diff --git a/src/sentry/conf/server.py b/src/sentry/conf/server.py
index a13f630b140c0f..13186ecef35796 100644
--- a/src/sentry/conf/server.py
+++ b/src/sentry/conf/server.py
@@ -893,6 +893,7 @@ def SOCIAL_AUTH_DEFAULT_USERNAME() -> str:
     "sentry.tasks.collect_project_platforms",
     "sentry.tasks.commit_context",
     "sentry.tasks.commits",
+    "sentry.tasks.delete_pending_groups",
     "sentry.tasks.delete_seer_grouping_records",
     "sentry.tasks.digests",
     "sentry.tasks.email",
@@ -1006,6 +1007,12 @@ def SOCIAL_AUTH_DEFAULT_USERNAME() -> str:
         "task": "deletions:sentry.deletions.tasks.reattempt_deletions",
         "schedule": task_crontab("0", "*/2", "*", "*", "*"),
     },
+    "delete-pending-groups": {
+        "task": "deletions:sentry.tasks.delete_pending_groups",
+        # Runs every 2 hours during 9am-5pm Eastern Time (EST: UTC-5)
+        # 9am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm EST = 14:00, 16:00, 18:00, 20:00, 22:00 UTC
+        "schedule": task_crontab("0", "14,16,18,20,22", "*", "*", "*"),
+    },
     "schedule-weekly-organization-reports-new": {
         "task": "reports:sentry.tasks.summaries.weekly_reports.schedule_organizations",
         "schedule": task_crontab("0", "12", "sat", "*", "*"),
diff --git a/src/sentry/tasks/delete_pending_groups.py b/src/sentry/tasks/delete_pending_groups.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..4ddaa816281a64
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/sentry/tasks/delete_pending_groups.py
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+import logging
+from collections import defaultdict
+from datetime import timedelta
+from uuid import uuid4
+
+from django.utils import timezone
+
+from sentry.deletions.defaults.group import GROUP_CHUNK_SIZE
+from sentry.deletions.tasks.groups import delete_groups_for_project
+from sentry.models.group import Group, GroupStatus
+from sentry.silo.base import SiloMode
+from sentry.tasks.base import instrumented_task
+from sentry.taskworker.namespaces import deletion_tasks
+from sentry.taskworker.retry import Retry
+from sentry.utils import metrics
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+BATCH_LIMIT = 1000
+MAX_LAST_SEEN_DAYS = 90
+MIN_LAST_SEEN_DAYS = 1
+
+
+@instrumented_task(
+    name="sentry.tasks.delete_pending_groups",
+    namespace=deletion_tasks,
+    processing_deadline_duration=10 * 60,
+    retry=Retry(times=3, delay=60),
+    silo_mode=SiloMode.REGION,
+)
+def delete_pending_groups() -> None:
+    """
+    Scheduled task that runs daily to clean up groups in pending deletion states.
+
+    This task queries groups with status PENDING_DELETION or DELETION_IN_PROGRESS
+    and schedules deletion tasks for them. Groups are batched by project to ensure
+    efficient deletion processing.
+
+    Only processes groups with last_seen between 24 hours and 90 days ago to avoid
+    processing very recent groups (safety window) or very old stuck groups.
