diff --git a/changelog.d/head-to-head-scorer-requires-us.fixed.md b/changelog.d/head-to-head-scorer-requires-us.fixed.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f5cd267c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/head-to-head-scorer-requires-us.fixed.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+The head-to-head scorer tests that load real H5 fixtures now carry the `requires_us` marker, so a no-extras sync (`uv sync --all-packages`) skips them instead of failing on the `policyengine_us` import inside `release._load_frame`.
diff --git a/packages/microcosm-build/tests/test_us_release_head_to_head_scorer.py b/packages/microcosm-build/tests/test_us_release_head_to_head_scorer.py
index f601cdc66..0ec9739b7 100644
--- a/packages/microcosm-build/tests/test_us_release_head_to_head_scorer.py
+++ b/packages/microcosm-build/tests/test_us_release_head_to_head_scorer.py
@@ -479,6 +479,7 @@ def test_scored_column_contract_refuses_silently_missing_columns() -> None:
         )
 
 
+@pytest.mark.requires_us
 def test_incumbent_and_candidate_h5_loaders_preserve_scored_contract(
     tmp_path: Path,
 ) -> None:
@@ -538,6 +539,7 @@ def test_incumbent_and_candidate_h5_loaders_preserve_scored_contract(
         )
 
 
+@pytest.mark.requires_us
 def test_historical_formula_owned_h5_scores_with_drop_receipt(
     monkeypatch,
     tmp_path: Path,
@@ -575,6 +577,7 @@ def test_historical_formula_owned_h5_scores_with_drop_receipt(
     assert "`person`: `has_marketplace_health_coverage`" in markdown
 
 
+@pytest.mark.requires_us
 def test_historical_formula_owned_h5_refuses_missing_leaf(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
     pytest.importorskip("tables")
     module = _load_head_to_head_module()
@@ -598,6 +601,7 @@ def test_historical_formula_owned_h5_refuses_missing_leaf(tmp_path: Path) -> Non
     assert "required input leaves are absent" in message
 
 
+@pytest.mark.requires_us
 def test_clean_historical_h5_scores_with_empty_drop_receipt(
     monkeypatch,
     tmp_path: Path,