diff --git a/tests/test_svc.py b/tests/test_svc.py
index f90e636d..816cb8f7 100644
--- a/tests/test_svc.py
+++ b/tests/test_svc.py
@@ -986,7 +986,9 @@ class SvcDbRecoveryTests(unittest.TestCase):
         htdocs = self.root / "static-site"
         htdocs.mkdir()
         (htdocs / "index.html").write_text("<html>static-ok</html>\n")
-        port = 18951
+        with socket.socket() as reservation:
+            reservation.bind(("127.0.0.1", 0))
+            port = reservation.getsockname()[1]
         result = self.svc(
             "uiqa", "deploy", "--kind", "static",
             "--dir", str(htdocs), "--addr", "127.0.0.1:%d" % port)