diff --git a/src/roam/commands/cmd_verify.py b/src/roam/commands/cmd_verify.py
index f8472fc81..ccd54b5d1 100644
--- a/src/roam/commands/cmd_verify.py
+++ b/src/roam/commands/cmd_verify.py
@@ -3716,14 +3716,44 @@ def _gather_and_rank_tests(conn, sym_ids, src_paths, changed_paths, root):
     return _existing_ranked_paths(ranked, root), None
 
 
+def _resolve_test_interpreter(root: Path, first_target: str) -> str:
+    """Find the interpreter that owns the target project's test dependencies.
+
+    roam is commonly installed isolated from any one project (``uv tool
+    install``, pipx), so ``sys.executable`` is roam's own interpreter, not
+    the project under test — it has neither pytest nor the project's
+    dependencies, so collection fails before any test runs. Walk up from the
+    first impacted test file (not just ``root``, so a venv nested under a
+    subdirectory of a monorepo is found before a repo-root one) looking for
+    a ``.venv``/``venv``. Falls back to ``sys.executable``, preserving
+    today's behaviour when no project venv is found (e.g. roam is already
+    running inside the project's own venv).
+    """
+    import sys
+
+    bin_dir = "Scripts" if os.name == "nt" else "bin"
+    exe_name = "python.exe" if os.name == "nt" else "python"
+
+    start = (root / first_target).parent
+    for directory in (start, *start.parents):
+        for venv_name in (".venv", "venv"):
+            candidate = directory / venv_name / bin_dir / exe_name
+            if candidate.exists():
+                return str(candidate)
+        if directory == root:
+            break
+
+    return sys.executable
+
+
 def _run_impacted_pytest(ordered: list[str], root: Path, timeout: int) -> dict:
     """Run pytest over the impacted (capped) test files and report failures."""
     import subprocess
-    import sys
 
     capped = len(ordered) > _MAX_TEST_FILES
     targets = ordered[:_MAX_TEST_FILES]
-    cmd = [sys.executable, "-B", "-m", "pytest", *targets, "--tb=line", "-q", "-p", "no:cacheprovider"]
+    interpreter = _resolve_test_interpreter(root, targets[0])
+    cmd = [interpreter, "-B", "-m", "pytest", *targets, "--tb=line", "-q", "-p", "no:cacheprovider"]
     try:
         proc = subprocess.run(cmd, cwd=str(root), capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=timeout)
     except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
diff --git a/tests/test_verify_autofire_hardening.py b/tests/test_verify_autofire_hardening.py
index 3a5dd9e3e..dbc8516a8 100644
--- a/tests/test_verify_autofire_hardening.py
+++ b/tests/test_verify_autofire_hardening.py
@@ -139,6 +139,85 @@ class Result:
     assert result["violations"][0]["hard_block"] is True
 
 
+def test_impacted_pytest_prefers_the_target_projects_own_venv(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
+    """roam commonly runs isolated from any one project (uv tool install,
+    pipx) — sys.executable is roam's own interpreter, which has neither
+    pytest nor the target project's dependencies. It must prefer a venv
+    that actually belongs to the project under test."""
+    from roam.commands import cmd_verify
+
+    bin_dir = "Scripts" if os.name == "nt" else "bin"
+    exe_name = "python.exe" if os.name == "nt" else "python"
+    venv_python = tmp_path / ".venv" / bin_dir / exe_name
+    venv_python.parent.mkdir(parents=True)
+    venv_python.touch()
+
+    class Result:
+        returncode = 0
+        stdout = "1 passed"
+        stderr = ""
+
+    captured = {}
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        cmd_verify.subprocess,
+        "run",
+        lambda cmd, **kwargs: captured.setdefault("cmd", cmd) and Result(),
+    )
+    cmd_verify._run_impacted_pytest(["tests/test_app.py"], tmp_path, timeout=1)
+
+    assert captured["cmd"][0] == str(venv_python)
+
+
+def test_impacted_pytest_prefers_a_venv_nested_under_the_target_file(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
+    """A monorepo subproject's own venv (e.g. a nested Python service in an
+    otherwise non-Python repo) must win over a repo-root venv, since that is
+    the interpreter that actually has the subproject's dependencies."""
+    from roam.commands import cmd_verify
+
+    bin_dir = "Scripts" if os.name == "nt" else "bin"
+    exe_name = "python.exe" if os.name == "nt" else "python"
+    root_venv = tmp_path / ".venv" / bin_dir / exe_name
+    root_venv.parent.mkdir(parents=True)
+    root_venv.touch()
+    nested_venv = tmp_path / "service" / ".venv" / bin_dir / exe_name
+    nested_venv.parent.mkdir(parents=True)
+    nested_venv.touch()
+
+    class Result:
+        returncode = 0
+        stdout = "1 passed"
+        stderr = ""
+
+    captured = {}
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        cmd_verify.subprocess,
+        "run",
+        lambda cmd, **kwargs: captured.setdefault("cmd", cmd) and Result(),
+    )
+    cmd_verify._run_impacted_pytest(["service/tests/test_app.py"], tmp_path, timeout=1)
+
+    assert captured["cmd"][0] == str(nested_venv)
+
+
+def test_impacted_pytest_falls_back_to_roams_own_interpreter_with_no_project_venv(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
+    from roam.commands import cmd_verify
+
+    class Result:
+        returncode = 0
+        stdout = "1 passed"
+        stderr = ""
+
+    captured = {}
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        cmd_verify.subprocess,
+        "run",
+        lambda cmd, **kwargs: captured.setdefault("cmd", cmd) and Result(),
+    )
+    cmd_verify._run_impacted_pytest(["tests/test_app.py"], tmp_path, timeout=1)
+
+    assert captured["cmd"][0] == sys.executable
+
+
 def test_capped_impacted_tests_are_disclosed_as_partial(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
     from roam.commands import cmd_verify