diff --git a/pyrit/score/scorer_evaluation/human_labeled_dataset.py b/pyrit/score/scorer_evaluation/human_labeled_dataset.py
index 87c2eb6143..7e9c00d73b 100644
--- a/pyrit/score/scorer_evaluation/human_labeled_dataset.py
+++ b/pyrit/score/scorer_evaluation/human_labeled_dataset.py
@@ -206,7 +206,8 @@ def from_csv(
         - 'data_type': Optional data type (defaults to 'text' if not present)
 
         You can optionally include a # comment line at the top of the CSV file to specify
-        the dataset version and harm definition path. The format is:
+        the dataset version and harm definition path. Only leading # lines are treated as
+        comments; a # anywhere else is preserved as literal data. The format is:
         - For harm datasets: # dataset_version=x.y, harm_definition=path/to/definition.yaml, harm_definition_version=x.y
         - For objective datasets: # dataset_version=x.y
 
@@ -234,8 +235,10 @@ def from_csv(
         parsed_version = None
         parsed_harm_definition = None
         parsed_harm_definition_version = None
+        # "utf-8-sig" drops a byte-order mark if the file has one, so a BOM file's
+        # first line is still recognized as the metadata comment line
         try:
-            with open(csv_path, encoding="utf-8") as f:
+            with open(csv_path, encoding="utf-8-sig") as f:
                 first_line = f.readline().strip()
         except UnicodeDecodeError:
             with open(csv_path, encoding="latin-1") as f:
@@ -270,11 +273,24 @@ def from_csv(
         if not harm_definition_version and parsed_harm_definition_version:
             harm_definition_version = parsed_harm_definition_version
 
+        # Skip the leading "#" comment line(s) instead of relying on comment="#",
+        # which also truncates the remainder of unquoted cells containing "#" (#2974).
+        # "utf-8-sig" drops a byte-order mark, which does not start a "#" line but
+        # does leave the metadata line looking like data, and a leading blank line
+        # is skipped the same way so it cannot stop the scan either.
+        skiprows = 0
+        with open(csv_path, encoding="utf-8-sig", errors="ignore") as f:
+            for line in f:
+                stripped = line.strip()
+                if stripped.startswith("#") or not stripped:
+                    skiprows += 1
+                else:
+                    break
         # Try UTF-8 first, fall back to latin-1 for files with special characters
         try:
-            eval_df = pd.read_csv(csv_path, comment="#", encoding="utf-8")
+            eval_df = pd.read_csv(csv_path, skiprows=skiprows or None, encoding="utf-8")
         except UnicodeDecodeError:
-            eval_df = pd.read_csv(csv_path, comment="#", encoding="latin-1")
+            eval_df = pd.read_csv(csv_path, skiprows=skiprows or None, encoding="latin-1")
 
         # Drop rows where every column is NaN (e.g. trailing blank lines in the CSV)
         eval_df = eval_df.dropna(how="all")
diff --git a/tests/unit/score/test_human_labeled_dataset.py b/tests/unit/score/test_human_labeled_dataset.py
index 665a55fe88..61f6cd2ca1 100644
--- a/tests/unit/score/test_human_labeled_dataset.py
+++ b/tests/unit/score/test_human_labeled_dataset.py
@@ -630,3 +630,59 @@ def test_scorer_eval_csv_loads_with_human_labeled_dataset(csv_file, metrics_type
     # - Invalid data formats
     dataset = HumanLabeledDataset.from_csv(csv_path=csv_file, metrics_type=metrics_type)
     assert len(dataset.entries) > 0, f"Dataset {csv_file.name} has no entries"
+
+
+def test_from_csv_preserves_hash_characters_in_cells(tmp_path):
+    """A literal '#' inside an unquoted cell must not truncate the row (#2974)."""
+    csv_file = tmp_path / "hash_cells.csv"
+    csv_file.write_text(
+        "# dataset_version=1.0\n"
+        "assistant_response,human_score,objective\n"
+        "# Heading,1,respond to the prompt\n"
+        "ordinary response,0,mentions C#\n",
+        encoding="utf-8",
+    )
+
+    dataset = HumanLabeledDataset.from_csv(
+        csv_path=str(csv_file),
+        metrics_type=MetricsType.OBJECTIVE,
+    )
+    assert len(dataset.entries) == 2
+    assert dataset.entries[0].objective == "respond to the prompt"
+    assert dataset.entries[1].objective == "mentions C#"
+
+
+def test_from_csv_reads_metadata_comment_after_byte_order_mark(tmp_path):
+    """A UTF-8 BOM (what Excel writes) must not hide the metadata comment line."""
+    csv_file = tmp_path / "bom_cells.csv"
+    csv_file.write_text(
+        "# dataset_version=1.0\nassistant_response,human_score,objective\nordinary response,0,mentions C#\n",
+        encoding="utf-8-sig",
+    )
+
+    dataset = HumanLabeledDataset.from_csv(
+        csv_path=str(csv_file),
+        metrics_type=MetricsType.OBJECTIVE,
+    )
+    assert len(dataset.entries) == 1
+    assert dataset.entries[0].objective == "mentions C#"
+
+
+def test_from_csv_skips_blank_line_before_metadata_comment(tmp_path):
+    """A blank line before the metadata comment must not stop the skip scan."""
+    csv_file = tmp_path / "blank_first.csv"
+    csv_file.write_text(
+        "\n"
+        "# dataset_version=1.0\n"
+        "assistant_response,human_score,objective\n"
+        "ordinary response,0,respond to the prompt\n",
+        encoding="utf-8",
+    )
+
+    dataset = HumanLabeledDataset.from_csv(
+        csv_path=str(csv_file),
+        metrics_type=MetricsType.OBJECTIVE,
+        version="1.0",
+    )
+    assert len(dataset.entries) == 1
+    assert dataset.entries[0].objective == "respond to the prompt"