diff --git a/features/steps/tdd_registry_thread_safety_steps.py b/features/steps/tdd_registry_thread_safety_steps.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5e98d49c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/features/steps/tdd_registry_thread_safety_steps.py
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+"""Step definitions for TDD Issue #10409 — get_provider_registry() thread safety.
+
+Verifies that get_provider_registry() is safe for concurrent access from
+multiple threads, preventing the race condition where two threads can each
+observe _registry is None and independently construct a ProviderRegistry,
+violating the singleton contract.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import threading
+from typing import Any
+
+from behave import given, then, when
+
+from cleveragents.providers.registry import (
+    get_provider_registry,
+    reset_provider_registry,
+)
+
+__all__: list[str] = []
+
+
+@given("the global provider registry has been reset")
+def step_given_registry_reset(context: Any) -> None:
+    """Reset the global provider registry to None before the test."""
+    reset_provider_registry()
+    context.registry_instances: list[object] = []
+    context.construction_count = 0
+
+
+@when("two threads call get_provider_registry() simultaneously")
+def step_when_two_threads_call_simultaneously(context: Any) -> None:
+    """Spawn two threads that call get_provider_registry() at the same time."""
+    results: list[object] = []
+    results_lock = threading.Lock()
+    barrier = threading.Barrier(2)
+
+    def worker() -> None:
+        barrier.wait()  # Synchronise both threads to maximise race window
+        result = get_provider_registry()
+        with results_lock:
+            results.append(result)
+
+    threads = [threading.Thread(target=worker) for _ in range(2)]
+    for t in threads:
+        t.start()
+    for t in threads:
+        t.join()
+
+    context.registry_instances = results
+    # Count is always 1 with the lock fix; without the fix it could be 2
+    # We infer construction count from whether instances are identical
+    context.construction_count = (
+        1 if (len(results) == 2 and results[0] is results[1]) else 2
+    )
+
+
+@then("both threads should receive the identical registry instance")
+def step_then_same_instance(context: Any) -> None:
+    """Assert both threads received the exact same ProviderRegistry object."""
+    instances = context.registry_instances
+    assert len(instances) == 2, (
+        f"Expected 2 registry instances from threads, got {len(instances)}"
+    )
+    assert instances[0] is instances[1], (
+        f"Threads received different ProviderRegistry instances: "
+        f"id(instances[0])={id(instances[0])}, id(instances[1])={id(instances[1])}. "
+        f"This indicates a thread-safety race condition in get_provider_registry()."
+    )
+
+
+@then("only one ProviderRegistry should have been constructed")
+def step_then_one_construction(context: Any) -> None:
+    """Assert that only one ProviderRegistry was constructed."""
+    assert context.construction_count == 1, (
+        f"Expected exactly 1 ProviderRegistry construction, "
+        f"got {context.construction_count}. "
+        f"This indicates a thread-safety race condition in get_provider_registry()."
+    )
diff --git a/features/tdd_registry_thread_safety.feature b/features/tdd_registry_thread_safety.feature
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..164ac9fb1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/features/tdd_registry_thread_safety.feature
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+@tdd_issue @tdd_issue_10409 @mock_only
+Feature: TDD Issue #10409 — get_provider_registry() singleton is not thread-safe
+  As a developer running concurrent agent workers
+  I want get_provider_registry() to be thread-safe
+  So that only one ProviderRegistry instance is ever created under concurrent access
+
+  This test captures bug #10478. The get_provider_registry() function in
+  cleveragents.providers.registry implements a singleton pattern without
+  thread-safety guards. Under concurrent access, two threads can each observe
+  _registry is None before either has finished constructing the ProviderRegistry,
+  causing both to independently instantiate a new registry. This violates the
+  singleton contract and can lead to inconsistent provider state.
+
+  See CONTRIBUTING.md > Bug Fix Workflow > TDD Issue Test Tags.
+
+  Scenario: Concurrent calls to get_provider_registry return the same instance
+    Given the global provider registry has been reset
+    When two threads call get_provider_registry() simultaneously
+    Then both threads should receive the identical registry instance
+    And only one ProviderRegistry should have been constructed
diff --git a/src/cleveragents/providers/registry.py b/src/cleveragents/providers/registry.py
index 848ee7676..d41f2421b 100644
--- a/src/cleveragents/providers/registry.py
+++ b/src/cleveragents/providers/registry.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ Following ADR-008 (Provider Plugin Architecture), this registry provides:
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import os
+import threading
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 from enum import StrEnum
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, ClassVar
@@ -794,13 +795,18 @@ def resolve_provider_by_name(
     return registry.create_ai_provider(provider_type=provider_type)
 
 
-# Global registry instance
+# Global registry instance and its thread-safety lock
 _registry: ProviderRegistry | None = None
+_registry_lock: threading.Lock = threading.Lock()
 
 
 def get_provider_registry(settings: Settings | None = None) -> ProviderRegistry:
     """Get the global provider registry instance.
 
+    This function is thread-safe: all reads and writes to ``_registry`` are
+    protected by ``_registry_lock``, ensuring only one ``ProviderRegistry``
+    instance is ever created under concurrent access.
+
     Args:
         settings: Optional settings instance. Creates new registry if provided.
 
@@ -808,15 +814,20 @@ def get_provider_registry(settings: Settings | None = None) -> ProviderRegistry:
         The global ProviderRegistry instance.
     """
     global _registry
-    if _registry is None or settings is not None:
-        _registry = ProviderRegistry(settings)
-    return _registry
+    with _registry_lock:
+        if _registry is None or settings is not None:
+            _registry = ProviderRegistry(settings)
+        return _registry
 
 
 def reset_provider_registry() -> None:
     """Reset the global provider registry.
 
+    This function is thread-safe: the write to ``_registry`` is protected by
+    ``_registry_lock``.
+
     Useful for testing to ensure clean state between tests.
     """
     global _registry
-    _registry = None
+    with _registry_lock:
+        _registry = None