diff --git a/ccflow/base.py b/ccflow/base.py
index e922f96..e37e8cd 100644
--- a/ccflow/base.py
+++ b/ccflow/base.py
@@ -86,8 +86,6 @@ def get_registered_names(self, include_orphaned: bool = False) -> List[str]:
                 for registry_name in registry_names:
                     full_names.append(REGISTRY_SEPARATOR.join([registry_name, name]))
             return full_names
-        elif self is ModelRegistry.root():
-            return [""]
         elif include_orphaned and isinstance(self, ModelRegistry) and self._was_registered and self.name:
             # Orphaned sub-registry: de-registered from its parent but .name is still valid.
             # Reconstruct path as if registered directly under root.
@@ -663,6 +661,17 @@ def _debug_name(self) -> str:
         """Returns the "full name" of the registry. Since registries can have multiple names"""
         return "RootModelRegistry"
 
+    def get_registered_names(self, include_orphaned: bool = False) -> List[str]:
+        """The root registry is always the empty-prefix anchor of every path.
+
+        Overrides the base implementation so that a deserialized copy of the
+        root (e.g. after being pickled into a Ray worker) still returns [""]
+        rather than [] — the base class falls through to [] because the
+        identity check ``self is ModelRegistry.root()`` fails for a deserialized
+        instance.
+        """
+        return [""]
+
 
 _REGISTRY_ROOT = RootModelRegistry.model_construct()
 
diff --git a/ccflow/tests/test_base_registry.py b/ccflow/tests/test_base_registry.py
index e75fd8c..657a416 100644
--- a/ccflow/tests/test_base_registry.py
+++ b/ccflow/tests/test_base_registry.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import collections.abc
 import json
 import os
+import pickle
 import sys
 from typing import Dict, List
 from unittest import TestCase
@@ -353,6 +354,37 @@ def test_orphaned_subregistry_default_returns_empty(self):
         # Explicit True → reconstructs path
         self.assertListEqual(m.get_registered_names(include_orphaned=True), ["/foo/model_name"])
 
+    def test_get_registered_names_survives_pickling(self):
+        """Registered names must round-trip through pickle.
+
+        When a model is pickled (e.g., to be sent to a Ray worker) and then
+        unpickled in a fresh process context, get_registered_names() must still
+        return the correct full path.  The bug: the deserialized RootModelRegistry
+        is a new object and fails the ``self is ModelRegistry.root()`` identity
+        check, causing the chain traversal to bottom out with [] instead of [""].
+        """
+        r = ModelRegistry.root()
+        foo = ModelRegistry(name="foo")
+        bar = ModelRegistry(name="bar")
+        m = MyTestModel(a="x", b=0.0)
+
+        r.add("foo", foo)
+        foo.add("bar", bar)
+        bar.add("baz", m)
+
+        self.assertListEqual(m.get_registered_names(), ["/foo/bar/baz"])
+
+        # Simulate what happens when a model is sent to a Ray worker: it is
+        # pickled and unpickled in the same process but as a standalone blob,
+        # severing the live registry identity chain.
+        restored = pickle.loads(pickle.dumps(m))
+
+        self.assertListEqual(
+            restored.get_registered_names(),
+            ["/foo/bar/baz"],
+            "get_registered_names() must return the correct path after pickling",
+        )
+
 
 class TestRegistryLoading(TestCase):
     def setUp(self) -> None: