diff --git a/src/modules/creators/creators.limit.utils.ts b/src/modules/creators/creators.limit.utils.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2f0861f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/modules/creators/creators.limit.utils.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+import { DEFAULT_PAGE_SIZE } from '../../constants/pagination.constants';
+
+/**
+ * Resolve list limit for public creator list endpoints.
+ *
+ * Returns the shared default page size when the incoming page size is omitted.
+ */
+export function resolveCreatorListLimit(pageSize?: number): number {
+   return pageSize ?? DEFAULT_PAGE_SIZE;
+}
diff --git a/src/modules/creators/creators.schemas.ts b/src/modules/creators/creators.schemas.ts
index 1ef9286..e14e4f0 100644
--- a/src/modules/creators/creators.schemas.ts
+++ b/src/modules/creators/creators.schemas.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+// src/modules/creators/creators.schemas.ts
 import { z } from 'zod';
 import { creatorListSortDirectionQueryParam } from './creators.sort-direction.parse';
 import { creatorListIncludeQueryParam } from './creators.include.parse';
@@ -12,6 +13,7 @@ import {
    CREATOR_LIST_SORT_FIELDS,
    DEFAULT_CREATOR_LIST_SORT,
 } from '../../constants/creator-list-sort.constants';
+import { normalizeCreatorListSearchTerm } from './creators.search-term.utils';
 
 /**
  * Validation schema for creator list query parameters.
@@ -39,7 +41,9 @@ export const CreatorListQuerySchema = z.object({
 
    // Sorting
    sort: withCreatorListQueryStringNormalization(
-      z.enum(CREATOR_LIST_SORT_FIELDS).optional().default(DEFAULT_CREATOR_LIST_SORT)
+      z.enum(CREATOR_LIST_SORT_FIELDS)
+         .optional()
+         .default(DEFAULT_CREATOR_LIST_SORT)
    ),
    order: creatorListSortDirectionQueryParam(),
    include: creatorListIncludeQueryParam(),
@@ -54,7 +58,12 @@ export const CreatorListQuerySchema = z.object({
             return val === 'true';
          })
    ),
-   search: withCreatorListQueryStringNormalization(z.string().optional()),
+   search: withCreatorListQueryStringNormalization(
+      z
+         .string()
+         .optional()
+         .transform(val => normalizeCreatorListSearchTerm(val))
+   ),
 });
 
 export type CreatorListQueryType = z.infer<typeof CreatorListQuerySchema>;
diff --git a/src/modules/creators/creators.search-term.utils.ts b/src/modules/creators/creators.search-term.utils.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0c0f34f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/modules/creators/creators.search-term.utils.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+/**
+ * Normalize free-text creator list search terms before filtering.
+ *
+ * Scope is intentionally narrow and reusable:
+ * - Accepts `string | null | undefined`
+ * - Trims leading/trailing whitespace
+ * - Collapses internal whitespace to single spaces
+ * - Returns `undefined` for empty/whitespace-only values
+ */
+export function normalizeCreatorListSearchTerm(
+   term: string | null | undefined
+): string | undefined {
+   if (typeof term !== 'string') {
+      return undefined;
+   }
+
+   const normalized = term.trim().replace(/\s+/g, ' ');
+   return normalized === '' ? undefined : normalized;
+}
+
diff --git a/src/modules/creators/creators.utils.ts b/src/modules/creators/creators.utils.ts
index 9434588..9dca020 100644
--- a/src/modules/creators/creators.utils.ts
+++ b/src/modules/creators/creators.utils.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import { CreatorListQueryType } from './creators.schemas';
 import { mapCreatorListSort } from './creators.sort';
 import { serializeCreatorListResponse, CreatorListResponse } from './creators.serializers';
 import { buildOffsetPaginationMeta } from '../../utils/pagination.utils';
+import { normalizeCreatorListSearchTerm } from './creators.search-term.utils';
 
 type CreatorListWhere = {
    isVerified?: boolean;
@@ -31,10 +32,12 @@ export async function fetchCreatorList(
       where.isVerified = verified;
    }
 
-   if (search) {
+   const normalizedSearch = normalizeCreatorListSearchTerm(search);
+
+   if (normalizedSearch) {
       where.OR = [
-         { handle: { contains: search, mode: 'insensitive' } },
-         { displayName: { contains: search, mode: 'insensitive' } },
+         { handle: { contains: normalizedSearch, mode: 'insensitive' } },
+         { displayName: { contains: normalizedSearch, mode: 'insensitive' } },
       ];
    }