diff --git a/kits/firestore-bigquery-export/CHANGELOG.md b/kits/firestore-bigquery-export/CHANGELOG.md
index 250fddd0e..0435ba33c 100644
--- a/kits/firestore-bigquery-export/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/kits/firestore-bigquery-export/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+- fix: `DATABASE_REGION` is matched case-insensitively and with surrounding whitespace ignored, so a hand-edited `.env` carrying `NAM5` deploys to `us-central1` instead of failing the deploy
 - fix: `USE_NEW_SNAPSHOT_QUERY_SYNTAX` and `EXCLUDE_OLD_DATA` take the extension's `yes` / `no` values again, so a config exported from the extension works unchanged. `WILDCARD_IDS` is unchanged: the extension already used `true` / `false` there.
 - feat: reinstate the extension's Cloud Tasks write buffer. A failed inline BigQuery write now enqueues onto a new `syncBigQuery` task queue (5 attempts, 60s minimum backoff, throttled by the restored `MAX_DISPATCHES_PER_SECOND` param, default 100) instead of replaying the Firestore event through Eventarc redelivery for up to 24 hours; `MAX_ENQUEUE_ATTEMPTS` (default 3) is also back. The `onSuccess` event returns with the queue handler. Two behavior changes against earlier release candidates: a row that exhausts the queue is dropped unless `BACKUP_COLLECTION` is set (extension parity - the tracker backs the row up on every terminal insert failure, so configure a backup collection), and deleting or moving the functions can leave the Cloud Tasks queue behind. A failed enqueue is logged at error level, published as an `onError` event, and dropped, as in the extension; the trigger no longer declares `retry: true`, so nothing is redelivered through Eventarc. Export the new `syncBigQuery` function from your codebase entry, and deploy with Firebase CLI 15.28.0+ so the trigger can address its own queue (`FIREBASE_KIT_INSTANCE_ID`); requires firebase-admin 14.2.0+.
 - fix: restore explicit function placement from `DATABASE_REGION`, now with the Firestore-location-to-Cloud-Run-region mapping. The `DATABASE_REGION` parameter is back and all three functions deploy to the region derived from it: regional locations pass through unchanged, and the multi-region locations map to a Cloud Run region (`nam5`/`nam7` to `us-central1`, `eur3` to `europe-west1`) instead of failing the deploy. With the parameter unset the functions still declare no region and the CLI falls back as before (`us-central1` by default, `FIREBASE_FUNCTIONS_DEFAULT_REGION` to override). Placement requires firebase-tools >= 15.28.0 (older CLIs do not load `.env` at discovery and keep the fallback). If your `.env` already carries `DATABASE_REGION` from an extension migration, upgrading to this version moves the functions to the mapped region on your next deploy, which deletes and recreates them.
diff --git a/kits/firestore-bigquery-export/src/region.ts b/kits/firestore-bigquery-export/src/region.ts
index 51f07e1f0..0ca47d4b2 100644
--- a/kits/firestore-bigquery-export/src/region.ts
+++ b/kits/firestore-bigquery-export/src/region.ts
@@ -24,14 +24,17 @@ const MULTI_REGION_TO_FUNCTION_REGION: Record<string, string> = {
 
 /**
  * Maps a Firestore database location to the Cloud Run region the functions
- * should deploy to. Regional locations pass through unchanged; an unset or
- * empty location returns `undefined`, meaning the functions declare no region.
+ * should deploy to. The lookup is case-insensitive and ignores surrounding
+ * whitespace, as the CLI's own region handling is. Regional locations pass
+ * through lowercased; an unset or blank location returns `undefined`, meaning
+ * the functions declare no region.
  */
 export function firestoreLocationToFunctionRegion(
   location: string | undefined
 ): string | undefined {
-  if (!location) {
+  const normalized = location?.trim().toLowerCase();
+  if (!normalized) {
     return undefined;
   }
-  return MULTI_REGION_TO_FUNCTION_REGION[location] ?? location;
+  return MULTI_REGION_TO_FUNCTION_REGION[normalized] ?? normalized;
 }
diff --git a/kits/firestore-bigquery-export/tests/region.test.ts b/kits/firestore-bigquery-export/tests/region.test.ts
index 7411fecc5..5d983bf0c 100644
--- a/kits/firestore-bigquery-export/tests/region.test.ts
+++ b/kits/firestore-bigquery-export/tests/region.test.ts
@@ -41,4 +41,22 @@ describe("firestoreLocationToFunctionRegion", () => {
   test("returns undefined for an empty location", () => {
     expect(firestoreLocationToFunctionRegion("")).toBeUndefined();
   });
+
+  test("returns undefined for a whitespace-only location", () => {
+    expect(firestoreLocationToFunctionRegion("   ")).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  test.each([
+    ["NAM5", "us-central1"],
+    ["Eur3", "europe-west1"],
+    [" nam7 ", "us-central1"],
+  ])("normalizes %s before the multi-region lookup", (location, region) => {
+    expect(firestoreLocationToFunctionRegion(location)).toBe(region);
+  });
+
+  test("lowercases and trims a regional location", () => {
+    expect(firestoreLocationToFunctionRegion(" Europe-West2 ")).toBe(
+      "europe-west2"
+    );
+  });
 });