diff --git a/cmd/orchestra-worker/main.go b/cmd/orchestra-worker/main.go
index 94f01f3..6549cda 100644
--- a/cmd/orchestra-worker/main.go
+++ b/cmd/orchestra-worker/main.go
@@ -1776,6 +1776,13 @@ func (w *worker) federatedTurn(ctx context.Context, id string, a herdr.Adapter,
 		w.rotateForPhase(ctx, id, a, s)
 		return
 	}
+	// A plan phase asks to be verified before the work phase asks to move.
+	// Checked first because verifying the last phase is usually what makes a
+	// session ready to leave implement at all, and this session keeps running
+	// either way: verification is progress within a phase, not a change of one.
+	if w.requestPlanVerification(ctx, id, s) {
+		return
+	}
 	// The agent asks for a phase change here, at a boundary it has reached
 	// (F21). Orchestra decides, and an accepted change ends this session.
 	if w.requestPhase(ctx, id, s) {
@@ -2048,3 +2055,134 @@ func (w *worker) paneProgress(ctx context.Context, adapter herdr.CLIAdapter, s h
 	}
 	return adapter.PaneCapture(ctx, s, "recent")
 }
+
+// planProgressFile is the implementer's bounded verification request. It
+// carries one phase and one status, and the only status it may carry is a
+// request: an agent that could write "verified" would be marking its own work
+// done, which is the whole thing this machinery exists to prevent.
+const planProgressFile = "plan-progress.json"
+
+type planProgressRequest struct {
+	Phase  string `json:"phase"`
+	Status string `json:"status"`
+}
+
+// requestPlanVerification runs one phase's automated checks and posts the
+// results. It reports whether anything was done, so the caller does not treat
+// an absent request as a failure.
+//
+// The commands come from the accepted plan, which the coordinator resolves and
+// authorises. This worker never reads a command out of the request: the
+// request names a phase, and nothing else about it is trusted.
+func (w *worker) requestPlanVerification(ctx context.Context, id string, s herdr.Session) bool {
+	path := filepath.Join(s.Worktree, ".orchestra", planProgressFile)
+	b, err := os.ReadFile(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	var req planProgressRequest
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(b, &req); err != nil {
+		w.answerRefusedProgress(ctx, id, s, path, fmt.Sprintf(".orchestra/%s is not valid JSON: %v", planProgressFile, err))
+		return false
+	}
+	if req.Status != domain.PlanPhaseRequestStatus {
+		// Naming this refusal precisely matters: an agent that wrote
+		// "verified" is trying to establish a fact, and it has to learn that
+		// establishing facts is not its job rather than retry the same file.
+		w.answerRefusedProgress(ctx, id, s, path, fmt.Sprintf("status %q is not writable by you. The only status you may request is %q; Orchestra decides the rest by running the plan's own commands.", req.Status, domain.PlanPhaseRequestStatus))
+		return false
+	}
+	l := w.leases[id]
+	commands, err := w.api.PlanPhaseCommands(ctx, id, req.Phase, l.Epoch)
+	if err != nil {
+		// A refusal is an answer and reaches the agent. A transport failure is
+		// not, and the request survives for the next boundary.
+		var status *federation.StatusError
+		if errors.As(err, &status) && status.Code == http.StatusConflict {
+			w.answerRefusedProgress(ctx, id, s, path, status.Body)
+			return false
+		}
+		w.recordError(fmt.Errorf("plan verification %s: %w", id, err))
+		return false
+	}
+	head, err := git(ctx, s.Worktree, "rev-parse", "HEAD")
+	if err != nil {
+		w.recordError(fmt.Errorf("plan verification %s: head: %s: %w", id, head, err))
+		return false
+	}
+	runs := make([]federation.VerificationRun, 0, len(commands))
+	for _, argv := range commands {
+		// No shell. The quality gate's envelope is exec in the worktree, and a
+		// plan command is agent-authored, so it gets that envelope and never a
+		// weaker one. A pipe here is a literal argument.
+		cmd := exec.CommandContext(ctx, argv[0], argv[1:]...)
+		cmd.Dir = s.Worktree
+		out, runErr := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+		code := 0
+		if runErr != nil {
+			code = 1
+			var exit *exec.ExitError
+			if errors.As(runErr, &exit) {
+				code = exit.ExitCode()
+			}
+		}
+		runs = append(runs, federation.VerificationRun{Command: argv, ExitCode: code, Output: tail(string(out), review.MaxGateOutputBytes)})
+	}
+	status, err := w.api.RecordPlanPhase(ctx, id, req.Phase, strings.TrimSpace(string(head)), l.Epoch, runs)
+	if err != nil {
+		w.recordError(fmt.Errorf("plan verification %s: %w", id, err))
+		return false
+	}
+	// Durable before the request is removed. Removing first would lose the
+	// request if the response were lost, and the agent would wait on an answer
+	// that already happened.
