diff --git a/AUDIT.md b/AUDIT.md
index 4cba454..4055f78 100644
--- a/AUDIT.md
+++ b/AUDIT.md
@@ -910,6 +910,43 @@ a threshold comparison, not attempted this pass.
 
 `go build ./...`, `go vet ./...`, `go test ./...` all pass.
 
+## S11 — agent-initiated ROTATE, landed 2026-07-27
+
+The last of S11's four pieces that fits an in-band signal (milestone and
+thrash both need transcript/tool-call introspection this repo has no source
+for — still open). §5.3: *"agent-initiated `ROTATE` → emitted when a coherent
+unit finishes and the next is independent."* `continuity.Handoff`'s schema
+already anticipated this — `reasons["manual"]` was valid since B5 landed, but
+nothing ever checked for it.
+
+New `handoffReason(worktree)` (`internal/orchestrator/orchestrator.go`) reads
+`HandoffFile` if present and returns its decoded `meta.reason`, or `""` if
+absent/invalid — never `"manual"` on a bad read, so a malformed handoff can't
+accidentally short-circuit rotation. Both `rotate()` and `TurnDecision` check
+this first: if the agent already wrote a handoff with `reason=manual`, that
+**is** the boundary signal, so occupancy and the turn-boundary probe are
+skipped entirely and release proceeds straight away with `reason: "manual"`
+in the emitted `TaskReleased`. Below that check, the existing
+threshold/soft/hard logic is unchanged.
+
+Extracted the release tail (`Release` → anchor certification → `TaskReleased`
+append) shared between the threshold and manual paths in `TurnDecision` into
+`Coordinator.finishRelease`, since the manual path needed to reach the exact
+same anchor-safety logic (never emit a payload with an uncertifiable anchor)
+without going through occupancy/boundary gating first.
+
+Covered by `TestTurnDecision/"manual reason bypasses occupancy and turn
+boundary"` (`internal/orchestrator/rotation_test.go`): occupancy=0,
+boundary=false (both would refuse/continue under every other path), a
+`.orchestra-handoff.json` with `reason=manual` written directly to the
+worktree, and asserts `TurnRotateNow` + `Release` invoked + task state
+`StateQueued`.
+
+**Still open from S11:** milestone rotation and thrash detection — both need
+a source of transcript/tool-call data this repo doesn't have yet.
+
+`go build ./...`, `go vet ./...`, `go test ./...` all pass.
+
 ### Design consequences (not yet implemented)
 
