diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index e292ee5..7738b34 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -69,6 +69,9 @@ env:
   # is the reusable workflow ParakhAI-frontend's CD pipeline calls, not worth
   # touching for a cosmetic fix scoped to this file's own job summary).
   SANDBOX_ORG_SLUG: ${{ vars.SANDBOX_ORG_SLUG }}
+  # pending_pr marker (conftest.py): ParakhAI-Backend is private, so its PR state
+  # needs a GH_PR_TOKEN secret (fine-grained PAT, Pull requests: read on that repo)
+  GH_PR_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GH_PR_TOKEN || github.token }}
 
 jobs:
   # ────────────────────────────────────────────── Change detection
diff --git a/.github/workflows/run-smoke.yml b/.github/workflows/run-smoke.yml
index 44cf7fa..7c92aa1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/run-smoke.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/run-smoke.yml
@@ -65,6 +65,10 @@ concurrency:
   group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
   cancel-in-progress: true
 
+env:
+  # pending_pr marker (conftest.py) reads PR merge state from the GitHub API
+  GH_PR_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GH_PR_TOKEN || github.token }}
+
 jobs:
   smoke:
     name: Smoke Tests
diff --git a/.github/workflows/scheduled.yml b/.github/workflows/scheduled.yml
index 578d319..0dc498d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/scheduled.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/scheduled.yml
@@ -58,6 +58,9 @@ env:
   # Slug of the dedicated sandbox org. When set, write-marked regression tests
   # are allowed to mutate this org. When unset, those tests skip.
   SANDBOX_ORG_SLUG: ${{ secrets.SANDBOX_ORG_SLUG }}
+  # pending_pr marker (conftest.py): ParakhAI-Backend is private, so its PR state
+  # needs a GH_PR_TOKEN secret (fine-grained PAT, Pull requests: read on that repo)
+  GH_PR_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GH_PR_TOKEN || github.token }}
 
 jobs:
   nightly-full-suite:
diff --git a/conftest.py b/conftest.py
index c7351b8..e47b679 100644
--- a/conftest.py
+++ b/conftest.py
@@ -47,3 +47,38 @@ def pytest_sessionfinish(session: pytest.Session, exitstatus: int) -> None:
             logger.warning("Could not generate Markdown report: %s", exc)
     else:
         logger.debug("JSON report not found at %s — skipping Markdown generation", json_path)
+
+
+# --- pending_pr: tests written for an open product PR run only once it merges ---
+import functools as _functools
+import os
+import json as _json
+import urllib.request as _urlreq
+
+
+@_functools.lru_cache(maxsize=None)
+def _pending_pr_state(ref):
+    """Return None if `ref` ("Repo#N" or "owner/Repo#N") is merged, else a skip reason."""
+    repo, num = ref.split("#")
+    if "/" not in repo:
+        repo = f"CivicDataLab/{repo}"
+    req = _urlreq.Request(f"https://api.github.com/repos/{repo}/pulls/{num}",
+                          headers={"Accept": "application/vnd.github+json"})
+    token = os.getenv("GH_PR_TOKEN") or os.getenv("GITHUB_TOKEN")
+    if token:
+        req.add_header("Authorization", f"Bearer {token}")
+    try:
+        with _urlreq.urlopen(req, timeout=10) as resp:
+            merged = _json.load(resp).get("merged_at")
+    except Exception as e:  # 404 on a private repo without GH_PR_TOKEN lands here too
+        return f"pending_pr {ref}: could not read PR state ({e})"
+    return None if merged else f"pending_pr {ref}: not merged yet"
+
+
+def pytest_collection_modifyitems(config, items):
+    for item in items:
+        marker = item.get_closest_marker("pending_pr")
+        if marker:
+            reason = _pending_pr_state(marker.args[0])
+            if reason:
+                item.add_marker(pytest.mark.skip(reason=reason))
diff --git a/pytest.ini b/pytest.ini
index 2447dda..469cabe 100644
--- a/pytest.ini
+++ b/pytest.ini
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ timeout_method = thread
 
 # ── Markers ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 markers =
+    pending_pr: pending_pr("Repo#N") — covers an unmerged product PR; skipped until GitHub reports it merged (see conftest.py)
     e2e: End-to-end browser UI tests
     accessibility: WCAG accessibility tests using axe-core
     visual: Visual regression screenshot comparison tests