diff --git a/src/Service/AssociationImpactAnalyzer.php b/src/Service/AssociationImpactAnalyzer.php
index 5ef8cc0..7b547c9 100644
--- a/src/Service/AssociationImpactAnalyzer.php
+++ b/src/Service/AssociationImpactAnalyzer.php
@@ -4,11 +4,13 @@
 
 namespace Rcsofttech\AuditTrailBundle\Service;
 
+use Doctrine\Common\Collections\Criteria;
 use Doctrine\ORM\EntityManagerInterface;
 use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping\AssociationMapping;
 use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping\ClassMetadata;
 use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping\InverseSideMapping;
 use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping\OwningSideMapping;
+use Doctrine\ORM\PersistentCollection;
 use Doctrine\ORM\UnitOfWork;
 use Rcsofttech\AuditTrailBundle\ValueObject\AssociationImpact;
 
@@ -114,8 +116,8 @@ private function buildAssociationCollectionImpacts(
             return [];
         }
 
-        $relatedEntities = $metadata->getFieldValue($deletedEntity, $associationName);
-        if (!is_iterable($relatedEntities)) {
+        $relatedEntities = $this->resolveCollectionItems($metadata->getFieldValue($deletedEntity, $associationName));
+        if ($relatedEntities === null) {
             return [];
         }
 
@@ -161,11 +163,11 @@ private function buildSingleRelatedEntityImpact(
     ): ?AssociationImpact {
         $relatedMetadata = $this->getClassMetadata($relatedEntity, $metadataByClass, $em);
         $relatedCollection = $relatedMetadata->getFieldValue($relatedEntity, $counterpartField);
-        if (!is_iterable($relatedCollection)) {
+        $oldIds = $this->resolveCollectionIds($relatedCollection, $em);
+        if ($oldIds === null) {
             return null;
         }
 
-        $oldIds = $this->collectionIdExtractor->extractFromIterable($relatedCollection, $em);
         $newIds = array_values(array_filter($oldIds, static fn ($id) => $id !== $deletedId));
         if ($oldIds === $newIds) {
             return null;
@@ -174,6 +176,51 @@ private function buildSingleRelatedEntityImpact(
         return new AssociationImpact($relatedEntity, $counterpartField, $oldIds, $newIds);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * @return iterable<mixed>|null
+     */
+    private function resolveCollectionItems(mixed $items): ?iterable
+    {
+        if (!is_iterable($items)) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        if ($items instanceof PersistentCollection && $this->canReadCollectionThroughCriteria($items)) {
+            return $items->matching(Criteria::create());
+        }
+
+        return $items;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @return array<int, int|string>|null
+     */
+    private function resolveCollectionIds(mixed $items, EntityManagerInterface $em): ?array
+    {
+        if (!is_iterable($items)) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        if ($items instanceof PersistentCollection && $this->canReadCollectionThroughCriteria($items)) {
+            return $this->collectionIdExtractor->extractFromPersistentCollectionCriteria($items, $em);
+        }
+
+        return $this->collectionIdExtractor->extractFromIterable($items, $em);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * During onFlush delete impact analysis, a clean uninitialized collection
+     * can be read from the pre-delete database state without hydrating the
+     * original PersistentCollection. Dirty collections keep the existing path
+     * because their in-memory diffs must remain part of the result.
+     *
+     * @param PersistentCollection<int|string, mixed> $items
+     */
+    private function canReadCollectionThroughCriteria(PersistentCollection $items): bool
+    {
+        return !$items->isInitialized() && !$items->isDirty();
+    }
+
     /**
      * @param array<class-string, ClassMetadata<object>> $metadataByClass
      *
diff --git a/src/Service/CollectionIdExtractor.php b/src/Service/CollectionIdExtractor.php
index 0344eb5..6e46f91 100644
--- a/src/Service/CollectionIdExtractor.php
+++ b/src/Service/CollectionIdExtractor.php
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 namespace Rcsofttech\AuditTrailBundle\Service;
 
+use Doctrine\Common\Collections\Criteria;
 use Doctrine\ORM\EntityManagerInterface;
 use Doctrine\ORM\PersistentCollection;
 use Rcsofttech\AuditTrailBundle\Contract\EntityIdResolverInterface;
@@ -41,6 +42,23 @@ public function extractFromIterable(iterable $items, EntityManagerInterface $em)
         return $ids;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Read ids through a separate Doctrine criteria result without hydrating
+     * the owning PersistentCollection.
+     *
+     * Use this only when the database state is the intended source of truth for
+     * the collection, and the collection has no pending in-memory diffs that
+     * must be folded into the result.
+     *
+     * @param PersistentCollection<int|string, mixed> $collection
+     *
+     * @return array<int, string>
+     */
+    public function extractFromPersistentCollectionCriteria(PersistentCollection $collection, EntityManagerInterface $em): array
+    {
+        return $this->extractFromIterable($collection->matching(Criteria::create()), $em);
+    }
+
     public function hasPendingIds(mixed $items, EntityManagerInterface $em): bool
     {
         if (!is_iterable($items)) {
diff --git a/src/Service/PendingAuditPlanMaterializer.php b/src/Service/PendingAuditPlanMaterializer.php
index 6c555c1..8978133 100644
--- a/src/Service/PendingAuditPlanMaterializer.php
+++ b/src/Service/PendingAuditPlanMaterializer.php
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 namespace Rcsofttech\AuditTrailBundle\Service;
 