+	if err := os.Remove(path); err != nil {
+		w.recordError(fmt.Errorf("plan verification %s: %w", id, err))
+	}
+	w.tellProgressOutcome(ctx, id, s, req.Phase, status, runs)
+	return true
+}
+
+// tellProgressOutcome delivers what Orchestra established. A phase that did
+// not verify is the case that matters: without this the agent sees a request
+// disappear and has to guess whether it worked.
+func (w *worker) tellProgressOutcome(ctx context.Context, id string, s herdr.Session, phase, status string, runs []federation.VerificationRun) {
+	var b strings.Builder
+	switch status {
+	case string(domain.PlanPhaseVerified):
+		fmt.Fprintf(&b, "Orchestra verified %s. Every automated check passed. Move to the next phase of the plan.", phase)
+	case string(domain.PlanPhaseAwaitingManual):
+		fmt.Fprintf(&b, "Orchestra ran %s's automated checks and they passed. The phase is waiting for the human to confirm its manual steps, which you cannot do. Continue with the next phase; the sign-off arrives on its own.", phase)
+	default:
+		fmt.Fprintf(&b, "Orchestra ran %s's checks and it is not verified. Fix what failed, then write .orchestra/%s again.\n", phase, planProgressFile)
+		for _, r := range runs {
+			if r.ExitCode == 0 {
+				continue
+			}
+			fmt.Fprintf(&b, "\n%s exited %d:\n%s\n", strings.Join(r.Command, " "), r.ExitCode, r.Output)
+		}
+	}
+	if err := w.sendPrompt(ctx, s, b.String()); err != nil {
+		w.recordError(fmt.Errorf("deliver plan verification %s: %w", id, err))
+	}
+	log.Printf("plan phase %s of %s: %s", phase, id, status)
+}
+
+// answerRefusedProgress tells the implementer why its request was refused and
+// drops the file so a corrected one can be written. Recording a refusal only
+// in worker health leaves a live session rewriting the same rejected file at
+// every boundary, which is the silent-loop shape this codebase keeps producing
+// (F39, F42, and the completion tail).
+func (w *worker) answerRefusedProgress(ctx context.Context, id string, s herdr.Session, path, reason string) {
+	w.recordError(fmt.Errorf("plan verification %s refused: %s", id, reason))
+	text := "Orchestra refused your verification request: " + reason +
+		"\n\nWrite a corrected .orchestra/" + planProgressFile + ", or keep working. Do not repeat the refused request."
+	if err := w.sendPrompt(ctx, s, text); err != nil {
+		w.recordError(fmt.Errorf("deliver plan verification refusal %s: %w", id, err))
+		return
+	}
+	if err := os.Remove(path); err != nil {
+		w.recordError(fmt.Errorf("plan verification %s: %w", id, err))
+	}
+	log.Printf("plan verification %s refused: %s", id, reason)
+}
diff --git a/cmd/orchestra-worker/phase_test.go b/cmd/orchestra-worker/phase_test.go
index a756e24..1cf3a5d 100644
--- a/cmd/orchestra-worker/phase_test.go
+++ b/cmd/orchestra-worker/phase_test.go
@@ -359,3 +359,101 @@ func TestClaudeHarnessReachesTheTurnBoundary(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	_ = backend
 }
+
+// An agent may request verification. It may never assert one: writing
+// "verified" is claiming its own work is done, which is what the whole
+// machinery exists to prevent. The refusal has to reach the pane, or the
+// session rewrites the same rejected file at every boundary.
+func TestPlanVerificationRefusesAnyStatusButARequest(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, status := range []string{"verified", "awaiting_manual_verification", "failed", "skipped", ""} {
+		w, backend, wt, done := phaseWorker(t, func(rw http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+			t.Errorf("a refused request reached the coordinator at %s", r.URL.Path)
+			rw.WriteHeader(http.StatusNotFound)
+		})
+		path := filepath.Join(wt, ".orchestra", planProgressFile)
+		if err := os.WriteFile(path, []byte(`{"phase":"phase-1","status":"`+status+`"}`), 0o644); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if w.requestPlanVerification(context.Background(), "task", w.sessions["task"]) {
+			t.Fatalf("status %q was accepted", status)
+		}
+		if len(backend.prompts) == 0 {
+			t.Fatalf("status %q was refused with nothing delivered to the pane", status)
+		}
+		if !strings.Contains(backend.prompts[0], "ready_for_verification") {
+			t.Fatalf("the refusal does not name the only writable status: %s", backend.prompts[0])
+		}
+		if _, err := os.Stat(path); !os.IsNotExist(err) {
+			t.Fatalf("status %q left the refused request in place", status)
+		}
+		done()
+	}
+}
+
+// An absent request is not a failure and must not reach the pane.
+func TestNoPlanVerificationRequestIsSilent(t *testing.T) {
+	w, backend, _, done := phaseWorker(t, func(rw http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		t.Errorf("an absent request reached the coordinator at %s", r.URL.Path)
+	})
+	defer done()
+	if w.requestPlanVerification(context.Background(), "task", w.sessions["task"]) {
+		t.Fatal("an absent request reported work done")
+	}
+	if len(backend.prompts) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("an absent request spoke to the pane: %v", backend.prompts)
+	}
+}
+
+// The commands come from the accepted plan, resolved and authorised by the
+// coordinator. The worker must never take one out of the agent's request.
+func TestPlanVerificationRunsThePlansCommandsAndReportsExitCodes(t *testing.T) {
+	var reported map[string]any
+	w, backend, wt, done := phaseWorker(t, func(rw http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		switch {
+		case strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/plan-phase"):
+			json.NewEncoder(rw).Encode(map[string]any{"commands": [][]string{{"true"}, {"false"}}})
+		case strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/plan-phase-result"):
+			json.NewDecoder(r.Body).Decode(&reported)
+			json.NewEncoder(rw).Encode(map[string]any{"status": "in_progress"})
+		default:
+			t.Errorf("unexpected %s", r.URL.Path)
+			rw.WriteHeader(http.StatusNotFound)
+		}
+	})
+	defer done()
+	// A git worktree, so the verification can anchor to a real commit.
+	for _, args := range [][]string{{"init"}, {"config", "user.email", "t@example.com"}, {"config", "user.name", "t"}, {"commit", "--allow-empty", "-m", "base"}} {
+		if out, err := git(context.Background(), wt, args...); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("git %v: %s: %v", args, out, err)
+		}
+	}
+	path := filepath.Join(wt, ".orchestra", planProgressFile)
+	if err := os.WriteFile(path, []byte(`{"phase":"phase-1","status":"ready_for_verification","commands":[["rm","-rf","/"]]}`), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if !w.requestPlanVerification(context.Background(), "task", w.sessions["task"]) {
+		t.Fatal("a valid request did nothing")
+	}
+	runs, _ := reported["runs"].([]any)
+	if len(runs) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("reported %d runs, want the plan's 2: %v", len(runs), reported)
+	}
+	first, _ := runs[0].(map[string]any)
+	second, _ := runs[1].(map[string]any)
+	if first["exit_code"].(float64) != 0 || second["exit_code"].(float64) == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("exit codes were not reported faithfully: %v", runs)
+	}
+	// The command list in the request is ignored entirely.
+	cmd, _ := first["command"].([]any)
+	if len(cmd) != 1 || cmd[0].(string) != "true" {
+		t.Fatalf("the worker ran something other than the plan's command: %v", cmd)
+	}
+	if sha, _ := reported["at_sha"].(string); len(sha) != 40 {
+		t.Fatalf("the verification was not anchored to a commit: %q", sha)
+	}
+	// A phase that did not verify has to say why, or the agent sees its
+	// request vanish and guesses.
