diff --git a/api/src/routes/checkout.ts b/api/src/routes/checkout.ts
index 5d8f4fe..8793623 100644
--- a/api/src/routes/checkout.ts
+++ b/api/src/routes/checkout.ts
@@ -300,7 +300,11 @@ export async function ensureComplianceSalesOrder(
   const first = rows[0];
   const email = ((first.customer_email as string) || "").toLowerCase().trim();
   const name = (first.customer_name as string) || email.split("@")[0] || "Customer";
-  if (!email || email === "synthetic@pipeline.com") return;
+  // NOTE: unlike portal provisioning, we do NOT skip the FMCSA-census placeholder
+  // email here -- a Sales Order is internal bookkeeping (not an outbound email),
+  // and some real customers genuinely use that address. We only need a non-empty
+  // email to attach an ERPNext Customer.
+  if (!email) return;
 
   const { customerName: erpnextCustomer } = await findOrCreateCustomer(email, name);
   if (!erpnextCustomer) return;