diff --git a/roles/virtualization/tasks/vmware.yml b/roles/virtualization/tasks/vmware.yml
index 945c150..8afe1ca 100644
--- a/roles/virtualization/tasks/vmware.yml
+++ b/roles/virtualization/tasks/vmware.yml
@@ -17,8 +17,15 @@
     community.vmware.vmware_guest: "{{ _vmware_auth }}"
     community.vmware.vmware_guest_tpm: "{{ _vmware_auth }}"
     vmware.vmware.vm_powerstate: "{{ _vmware_auth }}"
+    vmware.vmware.folder: "{{ _vmware_auth }}"
   block:
-    # community.vmware: full-featured guest management
+    # vmware_guest places into folder but will not create it; ensure it exists first.
+    - name: Ensure target folder exists
+      when: system_cfg.path | string | length > 0
+      vmware.vmware.folder:
+        absolute_path: "/{{ hypervisor_cfg.datacenter }}/vm/{{ system_cfg.path | regex_replace('^/+', '') }}"
+        state: present
+
     - name: Create VM in vCenter
       vars:
         virtualization_vmware_networks: >-
@@ -98,7 +105,6 @@
         fail_msg: "Failed to add vTPM2 to VM '{{ hostname }}'. LUKS with TPM2 requires a virtual TPM device."
         quiet: true
 
-    # vmware.vmware: modern collection for power operations
     - name: Start VM in vCenter
       when: virtualization_tpm2_enabled | bool
       vmware.vmware.vm_powerstate: