diff --git a/services/auth/auth.service.ts b/services/auth/auth.service.ts
index ae90e26..a643100 100644
--- a/services/auth/auth.service.ts
+++ b/services/auth/auth.service.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,20 @@
 import { v4 as uuidv4 } from 'uuid';
-import { dbService } from '../../services/couchdb.factory';
 import { AuthenticatedUser } from './auth.types';
 import { EmailVerificationService } from './emailVerification.service';
 
+import { dbService } from '../couchdb.factory';
+
 const emailVerificationService = new EmailVerificationService();
 
 const authService = {
   async register(email: string, password: string, username?: string) {
     try {
+      // Check if user already exists
+      const existingUser = await dbService.findUserByEmail(email);
+      if (existingUser) {
+        throw new Error('User already exists');
+      }
+
       // Create user with password
       const user = await dbService.createUserWithPassword(
         email,
@@ -24,7 +31,7 @@ const authService = {
       return { user, verificationToken };
     } catch (error) {
       if (error.message.includes('already exists')) {
-        throw new Error('An account with this email already exists');
+        throw new Error('User already exists');
       }
       throw error;
     }
@@ -57,6 +64,11 @@ const authService = {
       );
     }
 
+    // Check if email is verified
+    if (!user.emailVerified) {
+      throw new Error('Email verification required');
+    }
+
     // Simple password verification (in production, use bcrypt)
     console.warn('🔍 Comparing passwords:', {
       inputPassword: input.password,
@@ -66,7 +78,7 @@ const authService = {
 
     if (user.password !== input.password) {
       console.warn('❌ Password mismatch');
-      throw new Error('Invalid password');
+      throw new Error('Invalid credentials');
     }
 
     console.warn('✅ Login successful for:', user.email);
@@ -221,7 +233,6 @@ const authService = {
       throw new Error('Password must be at least 6 characters long');
     }
 
-    // Update password
     const updatedUser = await dbService.changeUserPassword(
       resetToken.userId,
       newPassword
diff --git a/services/auth/emailVerification.service.ts b/services/auth/emailVerification.service.ts
index 0ff9978..32b8035 100644
--- a/services/auth/emailVerification.service.ts
+++ b/services/auth/emailVerification.service.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { v4 as uuidv4 } from 'uuid';
 import { EmailVerificationToken, AuthenticatedUser } from './auth.types';
 import { mailgunService } from '../mailgun.service';
 import { AccountStatus } from './auth.constants';
+import { dbService } from '../couchdb.factory';
 
 const TOKEN_EXPIRY_HOURS = 24;
 
@@ -62,7 +63,6 @@ export class EmailVerificationService {
     }
 
     // Find the user (in production, this would be a proper database lookup)
-    const { dbService } = await import('../couchdb');
     const user = await dbService.findUserByEmail(verificationToken.email);
 
     return user as AuthenticatedUser;
@@ -70,7 +70,6 @@ export class EmailVerificationService {
 
   async markEmailVerified(user: AuthenticatedUser): Promise<void> {
     // Update user in database
-    const { dbService } = await import('../couchdb');
     const updatedUser = {
       ...user,
       emailVerified: true,