diff --git a/src/cli/commands/start.ts b/src/cli/commands/start.ts
index b27d162..3e547b7 100644
--- a/src/cli/commands/start.ts
+++ b/src/cli/commands/start.ts
@@ -104,11 +104,23 @@ export async function claimAndPrintTask(ctx: AgentContext, task: Listed, handoff
     /* body is optional */
   }
 
-  const hof = handoffs.find((h) => h.taskId === task.id);
+  // Pick the LATEST handoff for this task, not the first one created. When a
+  // task is reopened with a corrective handoff, the newer handoff supersedes
+  // the older; showing the stale first-created one made agents rebuild against
+  // an outdated spec — the architect's correction never actually reached them.
+  // Handoff ids are zero-padded (HOF-0061 > HOF-0056), so a descending string
+  // sort yields the newest.
+  const taskHofs = handoffs
+    .filter((h) => h.taskId === task.id)
+    .sort((a, b) => String(b.id).localeCompare(String(a.id)));
+  const hof = taskHofs[0];
   if (hof) {
     try {
       const hd = ctx.serverUrl ? await remoteClient.getHandoff(ctx.serverUrl, hof.id) : svcGetHandoff(ctx.projectCwd, hof.id);
       console.log(`\n─ Handoff ${hof.id} ──────────────`);
+      if (taskHofs.length > 1) {
+        console.log(`(latest of ${taskHofs.length} handoffs — supersedes ${taskHofs.slice(1).map((h) => h.id).join(', ')})`);
+      }
       console.log(hd.handoff.summary);
       if (hd.body && hd.body.trim()) console.log(hd.body.trim());
     } catch {