diff --git a/beetsplug/_utils/musicbrainz.py b/beetsplug/_utils/musicbrainz.py
index 2fc821df9..5d96581ab 100644
--- a/beetsplug/_utils/musicbrainz.py
+++ b/beetsplug/_utils/musicbrainz.py
@@ -193,10 +193,20 @@ class MusicBrainzAPI(RequestHandler):
         * Each filter key-value pair is formatted as 'key:"value"' unless
           - 'key' is empty, in which case only the value is used, '"value"'
           - 'value' is empty, in which case the filter is ignored
+          - 'value' is a UUID (MBID), in which case it's not quoted
         * Values are lowercased and stripped of whitespace.
         """
+        def format_value(value: str) -> str:
+            """Format a filter value, quoting it unless it's a UUID."""
+            # Check if value is a UUID (MBID) - 8-4-4-4-12 format with hyphens
+            if len(value) == 36 and value.count("-") == 4:
+                # Likely a UUID/MBID, don't quote it
+                return value
+            # Regular string value, quote it
+            return f'"{value}"'
+
         query = " AND ".join(
-            ":".join(filter(None, (k, f'"{_v}"')))
+            ":".join(filter(None, (k, format_value(_v))))
             for k, v in filters.items()
             if (_v := v.lower().strip())
         )
diff --git a/test/plugins/test_musicbrainz.py b/test/plugins/test_musicbrainz.py
index 069f1fb99..7d0f373bc 100644
--- a/test/plugins/test_musicbrainz.py
+++ b/test/plugins/test_musicbrainz.py
@@ -1109,6 +1109,62 @@ class TestMusicBrainzPlugin(PluginMixin):
         assert candidates[0].tracks[0].track_id == self.RECORDING["id"]
         assert candidates[0].album == "hi"
 
+    def test_candidates_with_va_likely(self, monkeypatch, mb):
+        """Test that Various Artists searches work with unquoted MBIDs."""
+        from unittest import mock
+        
+        # Track what query was used
+        query_used = []
+        
+        def mock_get_json(*args, **kwargs):
+            if 'params' in kwargs and 'query' in kwargs['params']:
+                query_used.append(kwargs['params']['query'])
+            return {"releases": [{"id": self.mbid}]}
+        
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            "beetsplug._utils.musicbrainz.MusicBrainzAPI.get_json",
+            mock_get_json,
+        )
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            "beetsplug._utils.musicbrainz.MusicBrainzAPI.get_release",
+            lambda *_, **__: {
+                "title": "VA Album",
+                "id": self.mbid,
+                "status": "official",
+                "media": [
+                    {
+                        "tracks": [
+                            {
+                                "id": "track1",
+                                "recording": self.RECORDING,
+                                "position": 1,
+                                "number": "1",
+                            }
+                        ],
+                        "position": 1,
+                    }
+                ],
+                "artist-credit": [
+                    {"artist": {"name": "Various Artists", "id": musicbrainz.VARIOUS_ARTISTS_ID}}
+                ],
+                "release-group": {"id": "rg-id"},
+            },
+        )
+        
+        # Test VA search
+        candidates = list(mb.candidates([], "Various Artists", "Test Album", va_likely=True))
+        
+        assert len(candidates) == 1
+        assert candidates[0].album == "VA Album"
+        
+        # Verify that the MBID was NOT quoted in the query
+        assert len(query_used) == 1
+        query = query_used[0]
+        # The VA MBID should appear unquoted
+        assert f'arid:{musicbrainz.VARIOUS_ARTISTS_ID}' in query
+        # Make sure it's not quoted
+        assert f'arid:"{musicbrainz.VARIOUS_ARTISTS_ID}"' not in query
+
     def test_import_handles_404_gracefully(self, mb, requests_mock):
         id_ = uuid.uuid4()
         response = requests.Response()