamp (1000). Used by COUNT fallback path
-    /// which needs to fetch all matching events for post-filter counting.
-    /// When None, the default clamp of 1000 applies.
+    /// Override the default page clamp ([`DEFAULT_MAX_PAGE_LIMIT`]). Used by
+    /// the COUNT fallback path, which needs to fetch all matching events for
+    /// post-filter counting. When None, the default clamp applies.
     pub max_limit: Option<i64>,
     /// Shared-gated visibility reader: when set, append an SQL visibility
     /// clause for every kind in [`SHARED_GATED_KINDS`] before ORDER/LIMIT so
@@ -357,7 +364,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn query_events_on(
         return Ok(vec![]);
     }
 
-    let clamp = q.max_limit.unwrap_or(1000);
+    let clamp = q.max_limit.unwrap_or(DEFAULT_MAX_PAGE_LIMIT);
     let limit_val = q.limit.unwrap_or(100).min(clamp);
     let offset_val = q.offset.unwrap_or(0);
 
diff --git a/crates/buzz-db/src/lib.rs b/crates/buzz-db/src/lib.rs
index 5c60d1a702..50aac1cbaf 100644
--- a/crates/buzz-db/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/buzz-db/src/lib.rs
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ pub mod user;
 pub mod workflow;
 
 pub use error::{DbError, Result};
-pub use event::{EventQuery, ReactionEventInsertOutcome};
+pub use event::{EventQuery, ReactionEventInsertOutcome, DEFAULT_MAX_PAGE_LIMIT};
 
 use chrono::{DateTime, Utc};
 use sqlx::postgres::{PgConnection, PgPoolOptions};
diff --git a/crates/buzz-relay/src/api/bridge.rs b/crates/buzz-relay/src/api/bridge.rs
index 678199e734..a118ff453f 100644
--- a/crates/buzz-relay/src/api/bridge.rs
+++ b/crates/buzz-relay/src/api/bridge.rs
@@ -3042,6 +3042,27 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(extract_page_offset(&raw, None), None);
     }
 
+    /// Offsets are sized from the *clamped* limit the DB will honor, not from
+    /// what the client asked for. `filter_to_query_params` clamps an absent or
+    /// over-ceiling `limit` to `DEFAULT_MAX_PAGE_LIMIT` (guarded in
+    /// `handlers::req::tests::req_filter_limit_clamps_to_advertised_nip11_max_limit`)
+    /// and that clamped value is what arrives here — so page N starts exactly
+    /// N-1 full pages in. Sizing from an unclamped limit would step past rows
+    /// the previous page never returned.
+    #[test]
+    fn extract_page_offset_sizes_pages_from_clamped_limit() {
+        let clamped = buzz_db::DEFAULT_MAX_PAGE_LIMIT;
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            extract_page_offset(&serde_json::json!({ "page": 2 }), Some(clamped)),
+            Some(clamped)
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            extract_page_offset(&serde_json::json!({ "page": 3 }), Some(clamped)),
+            Some(clamped * 2)
+        );
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn extract_depth_limit_valid() {
         let raw = serde_json::json!({ "depth_limit": 3 });
diff --git a/crates/buzz-relay/src/handlers/req.rs b/crates/buzz-relay/src/handlers/req.rs
index 35fbf0c892..2aed12cd7f 100644
--- a/crates/buzz-relay/src/handlers/req.rs
+++ b/crates/buzz-relay/src/handlers/req.rs
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ use crate::connection::{AuthState, ConnectionState};
 use crate::protocol::RelayMessage;
 use crate::state::AppState;
 
-const MAX_HISTORICAL_LIMIT: i64 = 2_000;
 const MAX_SUBSCRIPTIONS: usize = 1024;
 
 /// Maximum `query_events` calls in flight per multi-filter REQ / bridge query.
@@ -416,10 +415,24 @@ pub async fn handle_req(
     );
 }
 
-/// Handle a NIP-50 search REQ: query Postgres FTS, fetch full events, deliver results, EOSE.
-/// Search subscriptions are one-shot — no persistent subscription is registered.
+/// FTS candidate hits fetched per page. Pages are always full regardless of
+/// the requested limit — post-filtering discards an unpredictable share of
+/// hits, so the scan fetches candidates in full pages rather than sizing
+/// pages to the request.
+const SEARCH_PAGE_SIZE: u32 = 100;
+
 /// Maximum FTS pages to fetch per filter (prevents unbounded loops).
-const MAX_SEARCH_PAGES: u32 = 10;
+///
+/// Derived from the advertised page ceiling rather than fixed: the scan
+/// budget is a resource policy — at most one advertised page ceiling's worth
+/// of candidates per filter — and deriving it keeps the budget tracking the
+/// ceiling if the ceiling ever moves. This bounds candidates *scanned*, not
+/// events *emitted*: post-filtering (NIP-01 match, channel access, reader
+/// visibility, dedup) can discard any number of candidates, so a result
+/// smaller than the requested limit remains possible and is not a NIP-11
+/// violation — `max_limit` promises a clamp on the request, not a count in
+/// the response.
+const MAX_SEARCH_PAGES: u32 = (buzz_db::DEFAULT_MAX_PAGE_LIMIT as u32).div_ceil(SEARCH_PAGE_SIZE);
 
