diff --git a/src/rag/embedder.py b/src/rag/embedder.py
index 4ddf7d4..471a744 100644
--- a/src/rag/embedder.py
+++ b/src/rag/embedder.py
@@ -84,5 +84,8 @@ def get_embedder() -> Embedder:
     """Singleton embedder."""
     global _embedder
     if _embedder is None:
+        from .env import ensure_rag_env
+
+        ensure_rag_env()
         _embedder = Embedder()
     return _embedder
diff --git a/src/rag/env.py b/src/rag/env.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0208a21
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/rag/env.py
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+"""Load Meridian .env for RAG indexing and retrieval."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
+
+REPO_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2]
+_env_loaded = False
+
+
+def ensure_rag_env() -> Path:
+    """Load repo-root ``.env`` once without overriding existing env vars."""
+    global _env_loaded
+    if not _env_loaded:
+        load_dotenv(REPO_ROOT / ".env")
+        _env_loaded = True
+    return REPO_ROOT
+
+
+def reset_rag_env_state() -> None:
+    """Reset env-load flag and RAG singletons (tests only)."""
+    global _env_loaded
+    _env_loaded = False
+    from . import embedder, qdrant_client
+
+    embedder._embedder = None  # type: ignore[attr-defined]
+    qdrant_client._store = None  # type: ignore[attr-defined]
diff --git a/src/rag/indexing.py b/src/rag/indexing.py
index dca7970..4707dcc 100644
--- a/src/rag/indexing.py
+++ b/src/rag/indexing.py
@@ -8,10 +8,12 @@
 import structlog
 
 from .collections import RagCollection, upsert_documents
+from .env import REPO_ROOT, ensure_rag_env
 
 logger = structlog.get_logger(__name__)
 
-ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2]
+ensure_rag_env()
+ROOT = REPO_ROOT
 METRICS_PATH = ROOT / "docs" / "METRICS.md"
 LIMITATIONS_PATH = ROOT / "docs" / "LIMITATIONS.md"
 CAUSAL_SCOPE_PATH = ROOT / "docs" / "CAUSAL_SCOPE.md"
diff --git a/src/rag/qdrant_client.py b/src/rag/qdrant_client.py
index d75629c..0c54a60 100644
--- a/src/rag/qdrant_client.py
+++ b/src/rag/qdrant_client.py
@@ -137,5 +137,8 @@ def get_qdrant_store() -> QdrantStore:
     """Singleton Qdrant store."""
     global _store
     if _store is None:
+        from .env import ensure_rag_env
+
+        ensure_rag_env()
         _store = QdrantStore()
     return _store
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_rag_indexing_env.py b/tests/unit/test_rag_indexing_env.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fa36e19
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/test_rag_indexing_env.py
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+"""Tests for RAG indexing env loading."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import os
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+from src.rag.env import REPO_ROOT, ensure_rag_env, reset_rag_env_state
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
+def _clean_rag_env(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
+    """Isolate env loading and singleton state between tests."""
+    reset_rag_env_state()
+    monkeypatch.delenv("QDRANT_URL", raising=False)
+    monkeypatch.delenv("RAG_EMBED_MODE", raising=False)
+    yield
+    reset_rag_env_state()
+
+
+def test_ensure_rag_env_loads_dotenv(tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
+    env_file = tmp_path / ".env"
+    env_file.write_text(
+        "QDRANT_URL=http://qdrant-from-dotenv:6333\nRAG_EMBED_MODE=hash\n",
+        encoding="utf-8",
+    )
+    monkeypatch.setattr("src.rag.env.REPO_ROOT", tmp_path)
+    reset_rag_env_state()
+
+    ensure_rag_env()
+
+    assert os.getenv("QDRANT_URL") == "http://qdrant-from-dotenv:6333"
+    assert os.getenv("RAG_EMBED_MODE") == "hash"
+
+
+def test_ensure_rag_env_does_not_override_existing(
+    tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch
+) -> None:
+    env_file = tmp_path / ".env"
+    env_file.write_text("QDRANT_URL=http://from-file:6333\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    monkeypatch.setenv("QDRANT_URL", "http://from-shell:6333")
+    monkeypatch.setattr("src.rag.env.REPO_ROOT", tmp_path)
+    reset_rag_env_state()
+
+    ensure_rag_env()
+
+    assert os.getenv("QDRANT_URL") == "http://from-shell:6333"
+
+
+def test_get_qdrant_store_reads_dotenv_before_singleton(
+    tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch
+) -> None:
+    env_file = tmp_path / ".env"
+    env_file.write_text("QDRANT_URL=http://qdrant-singleton:6333\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    monkeypatch.setattr("src.rag.env.REPO_ROOT", tmp_path)
+    reset_rag_env_state()
+
+    from src.rag.qdrant_client import get_qdrant_store
+
+    store = get_qdrant_store()
+
+    assert store.url == "http://qdrant-singleton:6333"
+
+
+def test_get_embedder_reads_dotenv_before_singleton(
+    tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch
+) -> None:
+    env_file = tmp_path / ".env"
+    env_file.write_text("RAG_EMBED_MODE=hash\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    monkeypatch.setattr("src.rag.env.REPO_ROOT", tmp_path)
+    reset_rag_env_state()
+
+    from src.rag.embedder import get_embedder
+
+    embedder = get_embedder()
+
+    assert embedder.force_hash is True
+    assert embedder.mode == "hash"
+
+
+def test_indexing_module_resolves_repo_root_docs() -> None:
+    from src.rag import indexing
+
+    assert indexing.ROOT == REPO_ROOT
+    assert indexing.METRICS_PATH == REPO_ROOT / "docs" / "METRICS.md"
+    assert indexing.METRICS_PATH.exists()