diff --git a/openfoia/cli.py b/openfoia/cli.py
index 49e79b9..84921e1 100644
--- a/openfoia/cli.py
+++ b/openfoia/cli.py
@@ -3916,24 +3916,29 @@ def records_search(
     if filing_type:
         kwargs["filing_type"] = filing_type
 
-    with Progress(
-        SpinnerColumn(),
-        TextColumn("[progress.description]{task.description}"),
-        console=console,
-    ) as progress:
-        progress.add_task(f"Searching {source} for '{query}'...", total=None)
-
-        try:
+    try:
+        if raw:
+            # Raw output is intended for pipes and scripts, so it must contain
+            # only JSON -- no spinner or Rich markup before the document.
             result = asyncio.run(adapter.search(query, **kwargs))
-        except Exception as e:
-            rprint(f"[red]Search failed: {e}[/red]")
-            raise typer.Exit(1) from None
+        else:
+            with Progress(
+                SpinnerColumn(),
+                TextColumn("[progress.description]{task.description}"),
+                console=console,
+            ) as progress:
+                progress.add_task(f"Searching {source} for '{query}'...", total=None)
+                result = asyncio.run(adapter.search(query, **kwargs))
+    except Exception as e:
+        rprint(f"[red]Search failed: {e}[/red]")
+        raise typer.Exit(1) from None
 
     if raw:
-        rprint(
+        typer.echo(
             json.dumps(
                 [e.to_dict() for e in result.entities[:limit]],
                 indent=2,
+                ensure_ascii=False,
                 default=str,
             )
         )
diff --git a/tests/test_records_cli.py b/tests/test_records_cli.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cd40563
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_records_cli.py
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+"""Regression tests for public-records CLI output."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import json
+
+from typer.testing import CliRunner
+
+from openfoia.cli import app
+from openfoia.records.base import RecordEntity, SearchResult
+
+
+def test_records_search_raw_is_parseable_json_without_terminal_output(monkeypatch):
+    """Raw mode must be pipe-safe even when upstream data has control characters."""
+
+    class Adapter:
+        async def search(self, query, **kwargs):
+            return SearchResult(
+                source="sec",
+                query=query,
+                total_results=1,
+                entities=[
+                    RecordEntity(
+                        entity_type="ORGANIZATION",
+                        name="Uranium\x1fEnergy",
+                        source="sec",
+                        extra_data={"snippet": "filing\x00text"},
+                    )
+                ],
+            )
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr("openfoia.records.get_adapter", lambda source: Adapter())
+
+    result = CliRunner().invoke(
+        app,
+        ["records", "search", "Uranium Energy", "--source", "sec", "--raw"],
+    )
+
+    assert result.exit_code == 0
+    assert "\x1f" not in result.stdout
+    assert "\x00" not in result.stdout
+    assert json.loads(result.stdout) == [
+        {
+            "entity_type": "ORGANIZATION",
+            "name": "Uranium\x1fEnergy",
+            "source": "sec",
+            "source_url": None,
+            "jurisdiction": None,
+            "status": None,
+            "identifiers": {},
+            "extra_data": {"snippet": "filing\x00text"},
+        }
+    ]