diff --git a/src/pm/linear/adapter.ts b/src/pm/linear/adapter.ts
index 04be22b3..e90f237f 100644
--- a/src/pm/linear/adapter.ts
+++ b/src/pm/linear/adapter.ts
@@ -227,6 +227,7 @@ export class LinearPMProvider implements PMProvider {
 		await linearClient.createIssue({
 			teamId: this.config.teamId,
 			...(this.config.projectId ? { projectId: this.config.projectId } : {}),
+			...(this.config.statuses?.backlog ? { stateId: this.config.statuses.backlog } : {}),
 			title: name,
 			description,
 			parentId,
diff --git a/tests/unit/pm/linear/adapter.test.ts b/tests/unit/pm/linear/adapter.test.ts
index dcee1d70..4d0bfd99 100644
--- a/tests/unit/pm/linear/adapter.test.ts
+++ b/tests/unit/pm/linear/adapter.test.ts
@@ -396,6 +396,16 @@ describe('LinearPMProvider', () => {
 			);
 		});
 
+		it('passes stateId for backlog on sub-issue creation', async () => {
+			mockCreateIssue.mockResolvedValue(makeIssue());
+
+			await provider.addChecklistItem('subtasks-issue-uuid', 'Sub-task 1');
+
+			expect(mockCreateIssue).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+				expect.objectContaining({ stateId: 'state-backlog' }),
+			);
+		});
+
 		it('throws when checklistId has no extractable parent', async () => {
 			await expect(provider.addChecklistItem('invalid-id', 'Sub-task')).rejects.toThrow(
 				'Cannot extract parent issue ID from checklist ID: invalid-id',