diff --git a/simple_repository_browser/fetch_projects.py b/simple_repository_browser/fetch_projects.py
index 8e2ebb8..cfbde7b 100644
--- a/simple_repository_browser/fetch_projects.py
+++ b/simple_repository_browser/fetch_projects.py
@@ -32,6 +32,11 @@ def remove_if_found(connection, canonical_name):
 def update_summary(
     conn, name: str, summary: str, release_date: datetime.datetime, release_version: str
 ):
+    # Strip timezone info before storing in SQLite to avoid converter issues.
+    # We always store naive datetimes which represent UTC.
+    if release_date.tzinfo is not None:
+        release_date = release_date.replace(tzinfo=None)
+
     with conn as cursor:
         cursor.execute(
             """
diff --git a/simple_repository_browser/model.py b/simple_repository_browser/model.py
index 9c56deb..1192707 100644
--- a/simple_repository_browser/model.py
+++ b/simple_repository_browser/model.py
@@ -24,6 +24,25 @@ class SearchResultItem:
     release_version: str | None = None
     release_date: datetime.datetime | None = None
 
+    @classmethod
+    def from_db_row(cls, row: sqlite3.Row) -> "SearchResultItem":
+        """
+        Convert a database row to SearchResultItem with timezone handling.
+
+        Naive datetimes from SQLite are interpreted as UTC. We store naive datetimes
+        to avoid SQLite converter issues (issue #27), but always work with UTC-aware
+        datetimes in the application.
+        """
+        row_dict = dict(row)
+        if (
+            row_dict["release_date"] is not None
+            and row_dict["release_date"].tzinfo is None
+        ):
+            row_dict["release_date"] = row_dict["release_date"].replace(
+                tzinfo=datetime.timezone.utc
+            )
+        return cls(**row_dict)
+
 
 class RepositoryStatsModel(typing.TypedDict):
     n_packages: int
@@ -154,7 +173,7 @@ async def project_query(
             results = cursor.execute(sql_query, params).fetchall()
 
         # Convert results to SearchResultItem objects
-        results = [SearchResultItem(*result) for result in results]
+        results = [SearchResultItem.from_db_row(row) for row in results]
 
         # If the search was for a specific name, then make sure we return it if
         # it is in the package repository.
diff --git a/simple_repository_browser/tests/test_model.py b/simple_repository_browser/tests/test_model.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..27d2301
--- /dev/null
+++ b/simple_repository_browser/tests/test_model.py
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+"""Tests for model timezone handling."""
+
+from datetime import datetime, timezone
+from pathlib import Path
+import sqlite3
+import tempfile
+
+from simple_repository_browser import fetch_projects, model
+
+
+def test_SearchResultItem__from_db_row__converts_naive_to_utc():
+    """Verify SearchResultItem.from_db_row() converts naive datetimes to UTC."""
+    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmpdir:
+        db_path = Path(tmpdir) / "test.db"
+        con = sqlite3.connect(db_path, detect_types=sqlite3.PARSE_DECLTYPES)
+        con.row_factory = sqlite3.Row
+        fetch_projects.create_table(con)
+
+        # Insert with naive datetime (simulating what update_summary stores)
+        naive_dt = datetime(2023, 1, 15, 12, 30, 0)
+        con.execute(
+            "INSERT INTO projects(canonical_name, preferred_name, summary, release_version, release_date) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?)",
+            ("test-pkg", "Test-Pkg", "A test package", "1.0.0", naive_dt),
+        )
+
+        # Read back using from_db_row
+        cursor = con.execute(
+            "SELECT canonical_name, summary, release_version, release_date FROM projects WHERE canonical_name = ?",
+            ("test-pkg",),
+        )
+        row = cursor.fetchone()
+        result = model.SearchResultItem.from_db_row(row)
+
+        # Should have UTC timezone
+        assert result.canonical_name == "test-pkg"
+        assert result.summary == "A test package"
+        assert result.release_version == "1.0.0"
+        assert result.release_date == datetime(
+            2023, 1, 15, 12, 30, 0, tzinfo=timezone.utc
+        )
+        assert result.release_date.tzinfo is not None
+
+        con.close()
diff --git a/simple_repository_browser/tests/test_search.py b/simple_repository_browser/tests/test_search.py
index 81954ac..b74b4fa 100644
--- a/simple_repository_browser/tests/test_search.py
+++ b/simple_repository_browser/tests/test_search.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+from datetime import datetime
 from pathlib import Path
 import sqlite3
 import tempfile
@@ -198,7 +199,7 @@ async def get_project_page(self, name: str):
 def test_database(tmp_path: Path):
     """Create a temporary SQLite database with test data for search ordering."""
     db_path = tmp_path / "test.db"
-    con = sqlite3.connect(db_path)
+    con = sqlite3.connect(db_path, detect_types=sqlite3.PARSE_DECLTYPES)
     con.row_factory = sqlite3.Row
 
     # Create projects table matching the real schema
@@ -207,7 +208,7 @@ def test_database(tmp_path: Path):
             canonical_name TEXT PRIMARY KEY,
             summary TEXT,
             release_version TEXT,
-            release_date TEXT
+            release_date timestamp
         )
     """)
 
@@ -236,10 +237,12 @@ def test_database(tmp_path: Path):
         ("requests", "HTTP library", "2.28.0", "2022-12-01"),
     ]
 
-    for name, summary, version, date in test_projects:
+    for name, summary, version, date_str in test_projects:
+        # Convert date strings to naive datetime objects (representing UTC)
+        release_date = datetime.strptime(date_str, "%Y-%m-%d")
         con.execute(
             "INSERT INTO projects (canonical_name, summary, release_version, release_date) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?)",
-            (name, summary, version, date),
+            (name, summary, version, release_date),
         )
 
     con.commit()