diff --git a/docs/operations/inbound-api-key-reissue.md b/docs/operations/inbound-api-key-reissue.md
index 0a0b57c4..55cb93ae 100644
--- a/docs/operations/inbound-api-key-reissue.md
+++ b/docs/operations/inbound-api-key-reissue.md
@@ -71,6 +71,12 @@ about this at boot). To move an existing pair over:
 5. Check the import log line on each node (`grep -i "api-key store import\|zbauth"` in the
    node's log) — one node reports the keys it inserted, the other reports the ones it found
    already present (skipped); together they cover the union of both nodes' prior SQLite files.
+   On a **Windows** central running a build before 2026-10-22 the import succeeds but the
+   `*.imported` rename then fails with `IOException: … being used by another process` (the
+   importer's pooled SQLite handle; fixed by clearing the pools before the rename) — the import
+   re-runs harmlessly on every boot. Fix it by hand: stop that node's Central, wait for its
+   `ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Host` process to exit, rename `inbound-api-keys.sqlite` and its
+   `-wal`/`-shm` siblings to `*.imported`, start it again (QA, 2026-10-22).
 6. Run `security api-key list` against each node's management endpoint and confirm both show
    the same keys.
 7. After a quarantine period (once you're confident the import is correct and no rollback is
diff --git a/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Host/InboundApiKeyStoreImportService.cs b/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Host/InboundApiKeyStoreImportService.cs
index ffadb001..680f6570 100644
--- a/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Host/InboundApiKeyStoreImportService.cs
+++ b/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Host/InboundApiKeyStoreImportService.cs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 using Microsoft.Data.SqlClient;
+using Microsoft.Data.Sqlite;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.Options;
 using ZB.MOM.WW.Auth.Abstractions.ApiKeys;
 using ZB.MOM.WW.Auth.ApiKeys.SqlServer;
@@ -112,6 +113,12 @@ internal sealed class InboundApiKeyStoreImportService(
                 path, result.KeysInserted, result.KeysSkipped,
                 result.AuditInserted, result.AuditSkipped, result.SourceFound);
 
+            // The library importer reads the file through a POOLED SqliteConnection, and the pool
+            // keeps the OS handle open after the connection is disposed. Linux renames an open file
+            // happily, but Windows refuses ("being used by another process"), so on a Windows
+            // central the rename failed on every boot and the import re-ran each time (QA
+            // vq03/vq04, 2026-10-22). Drop the idle pooled handles first.
+            SqliteConnection.ClearAllPools();
             RenameImported(path);
         }
         catch (Exception ex)
diff --git a/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Host.Tests/InboundApiKeyStoreImportServiceTests.cs b/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Host.Tests/InboundApiKeyStoreImportServiceTests.cs
index eed838a2..d9591491 100644
--- a/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Host.Tests/InboundApiKeyStoreImportServiceTests.cs
+++ b/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Host.Tests/InboundApiKeyStoreImportServiceTests.cs
@@ -60,6 +60,35 @@ public sealed class InboundApiKeyStoreImportServiceTests : IDisposable
         Assert.True(File.Exists(path + "-shm.imported"));
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Verifies that the rename succeeds after the importer read the file through a pooled
+    /// SQLite connection — the library's real behaviour. The idle pooled handle stays open after
+    /// the connection is disposed, and Windows refuses to rename a file with an open handle (the
+    /// failure seen on the QA centrals 2026-10-22); the service must release pooled handles first.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <returns>A task that represents the asynchronous operation.</returns>
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task StartAsync_ImporterLeftPooledSqliteHandle_StillRenamesFile()
+    {
+        var path = Path.Combine(_dir, "inbound-api-keys.sqlite");
+        var importer = new PooledSqliteReadingImporter();
+        var service = CreateService(importer, sqlitePath: path);
+
+        await using (var create = new Microsoft.Data.Sqlite.SqliteConnection($"Data Source={path};Pooling=True"))
+        {
+            await create.OpenAsync();
+            await using var cmd = create.CreateCommand();
+            cmd.CommandText = "CREATE TABLE api_keys (key_id TEXT PRIMARY KEY)";
+            await cmd.ExecuteNonQueryAsync();
+        }
+
+        await service.StartAsync(CancellationToken.None);
+
+        Assert.True(importer.Read);
+        Assert.False(File.Exists(path));
+        Assert.True(File.Exists(path + ".imported"));
+    }
+
     /// <summary>Verifies that the importer is not called when the file is absent.</summary>
     /// <returns>A task that represents the asynchronous operation.</returns>
     [Fact]
@@ -229,6 +258,25 @@ public sealed class InboundApiKeyStoreImportServiceTests : IDisposable
             Options.Create(new ApiKeyOptions { SqlitePath = sqlitePath }),
             NullLogger<InboundApiKeyStoreImportService>.Instance);
 
+    /// <summary>Reads the file through a pooled connection and disposes it, as the library importer does.</summary>
+    private sealed class PooledSqliteReadingImporter : IInboundApiKeyStoreImporter
+    {
+        /// <summary>Gets a value indicating whether the file was read.</summary>
+        public bool Read { get; private set; }
+
+        /// <inheritdoc />
+        public async Task<ApiKeyImportResult> ImportAsync(string sqlitePath, CancellationToken ct)
+        {
+            await using var connection = new Microsoft.Data.Sqlite.SqliteConnection($"Data Source={sqlitePath};Pooling=True");
+            await connection.OpenAsync(ct);
+            await using var cmd = connection.CreateCommand();
+            cmd.CommandText = "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM api_keys";
+            await cmd.ExecuteScalarAsync(ct);
+            Read = true;
+            return new ApiKeyImportResult(0, 0, 0, 0, SourceFound: true);
+        }
+    }
+
     private sealed class FakeImporter : IInboundApiKeyStoreImporter
     {
         private int _calls;