 use Doctrine\ORM\EntityManagerInterface;
+use Doctrine\ORM\PersistentCollection;
 use Rcsofttech\AuditTrailBundle\Contract\AuditServiceInterface;
 use Rcsofttech\AuditTrailBundle\Entity\AuditLog;
 use Rcsofttech\AuditTrailBundle\ValueObject\PendingAuditPlan;
@@ -33,6 +34,15 @@ public function materialize(PendingAuditPlan $plan, EntityManagerInterface $enti
 
         foreach ($plan->deferredCollectionFields as $field) {
             $currentValue = $metadata->getFieldValue($plan->entity, $field);
+            if ($currentValue instanceof PersistentCollection && !$currentValue->isInitialized() && !$currentValue->isDirty()) {
+                $newValues[$field] = $this->collectionIdExtractor->extractFromPersistentCollectionCriteria(
+                    $currentValue,
+                    $entityManager,
+                );
+
+                continue;
+            }
+
             $newValues[$field] = is_iterable($currentValue)
                 ? $this->collectionIdExtractor->extractFromIterable($currentValue, $entityManager)
                 : [];
diff --git a/tests/Functional/CollectionInitializationSafetyTest.php b/tests/Functional/CollectionInitializationSafetyTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..86b509e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/Functional/CollectionInitializationSafetyTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,138 @@
+<?php
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+namespace Rcsofttech\AuditTrailBundle\Tests\Functional;
+
+use Doctrine\ORM\PersistentCollection;
+use Rcsofttech\AuditTrailBundle\Entity\AuditLog;
+use Rcsofttech\AuditTrailBundle\Enum\AuditAction;
+use Rcsofttech\AuditTrailBundle\Tests\Functional\Entity\Author;
+use Rcsofttech\AuditTrailBundle\Tests\Functional\Entity\LazyChild;
+use Rcsofttech\AuditTrailBundle\Tests\Functional\Entity\LazyParent;
+use Rcsofttech\AuditTrailBundle\Tests\Functional\Entity\Tag;
+
+use function array_slice;
+
+final class CollectionInitializationSafetyTest extends AbstractFunctionalTestCase
+{
+    public function testDeferredAuditMaterializationRecordsFlushedIdsWithoutInitializingExtraLazyCollection(): void
+    {
+        self::bootKernel();
+        $em = $this->getEntityManager();
+
+        $parent = new LazyParent('parent');
+        $em->persist($parent);
+        $em->flush();
+
+        $parentId = $parent->getId();
+        self::assertNotNull($parentId);
+
+        $em->clear();
+
+        $parent = $em->find(LazyParent::class, $parentId);
+        self::assertInstanceOf(LazyParent::class, $parent);
+
+        $children = $parent->getChildren();
+        self::assertInstanceOf(PersistentCollection::class, $children);
+        self::assertFalse($children->isInitialized());
+
+        $firstChild = new LazyChild('child-1', $parent);
+        $parent->getChildren()->add($firstChild);
+        $em->persist($firstChild);
+        $em->flush();
+
+        $firstChildId = $firstChild->getId();
+        self::assertNotNull($firstChildId);
+
+        $parentAudit = $em->getRepository(AuditLog::class)->findOneBy([
+            'entityClass' => LazyParent::class,
+            'entityId' => (string) $parentId,
+            'action' => AuditAction::Update,
+        ], ['createdAt' => 'DESC']);
+
+        self::assertNotNull($parentAudit, 'Adding the child through the collection must create a deferred parent audit log.');
+        self::assertSame([(string) $firstChildId], $parentAudit->newValues['children'] ?? null);
+        self::assertContains('children', $parentAudit->changedFields ?? []);
+        self::assertFalse(
+            $children->isInitialized(),
+            'Deferred audit materialization must not initialize the EXTRA_LAZY collection.',
+        );
+
+        foreach (['child-2', 'child-3', 'child-4', 'child-5'] as $name) {
+            $em->persist(new LazyChild($name, $parent));
+            $em->flush();
+        }
+
+        self::assertSame(5, $em->getRepository(LazyChild::class)->count(['parent' => $parent]));
+        self::assertCount(
+            5,
+            $parent->getChildren(),
+            'An uninitialized EXTRA_LAZY collection must keep using a fresh database count.',
+        );
+    }
+
+    public function testDeletedAssociationImpactRecordsChangeWithoutInitializingRelatedCollection(): void
+    {
+        self::bootKernel();
+        $em = $this->getEntityManager();
+
+        $author = new Author('author');
+        $tags = [];
+        foreach (['tag-1', 'tag-2', 'tag-3', 'tag-4', 'tag-5'] as $label) {
+            $tag = new Tag($label);
+            $author->addTag($tag);
+            $tags[] = $tag;
+        }
+
+        $em->persist($author);
+        $em->flush();
+
