diff --git a/src/app/api/referrals/route.test.ts b/src/app/api/referrals/route.test.ts
index 3af21063..d7a0411b 100644
--- a/src/app/api/referrals/route.test.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/referrals/route.test.ts
@@ -191,6 +191,65 @@ describe("POST /api/referrals", () => {
     });
   });
 
+  it("should dedupe repeated emails in the same invite batch", async () => {
+    mockGetAuthContext.mockResolvedValue({
+      user: { id: "user1" },
+      supabase: mockSupabase,
+    });
+
+    let insertedRows: Array<Record<string, unknown>> = [];
+    const mockSelectChain = {
+      eq: vi.fn().mockReturnValue({
+        single: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+          data: { referral_code: "testuser", username: "testuser", full_name: "Test User" },
+          error: null,
+        }),
+      }),
+    };
+    const mockInsertChain = {
+      select: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+        data: [{ id: "ref1", referred_email: "friend@test.com", status: "pending" }],
+        error: null,
+      }),
+    };
+
+    mockSupabase.from.mockImplementation((table: string) => {
+      if (table === "profiles") return { select: () => mockSelectChain };
+      if (table === "referrals") {
+        return {
+          insert: (rows: Array<Record<string, unknown>>) => {
+            insertedRows = rows;
+            return mockInsertChain;
+          },
+        };
+      }
+      return {};
+    });
+
+    const res = await POST(makePostRequest({
+      emails: ["Friend@Test.com", " friend@test.com "],
+    }));
+
+    expect(res.status).toBe(200);
+    const body = await res.json();
+    expect(body.message).toContain("1 invite(s) created and sent");
+    expect(insertedRows).toEqual([
+      {
+        referrer_id: "user1",
+        referred_email: "friend@test.com",
+        referral_code: "testuser",
+        status: "pending",
+      },
+    ]);
+    expect(mockSendEmail).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(mockSendEmail).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      to: "friend@test.com",
+      subject: "Join ugig.net",
+      html: "<p>Join</p>",
+      text: "Join",
+    });
+  });
+
   it("should keep created invites when email delivery fails", async () => {
     mockGetAuthContext.mockResolvedValue({
       user: { id: "user1" },
diff --git a/src/app/api/referrals/route.ts b/src/app/api/referrals/route.ts
index 50099975..37e56275 100644
--- a/src/app/api/referrals/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/referrals/route.ts
@@ -69,6 +69,10 @@ export async function POST(request: NextRequest) {
       );
     }
 
+    const normalizedEmails = Array.from(
+      new Set(emails.map((email: string) => email.trim().toLowerCase()))
+    );
+
     // Spam throttling: max 50 invites per day, max 10 per hour
     const svc = createServiceClient();
     const oneHourAgo = new Date(Date.now() - 60 * 60 * 1000).toISOString();
@@ -80,7 +84,7 @@ export async function POST(request: NextRequest) {
       .eq("referrer_id", user.id)
       .gte("created_at", oneHourAgo);
 
-    if ((hourlyCount ?? 0) + emails.length > 10) {
+    if ((hourlyCount ?? 0) + normalizedEmails.length > 10) {
       return NextResponse.json(
         { error: "Too many invites. Max 10 per hour." },
         { status: 429 }
@@ -93,7 +97,7 @@ export async function POST(request: NextRequest) {
       .eq("referrer_id", user.id)
       .gte("created_at", oneDayAgo);
 
-    if ((dailyCount ?? 0) + emails.length > 50) {
+    if ((dailyCount ?? 0) + normalizedEmails.length > 50) {
       return NextResponse.json(
         { error: "Daily invite limit reached. Max 50 per day." },
         { status: 429 }
@@ -101,7 +105,6 @@ export async function POST(request: NextRequest) {
     }
 
     // Prevent duplicate invites to same email
-    const normalizedEmails = emails.map((e: string) => e.trim().toLowerCase());
     const { data: existingInvites } = await (svc as AnySupabase)
       .from("referrals")
       .select("referred_email")