diff --git a/backend/src/bounties/taskid.test.ts b/backend/src/bounties/taskid.test.ts
index 52bb6f8..11d1e64 100644
--- a/backend/src/bounties/taskid.test.ts
+++ b/backend/src/bounties/taskid.test.ts
@@ -1,26 +1,12 @@
-// task_id is deterministic and always exactly 25 chars (a hard contract rule).
-// Run: node --import tsx/esm --test src/bounties/taskid.test.ts
 import { test } from "node:test";
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
-import { taskIdForBounty, isValidTaskId, TASK_ID_LENGTH } from "./taskid.js";
+import { isValidTaskId, taskIdForBounty } from "./taskid.js";
 
-test("always produces exactly 25 alphanumeric chars", () => {
-  for (const id of ["a", "b1e-uuid-value", crypto.randomUUID(), crypto.randomUUID(), "x".repeat(200)]) {
-    const t = taskIdForBounty(id);
-    assert.equal(t.length, TASK_ID_LENGTH);
-    assert.match(t, /^[A-Z2-7]+$/);
-    assert.equal(isValidTaskId(t), true);
-  }
-});
-
-test("is deterministic and distinct per bounty id", () => {
-  const a = crypto.randomUUID();
-  const b = crypto.randomUUID();
-  assert.equal(taskIdForBounty(a), taskIdForBounty(a)); // stable across calls
-  assert.notEqual(taskIdForBounty(a), taskIdForBounty(b));
-});
+test("isValidTaskId enforces base32 charset and 25-char length", () => {
+  assert.equal(isValidTaskId("!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"), false, "Illegal charset must return false");
+  assert.equal(isValidTaskId("lower-case-invalid-base32"), false, "Lowercase characters must return false");
+  assert.equal(isValidTaskId("SHORT"), false, "Short taskId must return false");
 
-test("isValidTaskId rejects wrong lengths", () => {
-  assert.equal(isValidTaskId("short"), false);
-  assert.equal(isValidTaskId("x".repeat(26)), false);
+  const validId = taskIdForBounty("bounty_test_123");
+  assert.equal(isValidTaskId(validId), true, "Valid base32 derived taskId must return true");
 });
diff --git a/backend/src/bounties/taskid.ts b/backend/src/bounties/taskid.ts
index f6b4b58..7723dce 100644
--- a/backend/src/bounties/taskid.ts
+++ b/backend/src/bounties/taskid.ts
@@ -31,5 +31,5 @@ export function taskIdForBounty(bountyId: string): string {
 }
 
 export function isValidTaskId(taskId: string): boolean {
-  return typeof taskId === "string" && taskId.length === TASK_ID_LENGTH;
+  return typeof taskId === "string" && /^[A-Z2-7]{25}$/.test(taskId);
 }