+        $authorId = $author->getId();
+        self::assertNotNull($authorId);
+
+        $tagIds = [];
+        foreach ($tags as $tag) {
+            $tagId = $tag->getId();
+            self::assertNotNull($tagId);
+            $tagIds[] = $tagId;
+        }
+
+        $deletedTagId = $tagIds[0];
+        $expectedOldIds = array_map('strval', $tagIds);
+        $expectedNewIds = array_map('strval', array_slice($tagIds, 1));
+
+        $em->clear();
+
+        $author = $em->find(Author::class, $authorId);
+        $deletedTag = $em->find(Tag::class, $deletedTagId);
+        self::assertInstanceOf(Author::class, $author);
+        self::assertInstanceOf(Tag::class, $deletedTag);
+
+        $authorTags = $author->getTags();
+        self::assertInstanceOf(PersistentCollection::class, $authorTags);
+        self::assertFalse($authorTags->isInitialized());
+
+        $em->remove($deletedTag);
+        $em->flush();
+
+        $authorAudit = $em->getRepository(AuditLog::class)->findOneBy([
+            'entityClass' => Author::class,
+            'entityId' => (string) $authorId,
+            'action' => AuditAction::Update,
+        ], ['createdAt' => 'DESC']);
+
+        self::assertNotNull($authorAudit, 'Deleting a tag must create an update audit log for the related author.');
+        $actualOldIds = $authorAudit->oldValues['tags'] ?? null;
+        $actualNewIds = $authorAudit->newValues['tags'] ?? null;
+        self::assertIsArray($actualOldIds);
+        self::assertIsArray($actualNewIds);
+        self::assertEqualsCanonicalizing($expectedOldIds, $actualOldIds);
+        self::assertEqualsCanonicalizing($expectedNewIds, $actualNewIds);
+        self::assertFalse(
+            $authorTags->isInitialized(),
+            'Deleted association impact analysis must not initialize the related owner collection.',
+        );
+        self::assertCount(4, $authorTags);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/tests/Functional/Entity/LazyChild.php b/tests/Functional/Entity/LazyChild.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f161d75
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/Functional/Entity/LazyChild.php
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+<?php
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+namespace Rcsofttech\AuditTrailBundle\Tests\Functional\Entity;
+
+use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping as ORM;
+use Rcsofttech\AuditTrailBundle\Attribute\Auditable;
+
+#[ORM\Entity]
+#[ORM\Table(name: 'lazy_child')]
+#[Auditable]
+class LazyChild
+{
+    #[ORM\Id]
+    #[ORM\GeneratedValue]
+    #[ORM\Column]
+    private ?int $id = null;
+
+    public function __construct(
+        #[ORM\Column]
+        private string $name,
+        #[ORM\ManyToOne(targetEntity: LazyParent::class, inversedBy: 'children')]
+        #[ORM\JoinColumn(nullable: false)]
+        private LazyParent $parent,
+    ) {
+    }
+
+    public function getId(): ?int
+    {
+        return $this->id;
+    }
+
+    public function getName(): string
+    {
+        return $this->name;
+    }
+
+    public function getParent(): LazyParent
+    {
+        return $this->parent;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/tests/Functional/Entity/LazyParent.php b/tests/Functional/Entity/LazyParent.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1d0bd9c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/Functional/Entity/LazyParent.php
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+<?php
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+namespace Rcsofttech\AuditTrailBundle\Tests\Functional\Entity;
+
+use Doctrine\Common\Collections\ArrayCollection;
+use Doctrine\Common\Collections\Collection;
+use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping as ORM;
+use Rcsofttech\AuditTrailBundle\Attribute\Auditable;
+
+#[ORM\Entity]
+#[ORM\Table(name: 'lazy_parent')]
+#[Auditable]
+class LazyParent
+{
+    #[ORM\Id]
+    #[ORM\GeneratedValue]
+    #[ORM\Column]
+    private ?int $id = null;
+
+    /**
+     * @var Collection<int, LazyChild>
+     */
+    #[ORM\OneToMany(mappedBy: 'parent', targetEntity: LazyChild::class, cascade: ['persist'], fetch: 'EXTRA_LAZY')]
+    private Collection $children;
+
+    public function __construct(
+        #[ORM\Column]
+        private string $name,
+    ) {
+        $this->children = new ArrayCollection();
+    }
+
+    public function getId(): ?int
+    {
+        return $this->id;
+    }
+
+    public function getName(): string
+    {
+        return $this->name;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @return Collection<int, LazyChild>
+     */
+    public function getChildren(): Collection
+    {
+        return $this->children;
+    }
+}