+    """
+    statuses_to_delete = [GroupStatus.PENDING_DELETION, GroupStatus.DELETION_IN_PROGRESS]
+
+    # XXX: If needed add a partial index with the status and last_seen fields
+    # This can timeout for lack of an index on the status field
+    # Not using the last_seen index to avoid the lack of composite index on status and last_seen
+    groups = Group.objects.filter(status__in=statuses_to_delete).values_list(
+        "id", "project_id", "last_seen"
+    )[:BATCH_LIMIT]
+
+    if not groups:
+        logger.info("delete_pending_groups.no_groups_found")
+        return
+
+    # Round to midnight to make the task idempotent throughout the day
+    now = timezone.now().replace(hour=0, minute=0, second=0, microsecond=0)
+    min_last_seen = now - timedelta(days=MAX_LAST_SEEN_DAYS)
+    max_last_seen = now - timedelta(days=MIN_LAST_SEEN_DAYS)
+    # Group by project_id to ensure all groups in a batch belong to the same project
+    groups_by_project: dict[int, list[int]] = defaultdict(list)
+    for group_id, project_id, last_seen in groups:
+        if last_seen >= min_last_seen and last_seen <= max_last_seen:
+            groups_by_project[project_id].append(group_id)
+
+    total_groups = sum(len(group_ids) for group_ids in groups_by_project.values())
+    total_tasks = 0
+
+    logger.info(
+        "delete_pending_groups.started",
+        extra={"total_groups": total_groups, "projects_count": len(groups_by_project)},
+    )
+
+    for project_id, group_ids in groups_by_project.items():
+        # Schedule deletion tasks in chunks of GROUP_CHUNK_SIZE
+        for i in range(0, len(group_ids), GROUP_CHUNK_SIZE):
+            chunk = group_ids[i : i + GROUP_CHUNK_SIZE]
+            transaction_id = str(uuid4())
+
+            delete_groups_for_project.apply_async(
+                kwargs={
+                    "project_id": project_id,
+                    "object_ids": chunk,
+                    "transaction_id": transaction_id,
+                }
+            )
+            total_tasks += 1
+
+    metrics.incr("delete_pending_groups.groups_scheduled", amount=total_groups, sample_rate=1.0)
+    metrics.incr("delete_pending_groups.tasks_scheduled", amount=total_tasks, sample_rate=1.0)
+
+    logger.info("delete_pending_groups.completed")
diff --git a/tests/sentry/tasks/test_delete_pending_groups.py b/tests/sentry/tasks/test_delete_pending_groups.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..773433e15d1895
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/sentry/tasks/test_delete_pending_groups.py
@@ -0,0 +1,159 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from datetime import datetime, timedelta
+from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
+
+from django.utils import timezone
+
+from sentry.models.group import Group, GroupStatus
+from sentry.tasks.delete_pending_groups import (
+    MAX_LAST_SEEN_DAYS,
+    MIN_LAST_SEEN_DAYS,
+    delete_pending_groups,
+)
+from sentry.testutils.cases import TestCase
+from sentry.types.group import GroupSubStatus
+
+
+class DeletePendingGroupsTest(TestCase):
+    def _count_groups_in_deletion_status(self) -> int:
+        """Count groups with deletion statuses in the valid date range."""
+        return Group.objects.filter(
+            status__in=[GroupStatus.PENDING_DELETION, GroupStatus.DELETION_IN_PROGRESS],
+            last_seen__gte=self._days_ago(MAX_LAST_SEEN_DAYS),
+            last_seen__lte=self._days_ago(MIN_LAST_SEEN_DAYS),
+        ).count()
+
+    def _days_ago(self, days: int) -> datetime:
+        return timezone.now() - timedelta(days=days)
+
+    def test_schedules_only_groups_within_valid_date_range(self) -> None:
+        """Test that only groups with last_seen between 24h-90d are scheduled for deletion."""
+        project = self.create_project()
+
+        # Too recent - within 24 hours (should NOT be scheduled)
+        too_recent = self.create_group(
+            project=project, status=GroupStatus.PENDING_DELETION, last_seen=self._days_ago(0)
+        )
+
+        # Valid range - should be scheduled
+        valid_group = self.create_group(
+            project=project, status=GroupStatus.PENDING_DELETION, last_seen=self._days_ago(2)
+        )
+
+        # Too old - over 90 days (should NOT be scheduled)
+        too_old = self.create_group(
+            project=project, status=GroupStatus.DELETION_IN_PROGRESS, last_seen=self._days_ago(91)
+        )
+
+        # Wrong status - should NOT be scheduled
+        wrong_status = self.create_group(
+            project=project,
+            status=GroupStatus.UNRESOLVED,
+            substatus=GroupSubStatus.NEW,
+            last_seen=self._days_ago(5),
+        )
+
+        with patch(
+            "sentry.tasks.delete_pending_groups.delete_groups_for_project.apply_async"
+        ) as mock_delete_task:
+            delete_pending_groups()
+
+            # Verify only the valid group was scheduled
+            mock_delete_task.assert_called_once()
+            call_kwargs = mock_delete_task.call_args.kwargs["kwargs"]
+            assert call_kwargs["object_ids"] == [valid_group.id]
+            assert call_kwargs["project_id"] == project.id
+
+        assert self._count_groups_in_deletion_status() != 0
+        with self.tasks():
+            delete_pending_groups()
+
+        assert self._count_groups_in_deletion_status() == 0
+        assert list(Group.objects.all().values_list("id", flat=True).order_by("id")) == [
+            too_recent.id,
+            too_old.id,
+            wrong_status.id,
+        ]
+
+    @patch("sentry.tasks.delete_pending_groups.delete_groups_for_project.apply_async")
+    def test_groups_by_project(self, mock_delete_task: MagicMock) -> None:
+        """Test that groups are properly grouped by project when scheduling deletion."""
