diff --git a/changedetectionio/static/js/search-modal.js b/changedetectionio/static/js/search-modal.js
index fe96186b5..ac4065332 100644
--- a/changedetectionio/static/js/search-modal.js
+++ b/changedetectionio/static/js/search-modal.js
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@
     // The Search button is rendered in the left rail and the mobile drawer.
     const openSearchButtons = document.querySelectorAll('.js-open-search-modal');
     const closeSearchButton = document.getElementById('close-search-modal');
-    const searchForm = document.getElementById('search-form');
     const searchInput = document.getElementById('search-modal-input');
 
     if (!searchModal || openSearchButtons.length === 0) {
@@ -93,43 +92,8 @@
       }
     });
 
-    // Handle Enter key in search input
-    if (searchInput) {
-      searchInput.addEventListener('keydown', function(e) {
-        if (e.key === 'Enter') {
-          e.preventDefault();
-          if (searchForm) {
-            // Trigger form submission programmatically
-            searchForm.dispatchEvent(new Event('submit'));
-          }
-        }
-      });
-    }
-
-    // Handle form submission
-    if (searchForm) {
-      searchForm.addEventListener('submit', function(e) {
-        e.preventDefault();
-
-        // Get form data
-        const formData = new FormData(searchForm);
-        const searchQuery = formData.get('q');
-        const tags = formData.get('tags');
-
-        // Build URL
-        const params = new URLSearchParams();
-        if (searchQuery) {
-          params.append('q', searchQuery);
-        }
-        if (tags) {
-          params.append('tags', tags);
-        }
-
-        // Navigate to search results (always redirect to watchlist home)
-        // Use base_path if available (for sub-path deployments like /enlighten-richerx)
-        const basePath = typeof base_path !== 'undefined' ? base_path : '';
-        window.location.href = basePath + '/?' + params.toString();
-      });
-    }
+    // Submission is left to the browser: the form carries a server-rendered action
+    // (correct under a reverse-proxy sub-path) and Enter in the input triggers implicit
+    // submission via the footer's submit button, which also runs `required` validation.
   });
 })();
diff --git a/changedetectionio/templates/base.html b/changedetectionio/templates/base.html
index 9c075bcca..93ae11d14 100644
--- a/changedetectionio/templates/base.html
+++ b/changedetectionio/templates/base.html
@@ -317,11 +317,13 @@
         <h2 class="modal-title" id="search-modal-title">{{ _('Search') }}</h2>
       </div>
       <div class="modal-body">
-        <form id="search-form" method="GET">
+        {# Plain GET submit to the watchlist - url_for() carries the reverse-proxy sub-path
+           (SCRIPT_NAME), so no client-side URL building is needed. #}
+        <form id="search-form" method="GET" action="{{ url_for('watchlist.index') }}">
           <div class="pure-control-group">
             <label for="search-modal-input">{% if active_tag_uuid %}{{ _("URL or Title in '%(title)s'", title=active_tag.title) }}{% else %}{{ _('URL or Title') }}{% endif %}</label>
             <input id="search-modal-input" class="m-d" name="q" placeholder="{{ _('Enter search term...') }}" required type="text" value="" autofocus>
-            <input name="tags" type="hidden" value="{% if active_tag_uuid %}{{active_tag_uuid}}{% endif %}">
+            {% if active_tag_uuid %}<input name="tags" type="hidden" value="{{ active_tag_uuid }}">{% endif %}
           </div>
         </form>
       </div>
diff --git a/changedetectionio/tests/test_search.py b/changedetectionio/tests/test_search.py
index e89b7a14a..df4560699 100644
--- a/changedetectionio/tests/test_search.py
+++ b/changedetectionio/tests/test_search.py
@@ -71,3 +71,12 @@ def test_search_in_tag_limit(client, live_server, measure_memory_usage, datastor
     assert urls[0].split(' ')[0].encode('utf-8') in res.data, urls[0].encode('utf-8')
     assert urls[1].split(' ')[0].encode('utf-8') not in res.data, urls[0].encode('utf-8')
 
+
+def test_search_modal_form_action(client, live_server, measure_memory_usage, datastore_path):
+    # The search modal submits as a plain GET form, so its action has to carry the
+    # reverse-proxy sub-path (SCRIPT_NAME), otherwise search jumps to the host root.
+    res = client.get(url_for("watchlist.index"))
+    assert b'<form id="search-form" method="GET" action="/">' in res.data
+
+    res = client.get("/", base_url="http://localhost/sub-path")
+    assert b'<form id="search-form" method="GET" action="/sub-path/">' in res.data