diff --git a/create_ticket_api.php b/create_ticket_api.php
index 3178ddf..f6e3c48 100644
--- a/create_ticket_api.php
+++ b/create_ticket_api.php
@@ -333,7 +333,12 @@ if ($existing) {
 }
 
 // No existing ticket — create a new one
-$ticket_id = sprintf('%09d', mt_rand(1, 999999999));
+// Use random_int range 100000000-999999999 to avoid leading-zero IDs
+try {
+    $ticket_id = (string)random_int(100000000, 999999999);
+} catch (Exception $e) {
+    $ticket_id = (string)mt_rand(100000000, 999999999);
+}
 $insertStmt = $conn->prepare(
     "INSERT INTO tickets (ticket_id, title, description, status, priority, category, type, hash, created_by)
      VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)"