 1. **Percentages are a level, not a delta.**
diff --git a/internal/orchestrator/orchestrator.go b/internal/orchestrator/orchestrator.go
index 5d6e134..6f8a88f 100644
--- a/internal/orchestrator/orchestrator.go
+++ b/internal/orchestrator/orchestrator.go
@@ -536,6 +536,22 @@ func (c *Coordinator) expire(ctx context.Context) ([]domain.Event, error) {
 	}
 	return events, nil
 }
+// handoffReason reads HandoffFile from the worktree, if present, and returns
+// its meta.reason ("threshold|milestone|thrash|manual" per §6.1). An unread­
+// able or invalid file returns "" — callers treat that as "no signal yet",
+// never as "manual".
+func handoffReason(worktree string) string {
+	b, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(worktree, herdr.HandoffFile))
+	if err != nil {
+		return ""
+	}
+	h, err := continuity.Decode(b)
+	if err != nil {
+		return ""
+	}
+	return h.Meta.Reason
+}
+
 func (c *Coordinator) rotate(ctx context.Context, hard float64) {
 	c.loadSessions()
 	c.mu.Lock()
@@ -554,45 +570,55 @@ func (c *Coordinator) rotate(ctx context.Context, hard float64) {
 			continue
 		}
 		reason := "threshold"
-		occupancy, err := a.Occupancy(session)
-		if err != nil || occupancy < c.soft() {
-			continue
-		}
-		if occupancy < hard {
-			// Soft threshold (§5.3): request a handoff early, advisory only
-			// — no release, no turn-boundary requirement.
-			if requester, ok := a.(herdr.HandoffRequester); ok {
-				if _, statErr := os.Stat(filepath.Join(session.Worktree, herdr.HandoffFile)); statErr != nil && !session.HandoffRequested {
-					if reqErr := requester.RequestHandoff(ctx, session); reqErr == nil {
-						session.HandoffRequested = true
-						c.mu.Lock()
-						c.sessions[taskID] = session
-						_ = c.saveSessionsLocked()
-						c.mu.Unlock()
+		// Agent-initiated ROTATE (§5.3): the agent itself wrote a handoff
+		// with reason=manual — "a coherent unit finished and the next is
+		// independent". That is the boundary signal in its own right; skip
+		// occupancy and the turn-boundary probe and go straight to release.
+		manual := handoffReason(session.Worktree) == "manual"
+		if manual {
+			reason = "manual"
+		} else {
+			occupancy, err := a.Occupancy(session)
+			if err != nil || occupancy < c.soft() {
+				continue
+			}
+			if occupancy < hard {
+				// Soft threshold (§5.3): request a handoff early, advisory
+				// only — no release, no turn-boundary requirement.
+				if requester, ok := a.(herdr.HandoffRequester); ok {
+					if _, statErr := os.Stat(filepath.Join(session.Worktree, herdr.HandoffFile)); statErr != nil && !session.HandoffRequested {
+						if reqErr := requester.RequestHandoff(ctx, session); reqErr == nil {
+							session.HandoffRequested = true
+							c.mu.Lock()
+							c.sessions[taskID] = session
+							_ = c.saveSessionsLocked()
+							c.mu.Unlock()
+						}
 					}
 				}
+				continue
 			}
-			continue
-		}
-		// Face B is treated as required, not best-effort (spec §5.2/§5.3):
-		// an adapter that supports the turn-boundary probe but fails to
-		// answer it blocks this tick's release rather than silently
-		// proceeding as if mid-turn interruption were safe. Only an
-		// adapter that genuinely does not implement TurnBoundary at all
-		// falls back to occupancy-only thresholding, and that fallback is
-		// recorded so it is observable (MonitorHealth.TurnBoundaryDegraded)
-		// instead of invisible.
-		if boundary, ok := a.(herdr.TurnBoundary); ok {
-			atBoundary, boundaryErr := boundary.AtTurnBoundary(ctx, session)
-			if boundaryErr != nil {
+			// Face B is treated as required, not best-effort (spec
+			// §5.2/§5.3): an adapter that supports the turn-boundary probe
+			// but fails to answer it blocks this tick's release rather than
+			// silently proceeding as if mid-turn interruption were safe.
+			// Only an adapter that genuinely does not implement
+			// TurnBoundary at all falls back to occupancy-only
+			// thresholding, and that fallback is recorded so it is
+			// observable (MonitorHealth.TurnBoundaryDegraded) instead of
+			// invisible.
+			if boundary, ok := a.(herdr.TurnBoundary); ok {
+				atBoundary, boundaryErr := boundary.AtTurnBoundary(ctx, session)
+				if boundaryErr != nil {
+					c.recordTurnBoundaryDegraded()
+					continue
+				}
+				if !atBoundary {
+					continue
+				}
+			} else {
 				c.recordTurnBoundaryDegraded()
-				continue
 			}
-			if !atBoundary {
-				continue
-			}
-		} else {
-			c.recordTurnBoundaryDegraded()
 		}
 		if requester, ok := a.(herdr.HandoffRequester); ok {
 			if _, statErr := os.Stat(filepath.Join(session.Worktree, herdr.HandoffFile)); statErr != nil {
@@ -668,6 +694,12 @@ func (c *Coordinator) TurnDecision(ctx context.Context, taskID string) (string,
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("orchestrator: adapter: %w", err)
 	}
+	// Agent-initiated ROTATE (§5.3): a handoff already written with
+	// reason=manual is itself the boundary signal — skip occupancy and the
+	// turn-boundary probe and release immediately.
+	if handoffReason(session.Worktree) == "manual" {
+		return c.finishRelease(ctx, taskID, task, session, a, "manual")
+	}
 	occupancy, err := a.Occupancy(session)
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("orchestrator: occupancy: %w", err)
@@ -720,6 +752,15 @@ func (c *Coordinator) TurnDecision(ctx context.Context, taskID string) (string,
 			return TurnPrepareHandoff, nil
 		}
 	}
+	return c.finishRelease(ctx, taskID, task, session, a, "threshold")
+}
+
+// finishRelease runs the common release tail shared by TurnDecision's
+// threshold path and its agent-initiated-ROTATE (reason=manual) shortcut:
+// call Adapter.Release, certify the anchor against the real worktree HEAD,
+// and emit TaskReleased. Any failure refuses rather than emitting a
+// TaskReleased payload that would fail validation and strand the session.
+func (c *Coordinator) finishRelease(ctx context.Context, taskID string, task domain.Task, session herdr.Session, a herdr.Adapter, reason string) (string, error) {
 	ref, err := a.Release(ctx, session)
 	if err != nil || ref == "" {
 		return TurnRefuse, nil
@@ -730,7 +771,7 @@ func (c *Coordinator) TurnDecision(ctx context.Context, taskID string) (string,
 		// invalid TaskReleased payload, same as rotate()'s bare continue.
 		return TurnRefuse, nil
 	}
-	b, _ := json.Marshal(map[string]string{"handoff_ref": ref, "reason": "threshold", "anchor_sha": anchorSHA})
+	b, _ := json.Marshal(map[string]string{"handoff_ref": ref, "reason": reason, "anchor_sha": anchorSHA})
 	e := domain.Event{ID: domain.NewID(), Type: "TaskReleased", TaskID: taskID, Version: task.Version + 1, Payload: b, Surface: string(authz.System)}
 	if err := c.Store.Append(e); err != nil {
 		return TurnRefuse, nil
diff --git a/internal/orchestrator/rotation_test.go b/internal/orchestrator/rotation_test.go
index b67d5e4..becc3f2 100644
--- a/internal/orchestrator/rotation_test.go
+++ b/internal/orchestrator/rotation_test.go
@@ -257,6 +257,54 @@ func TestTurnDecision(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Fatalf("task state=%v ok=%v, want leased", got.State, ok)
 		}
 	})
+
+	// Agent-initiated ROTATE (spec §5.3): a handoff the agent wrote with
+	// reason=manual is itself the boundary signal ("a coherent unit
+	// finished and the next is independent") — it must release immediately,
+	// bypassing occupancy and the turn-boundary probe entirely, not wait for
+	// either to agree.
+	t.Run("manual reason bypasses occupancy and turn boundary", func(t *testing.T) {
+		a := &fakeAdapter{occupancy: 0, boundary: false}
+		c, st, task := newCoordinator(a)
+		artifactRef, err := st.PutArtifact([]byte("handoff"))
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		a.ref = artifactRef
+		head, err := herdr.HeadSHA(repo)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		handoff := map[string]any{
+			"meta":   map[string]any{"id": "h2", "reason": "manual", "rotation_index": 0},
+			"anchor": map[string]any{"git_sha": head, "branch": "orchestra/t1"},
+			"goal":   "g", "done_when": []string{"x"}, "action": "prompt", "command": "go test ./...",
+		}
+		b, err := json.Marshal(handoff)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		handoffPath := repo + "/" + herdr.HandoffFile
+		if err := os.WriteFile(handoffPath, b, 0o644); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		t.Cleanup(func() { os.Remove(handoffPath) })
+
+		decision, err := c.TurnDecision(context.Background(), task.ID)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if decision != orchestrator.TurnRotateNow {
+			t.Fatalf("decision=%q want %q", decision, orchestrator.TurnRotateNow)
+		}
+		if a.releases == 0 {
+			t.Fatal("Release was never invoked for an agent-initiated manual rotate")
+		}
+		got, ok := st.Task(task.ID)
+		if !ok || got.State != domain.StateQueued {
+			t.Fatalf("task state=%v ok=%v, want queued", got.State, ok)
+		}
+	})
 }
 