+        project1 = self.create_project()
+        project2 = self.create_project()
+
+        group1 = self.create_group(
+            project=project1, status=GroupStatus.PENDING_DELETION, last_seen=self._days_ago(2)
+        )
+        group2 = self.create_group(
+            project=project1, status=GroupStatus.PENDING_DELETION, last_seen=self._days_ago(2)
+        )
+        group3 = self.create_group(
+            project=project2, status=GroupStatus.PENDING_DELETION, last_seen=self._days_ago(2)
+        )
+
+        delete_pending_groups()
+
+        assert mock_delete_task.call_count == 2
+
+        # Verify both projects got their deletion tasks scheduled
+        all_calls = mock_delete_task.call_args_list
+        project_ids = {call.kwargs["kwargs"]["project_id"] for call in all_calls}
+        assert project_ids == {project1.id, project2.id}
+
+        # Verify correct groups are in each call
+        for call in all_calls:
+            call_kwargs = call.kwargs["kwargs"]
+            if call_kwargs["project_id"] == project1.id:
+                assert set(call_kwargs["object_ids"]) == {group1.id, group2.id}
+            elif call_kwargs["project_id"] == project2.id:
+                assert set(call_kwargs["object_ids"]) == {group3.id}
+
+    @patch("sentry.tasks.delete_pending_groups.GROUP_CHUNK_SIZE", new=10)
+    @patch("sentry.tasks.delete_pending_groups.delete_groups_for_project.apply_async")
+    @patch("sentry.tasks.delete_pending_groups.metrics.incr")
+    def test_chunks_large_batches(
+        self,
+        mock_metrics_incr: MagicMock,
+        mock_delete_task: MagicMock,
+    ) -> None:
+        """Test that groups are chunked according to GROUP_CHUNK_SIZE when scheduling deletion."""
+        GROUP_CHUNK_SIZE = 10
+        GROUPS_MORE_THAN_CHUNK_SIZE = 5
+        project = self.create_project()
+
+        # Create more groups than GROUP_CHUNK_SIZE (10 in this test)
+        num_groups = GROUPS_MORE_THAN_CHUNK_SIZE + GROUP_CHUNK_SIZE
+        for _ in range(num_groups):
+            self.create_group(
+                project=project, status=GroupStatus.PENDING_DELETION, last_seen=self._days_ago(2)
+            )
+
+        delete_pending_groups()
+
+        # Should be called twice: one chunk of 10 and one of 5
+        assert mock_delete_task.call_count == 2
+
+        # Verify first chunk has GROUP_CHUNK_SIZE groups
+        first_call_kwargs = mock_delete_task.call_args_list[0].kwargs["kwargs"]
+        assert len(first_call_kwargs["object_ids"]) == GROUP_CHUNK_SIZE
+
+        # Verify second chunk has remaining groups
+        second_call_kwargs = mock_delete_task.call_args_list[1].kwargs["kwargs"]
+        assert len(second_call_kwargs["object_ids"]) == GROUPS_MORE_THAN_CHUNK_SIZE
+
+        # Assert metrics are called with correct totals
+        incr_calls = mock_metrics_incr.call_args_list
+        incr_names = [c.args[0] for c in incr_calls]
+        assert "delete_pending_groups.groups_scheduled" in incr_names
+        assert "delete_pending_groups.tasks_scheduled" in incr_names
+
+        groups_scheduled_call = next(
+            c for c in incr_calls if c.args[0] == "delete_pending_groups.groups_scheduled"
+        )
+        assert groups_scheduled_call.kwargs["amount"] == num_groups
+
+        tasks_scheduled_call = next(
+            c for c in incr_calls if c.args[0] == "delete_pending_groups.tasks_scheduled"
+        )
+        assert tasks_scheduled_call.kwargs["amount"] == 2