diff --git a/packages/cli/src/__tests__/active-executions.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/active-executions.test.ts
index e3599c047de..1dfac7f286f 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/__tests__/active-executions.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/active-executions.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { Logger } from '@n8n/backend-common';
-import { mockInstance } from '@n8n/backend-test-utils';
+import { mockInstance, mockLogger } from '@n8n/backend-test-utils';
 import { ExecutionsConfig } from '@n8n/config';
+import type { GlobalConfig } from '@n8n/config';
 import type { ExecutionRepository } from '@n8n/db';
 import type { Response } from 'express';
 import { captor, mock } from 'jest-mock-extended';
@@ -22,7 +23,10 @@ import { v4 as uuid } from 'uuid';
 
 import { ActiveExecutions } from '@/active-executions';
 import { ConcurrencyControlService } from '@/concurrency/concurrency-control.service';
+import type { EventService } from '@/events/event.service';
 import type { ExecutionPersistence } from '@/executions/execution-persistence';
+import type { License } from '@/license';
+import type { Telemetry } from '@/telemetry';
 
 jest.mock('n8n-workflow', () => ({
 	...jest.requireActual('n8n-workflow'),
@@ -183,6 +187,91 @@ describe('ActiveExecutions', () => {
 		});
 	});
 
+	// TRUST-144: evaluation executions stayed in status 'new' (startedAt
+	// null) and never got picked up. The test-runner fan-out already throttles
+	// the shared evaluation concurrency queue before launching each case, so a
+	// second reservation here consumed a second slot from the same queue for
+	// the same case. Once the fan-out filled the queue up to its cap, this
+	// nested reservation blocked forever — before `setRunning` ran — leaving
+	// the execution stuck at status 'new'.
+	describe('evaluation executions do not double-reserve concurrency (TRUST-144)', () => {
+		// A real service whose evaluation queue has a single slot, already
+		// taken by the test-runner fan-out for this case.
+		const buildFullEvalConcurrencyControl = () => {
+			const service = new ConcurrencyControlService(
+				mockLogger(),
+				executionRepository,
+				mock<Telemetry>(),
+				mock<EventService>(),
+				mock<GlobalConfig>({
+					executions: {
+						mode: 'regular',
+						concurrency: { productionLimit: -1, evaluationLimit: 1 },
+					},
+					deployment: { type: 'default' },
+				}),
+				mock<License>(),
+			);
+			return service;
+		};
+
+		const evalExecutionData: IWorkflowExecutionDataProcess = {
+			...executionData,
+			executionMode: 'evaluation',
+		};
+
+		test('reaches setRunning even when the evaluation queue is full', async () => {
+			const realConcurrencyControl = buildFullEvalConcurrencyControl();
+
+			// The fan-out has taken the only evaluation slot for this case.
+			await realConcurrencyControl.throttle({
+				mode: 'evaluation',
+				executionId: 'run-1-case-0',
+			});
+
+			const evalActiveExecutions = new ActiveExecutions(
+				mock(),
+				executionRepository,
+				executionPersistence,
+				realConcurrencyControl,
+				mock(),
+				executionsConfig,
+			);
+
+			let resolvedId: string | undefined;
+			const addPromise = evalActiveExecutions.add(evalExecutionData).then((id) => {
+				resolvedId = id;
+				return id;
+			});
+
+			// If `add` re-reserved a slot it would block here (queue is full).
+			await new Promise((resolve) => setImmediate(resolve));
+
+			expect(resolvedId).toBe(FAKE_EXECUTION_ID);
+			expect(executionRepository.setRunning).toHaveBeenCalledWith(FAKE_EXECUTION_ID);
+
+			await addPromise;
+		});
+
+		test('does not throttle the evaluation queue', async () => {
+			const realConcurrencyControl = buildFullEvalConcurrencyControl();
+			const throttleSpy = jest.spyOn(realConcurrencyControl, 'throttle');
+
+			const evalActiveExecutions = new ActiveExecutions(
+				mock(),
+				executionRepository,
+				executionPersistence,
+				realConcurrencyControl,
+				mock(),
+				executionsConfig,
+			);
+
+			await evalActiveExecutions.add(evalExecutionData);
+
+			expect(throttleSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+		});
+	});
+
 	describe('attachWorkflowExecution', () => {
 		test('Should fail attaching execution to invalid executionId', async () => {
 			expect(() => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/active-executions.ts b/packages/cli/src/active-executions.ts
index a12ba702313..b014a836e9e 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/active-executions.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/active-executions.ts
@@ -67,6 +67,18 @@ export class ActiveExecutions {
 		const mode = executionData.executionMode;
 		const capacityReservation = new ConcurrencyCapacityReservation(this.concurrencyControl);
 
+		// Evaluation executions are already gated instance-wide by the
+		// test-runner fan-out, which throttles the shared evaluation
+		// concurrency queue before launching each case (see
+		// `test-runner.service.ee.ts`). Reserving capacity again here would
+		// consume a second slot from the same queue for the same case; once
+		// the fan-out fills the queue up to its cap, this nested reservation
+		// blocks forever — before `setRunning` runs — leaving the execution
+		// stuck at status 'new' with `startedAt` null (TRUST-144). Skip the
+		// reservation for evaluation mode; `release()` below is a no-op when
+		// nothing was reserved.
+		const shouldReserveCapacity = mode !== 'evaluation';
+
 		try {
 			if (maybeExecutionId === undefined) {
 				const fullExecutionData: CreateExecutionPayload = {
@@ -89,7 +101,9 @@ export class ActiveExecutions {
 				maybeExecutionId = await this.executionPersistence.create(fullExecutionData);
 				assert(maybeExecutionId);
 
-				await capacityReservation.reserve({ mode, executionId: maybeExecutionId });
+				if (shouldReserveCapacity) {
+					await capacityReservation.reserve({ mode, executionId: maybeExecutionId });
+				}
 
 				if (this.executionsConfig.mode === 'regular') {
 					await this.executionRepository.setRunning(maybeExecutionId);
@@ -98,7 +112,9 @@ export class ActiveExecutions {
 			} else {
 				// Is an existing execution we want to finish so update in DB
 
-				await capacityReservation.reserve({ mode, executionId: maybeExecutionId });
+				if (shouldReserveCapacity) {
+					await capacityReservation.reserve({ mode, executionId: maybeExecutionId });
+				}
 
 				const execution: Pick<IExecutionDb, 'id' | 'data' | 'waitTill' | 'status'> = {
 					id: maybeExecutionId,