 // TestStartBlocksOnInvalidPickup guards AUDIT.md's B6/Phase 4 item 4:
diff --git a/progress.md b/progress.md
index 5cfbd58..c96584a 100644
--- a/progress.md
+++ b/progress.md
@@ -282,8 +282,21 @@ Fixed so far:
   rotation, thrash detection, agent-initiated `ROTATE` — see AUDIT.md's S11
   section for why those are bigger than a threshold check.
 
+- **S11 (agent-initiated ROTATE)** — the schema already accepted
+  `meta.reason: "manual"` (since B5) but nothing checked for it. New
+  `handoffReason(worktree)` reads a written `.orchestra-handoff.json` and, if
+  its reason is `"manual"`, both `rotate()` and `TurnDecision` skip occupancy
+  and the turn-boundary probe entirely and release immediately — the agent's
+  own handoff *is* the boundary signal per §5.3 ("a coherent unit finished and
+  the next is independent"). Extracted the shared release-and-certify tail
+  into `Coordinator.finishRelease` so the manual path reaches the same
+  anchor-safety guarantee as the threshold path. Covered by a new
+  `TestTurnDecision` subtest (occupancy=0, boundary=false — every other path
+  would refuse or continue — asserting rotation happens anyway once a
+  `reason=manual` handoff exists).
+
 Not yet started: Codex/opencode Stop-hook-equivalent scripts, S8, S11's
-milestone/thrash/agent-`ROTATE` pieces. See `AUDIT.md` for the full plan.
+milestone/thrash pieces. See `AUDIT.md` for the full plan.
 
 **Phase 0 done (2026-07-27):** this box has live TCP reachability to the real
 herdr instance at `192.168.1.105:9245` — verified by hand (raw JSON-RPC