+	if len(backend.prompts) == 0 || !strings.Contains(backend.prompts[0], "not verified") {
+		t.Fatalf("the outcome was not delivered: %v", backend.prompts)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/cmd/orchestra/main.go b/cmd/orchestra/main.go
index 38e5dc1..e8e086a 100644
--- a/cmd/orchestra/main.go
+++ b/cmd/orchestra/main.go
@@ -1339,7 +1339,7 @@ func main() {
 		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusNoContent)
 	})
 	mux.HandleFunc("/v1/federation/workers/", func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
-		if r.Method != http.MethodPost || (!strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/heartbeat") && !strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/renew") && !strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/start") && !strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/nack") && !strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/handoff") && !strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/pickup") && !strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/complete") && !strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/submit") && !strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/captures")) {
+		if r.Method != http.MethodPost || (!strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/heartbeat") && !strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/renew") && !strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/start") && !strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/nack") && !strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/handoff") && !strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/pickup") && !strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/complete") && !strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/submit") && !strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/plan-phase") && !strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/plan-phase-result") && !strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/captures")) {
 			http.Error(w, "not found", 404)
 			return
 		}
@@ -1389,23 +1389,26 @@ func main() {
 			return
 		}
 		var b struct {
-			TaskID          string                 `json:"task_id"`
-			TTLSeconds      int                    `json:"ttl_seconds"`
-			ExpectedVersion int                    `json:"expected_version"`
-			HandoffRef      string                 `json:"handoff_ref"`
-			AnchorSHA       string                 `json:"anchor_sha"`
-			TransactionID   string                 `json:"transaction_id"`
-			LeaseVersion    int                    `json:"lease_version"`
-			LeaseEpoch      string                 `json:"lease_epoch"`
-			ResultSHA       string                 `json:"result_sha"`
-			Branch          string                 `json:"branch"`
-			Remote          string                 `json:"remote"`
-			Receipt         map[string]any         `json:"receipt"`
-			FailureClass    string                 `json:"failure_class"`
-			LastError       string                 `json:"last_error"`
-			SessionEvidence domain.SessionEvidence `json:"session_evidence"`
-			Review          review.Result          `json:"review"`
-			Gate            domain.GateResult      `json:"gate"`
+			TaskID          string                       `json:"task_id"`
+			TTLSeconds      int                          `json:"ttl_seconds"`
+			ExpectedVersion int                          `json:"expected_version"`
+			HandoffRef      string                       `json:"handoff_ref"`
+			AnchorSHA       string                       `json:"anchor_sha"`
+			TransactionID   string                       `json:"transaction_id"`
+			LeaseVersion    int                          `json:"lease_version"`
+			LeaseEpoch      string                       `json:"lease_epoch"`
+			ResultSHA       string                       `json:"result_sha"`
+			Branch          string                       `json:"branch"`
+			Remote          string                       `json:"remote"`
+			Receipt         map[string]any               `json:"receipt"`
+			FailureClass    string                       `json:"failure_class"`
+			LastError       string                       `json:"last_error"`
+			SessionEvidence domain.SessionEvidence       `json:"session_evidence"`
+			Review          review.Result                `json:"review"`
+			Gate            domain.GateResult            `json:"gate"`
+			PhaseID         string                       `json:"phase_id"`
+			AtSHA           string                       `json:"at_sha"`
+			Runs            []operations.VerificationRun `json:"runs"`
 		}
 		if json.NewDecoder(r.Body).Decode(&b) != nil || b.TaskID == "" {
 			http.Error(w, "invalid lease body", 400)
@@ -1432,6 +1435,34 @@ func main() {
 			http.Error(w, "lease version conflict", http.StatusConflict)
 			return
 		}
+		if strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/plan-phase") || strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/plan-phase-result") {
+			project, ok := rr.Project(t.Project)
+			if !ok {
+				http.Error(w, "unknown project "+t.Project, 409)
+				return
+			}
+			if strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/plan-phase") {
+				// Resolve and authorise before anything runs. A command the
+				// project does not permit is refused here, so a partial
+				// execution can never leave side effects behind.
+				phase, err := operations.PlanPhaseCommands(s, project, b.TaskID, b.PhaseID)
+				if err != nil {
+					http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusConflict)
+					return
+				}
+				json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(map[string]any{"commands": phase.Automated})
+				return
+			}
+			e, err := operations.RecordPlanPhaseVerification(s, project, b.TaskID, b.PhaseID, b.AtSHA, b.Runs)
+			if err != nil {
+				http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusConflict)
+				return
+			}
+			var rec domain.PlanPhaseRecord
+			_ = json.Unmarshal(e.Payload, &rec)
+			json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(map[string]any{"status": string(rec.Status), "event": e})
+			return
+		}
 		if strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/submit") {
 			// Seal the review, then submit the commit it examined. Both events
 			// are Orchestra's; the worker supplies verified evidence and the
diff --git a/deploy/config.example.jsonc b/deploy/config.example.jsonc
index 9ae63e0..01aa85f 100644
--- a/deploy/config.example.jsonc
+++ b/deploy/config.example.jsonc
@@ -17,6 +17,23 @@
                                                               // Overrides global ORCHESTRA_WORKTREE_ROOT.
       "quality_gate": "go test ./... && go vet ./..."      // Worker runs this before deterministic delivery.
       ,
+      // What a plan's automated verification may execute. A plan command is
+      // agent-authored, so it does not inherit the operator-authored quality
+      // gate's envelope: it runs as argv with no shell, and only if some
+      // pattern here matches it positionally. An absent policy refuses every
+      // plan command, and the planner is told so when it seals.