 /// Resolve request-local channel access, repairing a stale cache-negative.
 ///
@@ -501,6 +514,8 @@ pub(crate) fn build_search_channel_scope_filter(
     })
 }
 
+/// Handle a NIP-50 search REQ: query Postgres FTS, fetch full events, deliver results, EOSE.
+/// Search subscriptions are one-shot — no persistent subscription is registered.
 #[allow(clippy::too_many_arguments)]
 async fn handle_search_req(
     sub_id: &str,
@@ -535,8 +550,8 @@ async fn handle_search_req(
 
         let limit = filter
             .limit
-            .map(|l| (l as u32).min(MAX_HISTORICAL_LIMIT as u32))
-            .unwrap_or(MAX_HISTORICAL_LIMIT as u32);
+            .map(|l| (l as u32).min(buzz_db::DEFAULT_MAX_PAGE_LIMIT as u32))
+            .unwrap_or(buzz_db::DEFAULT_MAX_PAGE_LIMIT as u32);
 
         if limit == 0 {
             continue; // NIP-01: limit 0 means "no results from this filter"
@@ -583,13 +598,11 @@ async fn handle_search_req(
         let since = filter.since.map(|s| s.as_secs() as i64);
         let until = filter.until.map(|u| u.as_secs() as i64);
 
-        // Paginate: keep fetching pages until we've emitted `limit` results
-        // or exhausted the search result set. This ensures post-filtering
-        // doesn't silently reduce the result count below the requested limit.
+        // Paginate: keep fetching pages until we've emitted `limit` results or
+        // exhausted the search result set. Post-filtering discards an unpredictable
+        // share of each page, so continuing past short yields gives the scan a
+        // chance — not a guarantee — of filling the requested limit.
         let mut emitted: u32 = 0;
-        // Always fetch full pages (100) regardless of limit — post-filtering
-        // may discard many hits, so we need headroom to fill the requested limit.
-        let per_page: u32 = 100;
 
         for page in 1..=MAX_SEARCH_PAGES {
             if emitted >= limit {
@@ -605,7 +618,7 @@ async fn handle_search_req(
                 since,
                 until,
                 page,
-                per_page,
+                per_page: SEARCH_PAGE_SIZE,
                 mode: buzz_search::SearchMode::FullText,
             };
 
@@ -617,9 +630,9 @@ async fn handle_search_req(
                 }
             };
 
-            // A short page is the last page: FTS returns up to `per_page` hits,
-            // so fewer than that means the result set is exhausted.
-            let exhausted = search_result.hits.len() < per_page as usize;
+            // A short page is the last page: FTS returns up to a full page of
+            // hits, so fewer than that means the result set is exhausted.
+            let exhausted = search_result.hits.len() < SEARCH_PAGE_SIZE as usize;
             let page_empty = search_result.hits.is_empty();
 
             let hit_ids: Vec<[u8; 32]> =
@@ -878,8 +891,8 @@ fn filter_to_query_params(
         .and_then(|u| chrono::DateTime::from_timestamp(u.as_secs() as i64, 0));
     let limit = filter
         .limit
-        .map(|l| (l as i64).min(MAX_HISTORICAL_LIMIT))
-        .unwrap_or(MAX_HISTORICAL_LIMIT);
+        .map(|l| (l as i64).min(buzz_db::DEFAULT_MAX_PAGE_LIMIT))
+        .unwrap_or(buzz_db::DEFAULT_MAX_PAGE_LIMIT);
 
     // Push author filter into SQL. Single-author uses the indexed `pubkey` column;
     // multi-author uses the `authors` IN-list pushdown added in the pure-nostr PR.
@@ -1418,6 +1431,83 @@ mod tests {
         )
     }
 
