diff --git a/hbrdd/dbf/indexer.go b/hbrdd/dbf/indexer.go
index d65428c..8050505 100644
--- a/hbrdd/dbf/indexer.go
+++ b/hbrdd/dbf/indexer.go
@@ -412,6 +412,38 @@ func (a *DBFArea) Seek(key hbrt.Value, softSeek bool, findLast bool) (bool, erro
 	if exactFound && recNo > 0 {
 		a.GoTo(recNo)
 		a.FEof = false
+		// SET DELETED ON: if found record is deleted, skip to next non-deleted with same key
+		if hbrdd.IsSetDeleted != nil && hbrdd.IsSetDeleted() && a.Deleted() {
+			// Skip forward through deleted records
+			for {
+				idx.SkipNext()
+				if idx.IsEOF() {
+					break
+				}
+				// Check if key still matches (partial or full)
+				curKey := idx.CurKey()
+				if actualLen < keyLen {
+					if !bytes.Equal(curKey[:actualLen], searchKey[:actualLen]) {
+						break
+					}
+				} else {
+					if !bytes.Equal(curKey, searchKey) {
+						break
+					}
+				}
+				a.GoTo(idx.CurRecNo())
+				if !a.Deleted() {
+					a.SetFound(true)
+					return true, nil
+				}
+			}
+			// All matching records are deleted
+			rc, _ := a.RecCount()
+			a.GoTo(rc + 1)
+			a.FEof = true
+			a.SetFound(false)
+			return false, nil
+		}
 		a.SetFound(true)
 		return true, nil
 	}
diff --git a/hbrdd/ntx/ntx.go b/hbrdd/ntx/ntx.go
index df74acc..b41bae5 100644
--- a/hbrdd/ntx/ntx.go
+++ b/hbrdd/ntx/ntx.go
@@ -244,6 +244,10 @@ func (idx *Index) Seek(searchKey []byte) (uint32, bool) {
 	pageOffset := int64(idx.header.Root)
 
 	// Phase 1: Traverse from root to leaf
+	// Harbour: always descend to leaf, even if match found in internal page.
+	// This ensures SEEK finds the FIRST (lowest RecNo) occurrence of duplicate keys.
+	// fStop tracks whether any page had an exact match along the path.
+	fStop := false
 	for {
 		page, err := LoadPage(idx.file, pageOffset)
 		if err != nil {
@@ -252,6 +256,9 @@ func (idx *Index) Seek(searchKey []byte) (uint32, bool) {
 		}
 
 		iKey, found := idx.pageKeyFind(page, searchKey, false, 0)
+		if found {
+			fStop = true
+		}
 
 		// Push onto stack
 		if idx.stackLevel < StackSize {
@@ -262,24 +269,33 @@ func (idx *Index) Seek(searchKey []byte) (uint32, bool) {
 			idx.stackLevel++
 		}
 
-		if found {
-			// Exact match found at this page
-			idx.curRecNo = page.KeyRecNo(iKey)
-			copy(idx.curKey, page.KeyValue(iKey, idx.keyLen))
-			return idx.curRecNo, true
-		}
-
-		// Follow child pointer
+		// Follow child pointer (always descend, even on match)
 		childOffset := page.KeyChild(iKey)
 		if childOffset == 0 {
-			// At leaf — no exact match
-			// Position at this key (next higher) for SOFTSEEK
+			// At leaf — check if the current position has a matching key
 			if iKey < int(page.keyCount) {
 				idx.curRecNo = page.KeyRecNo(iKey)
 				copy(idx.curKey, page.KeyValue(iKey, idx.keyLen))
+				// Check if this leaf key actually matches the search key
+				leafMatch := (bytes.Compare(searchKey, page.KeyValue(iKey, len(searchKey))) == 0)
+				if leafMatch || fStop {
+					// Verify it's a real match by comparing actual key content
+					if bytes.Compare(idx.curKey[:len(searchKey)], searchKey[:len(searchKey)]) == 0 {
+						return idx.curRecNo, true
+					}
+				}
 			} else {
 				// Past end of page — try next via stack
-				if idx.nextKey() {
+				if fStop {
+					// We matched on an internal page but descended to wrong child
+					// The match is the parent separator — go back via nextKey
+					if idx.nextKey() {
+						// Check if nextKey is actually a match
+						if bytes.Compare(idx.curKey[:len(searchKey)], searchKey[:len(searchKey)]) == 0 {
+							return idx.curRecNo, true
+						}
+					}
+				} else if idx.nextKey() {
 					return idx.curRecNo, false
 				}
 				idx.tagEOF = true