+    /// NIP-11 `limitation.max_limit` as this relay actually advertises it.
+    fn advertised_max_limit() -> i64 {
+        crate::nip11::RelayInfo::build(
+            None,
+            None,
+            false,
+            crate::config::DEFAULT_MAX_FRAME_BYTES,
+            None,
+        )
+        .limitation
+        .expect("limitation")
+        .max_limit
+        .expect("max_limit") as i64
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn req_filter_limit_clamps_to_advertised_nip11_max_limit() {
+        let advertised = advertised_max_limit();
+
+        let community = buzz_core::tenant::CommunityId::from_uuid(uuid::Uuid::new_v4());
+
+        // A filter asking for more than the relay advertises is clamped down to
+        // exactly the advertised ceiling — the NIP-11 document is the promise,
+        // this is the enforcement.
+        let greedy = filter_to_query_params(
+            &Filter::new().limit(advertised as usize * 10),
+            None,
+            community,
+        );
+        assert_eq!(greedy.limit, Some(advertised));
+
+        // A filter with no `limit` gets the same ceiling, not something larger.
+        let unbounded = filter_to_query_params(&Filter::new(), None, community);
+        assert_eq!(unbounded.limit, Some(advertised));
+
+        // Neither sets `max_limit`, so `query_events` applies its own default
+        // clamp. That default must equal the advertised value too, or the
+        // clamp above would be undone one layer down.
+        assert_eq!(greedy.max_limit, None);
+        assert_eq!(unbounded.max_limit, None);
+        assert_eq!(buzz_db::DEFAULT_MAX_PAGE_LIMIT, advertised);
+
+        // Under-ceiling requests are honored verbatim.
+        let modest = filter_to_query_params(&Filter::new().limit(10), None, community);
+        assert_eq!(modest.limit, Some(10));
+    }
+
+    /// The NIP-50 search path clamps its emission target to the advertised
+    /// ceiling like every other REQ, but the number of candidates it will scan
+    /// is bounded a second time by the page budget. This pins the resource
+    /// policy: the budget covers exactly one advertised page ceiling's worth of
+    /// candidates — no less (a ceiling raise must not silently shrink the scan
+    /// relative to what clients may request) and no hand-tuned spare (the budget
+    /// must stay derived, not drift back into a magic number). It deliberately
+    /// does NOT claim search fills the emitted limit — post-filtering can
+    /// discard any number of candidates.
+    #[test]
+    fn search_scan_capacity_covers_advertised_nip11_max_limit() {
+        let advertised = advertised_max_limit();
+        let capacity = i64::from(MAX_SEARCH_PAGES) * i64::from(SEARCH_PAGE_SIZE);
+
+        assert!(
+            capacity >= advertised,
+            "NIP-50 scans at most {capacity} candidates ({MAX_SEARCH_PAGES} pages of \
+             {SEARCH_PAGE_SIZE}) but NIP-11 advertises {advertised} — the scan budget \
+             no longer covers the advertised ceiling"
+        );
+
+        // The budget is derived, not hand-tuned: one page under the derived
+        // count must be insufficient, or the ceiling could rise without the
+        // page count following it.
+        assert!(
+            capacity - i64::from(SEARCH_PAGE_SIZE) < advertised,
+            "scan budget has a spare page of slack — derive it from the ceiling"
+        );
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn count_fallback_fetches_one_extra_candidate() {
         let mut query =
diff --git a/crates/buzz-relay/src/nip11.rs b/crates/buzz-relay/src/nip11.rs
index a8e397dd21..2575ddd7ba 100644
--- a/crates/buzz-relay/src/nip11.rs
+++ b/crates/buzz-relay/src/nip11.rs
@@ -89,6 +89,11 @@ pub struct RelayLimitation {
 
 /// Canonical `RelayLimitation` advertised by this relay.
 ///
+/// `max_limit` is [`buzz_db::DEFAULT_MAX_PAGE_LIMIT`], the same constant the
+/// REQ path clamps filter limits to, so the advertised ceiling and the
+/// enforced one cannot drift (see
+/// `handlers::req::tests::req_filter_limit_clamps_to_advertised_nip11_max_limit`).
+///
 /// `auth_required` is always `true`: the REQ, EVENT, and COUNT handlers
 /// unconditionally reject connections that are not in
 /// `AuthState::Authenticated`. This is independent of the REST API token
@@ -103,7 +108,7 @@ fn relay_limitation(max_message_length: usize) -> RelayLimitation {
         max_message_length: Some(max_message_length as u64),
         max_subscriptions: Some(1024),
         max_filters: Some(10),
-        max_limit: Some(10_000),
+        max_limit: Some(buzz_db::DEFAULT_MAX_PAGE_LIMIT as u32),
         max_subid_length: Some(256),
         min_pow_difficulty: None,
         auth_required: true,