+      //   "*"      matches exactly one element, any value
+      //   "x/..."  matches a path argument under that prefix
+      //   a trailing "*" matches the remaining elements, and is the only way
+      //            a pattern authorises a longer command
+      "verification": {
+        "allowed": [
+          ["go", "test", "./..."],
+          ["go", "test", "./internal/..."],
+          ["go", "vet", "./..."],
+          ["go", "build", "./..."]
+        ]
+      },
       // Cognitive phase path. Omit for the default
       // frame -> research -> plan -> implement -> review. A phase left out is
       // skipped, which is how a trivial project runs frame/implement/review.
diff --git a/internal/agentctx/agentctx.go b/internal/agentctx/agentctx.go
index 9e3da94..5efe333 100644
--- a/internal/agentctx/agentctx.go
+++ b/internal/agentctx/agentctx.go
@@ -305,6 +305,12 @@ func renderTask(in Input) string {
 	fmt.Fprintf(&b, "- uncommitted changes: %t\n", in.Git.Dirty)
 
 	b.WriteString(renderSealed(in))
+	// Below the plan, above continuity. Progress is a fact about the plan, so
+	// it follows the plan; continuity is one predecessor's account, so it
+	// ranks under both.
+	if in.Phase == domain.WorkPhaseImplement {
+		b.WriteString(renderPlanProgress(in))
+	}
 	b.WriteString(renderFindings(in))
 	b.WriteString(renderEvidence(in))
 
@@ -410,6 +416,49 @@ func fallback(s string) string {
 //	plan      -> accepted research
 //	implement -> accepted research and accepted plan
 //	review    -> accepted plan
+// renderPlanProgress states what Orchestra established about the accepted
+// plan, which is the half a rotated successor cannot reconstruct. A verified
+// phase is named with the commit it was verified at, and labelled stale when
+// the tree has moved, so "verified" never reads as a claim about code that has
+// since changed.
+func renderPlanProgress(in Input) string {
+	if in.Plan == nil || len(in.Plan.Phases) == 0 {
+		return ""
+	}
+	records := in.Task.PlanPhases()
+	byPhase := map[string]domain.PlanPhaseRecord{}
+	for _, r := range records {
+		byPhase[r.PhaseID] = r
+	}
+	var b strings.Builder
+	b.WriteString("\n## Plan progress\n\nOrchestra established this by running the plan's own verification. You cannot write it.\n\n")
+	current := ""
+	for _, phase := range in.Plan.Phases {
+		rec, ok := byPhase[phase.ID]
+		switch {
+		case !ok:
+			fmt.Fprintf(&b, "- %s (%s): not started\n", phase.ID, collapse(phase.Name))
+		case rec.Status == domain.PlanPhaseVerified && rec.Stale(in.Git.HeadSHA):
+			fmt.Fprintf(&b, "- %s (%s): verified at %s, stale because the tree is now at %s\n", phase.ID, collapse(phase.Name), short(rec.AtSHA), short(in.Git.HeadSHA))
+		case rec.Status == domain.PlanPhaseVerified:
+			fmt.Fprintf(&b, "- %s (%s): verified at %s\n", phase.ID, collapse(phase.Name), short(rec.AtSHA))
+		case rec.Status == domain.PlanPhaseAwaitingManual:
+			fmt.Fprintf(&b, "- %s (%s): automated checks passed at %s, waiting for the human to confirm the manual steps\n", phase.ID, collapse(phase.Name), short(rec.AtSHA))
+		default:
+			fmt.Fprintf(&b, "- %s (%s): in progress, last verification exited %v\n", phase.ID, collapse(phase.Name), rec.ExitCodes)
+		}
+		if current == "" && (!ok || rec.Status != domain.PlanPhaseVerified) {
+			current = phase.ID
+		}
+	}
+	if current == "" {
+		b.WriteString("\nEvery phase is verified.\n")
+		return b.String()
+	}
+	fmt.Fprintf(&b, "\nYour current phase is %s. When you believe it is done, write .orchestra/plan-progress.json:\n\n    {\"phase\": %q, \"status\": \"ready_for_verification\"}\n\nThat is a request, not a result. Orchestra runs that phase's own automated commands and records what they exit. No other status is writable: you cannot mark a phase verified, and claiming one would be refused.\n", current, current)
+	return b.String()
+}
+
 func renderSealed(in Input) string {
 	var b strings.Builder
 	research := in.Research
@@ -446,6 +495,12 @@ func renderSealed(in Input) string {
 			}
 		}
 	}
+	if plan != nil && len(plan.Phases) == 0 {
+		// A plan sealed before plan.md names no executable unit, so phase
+		// progress cannot apply to it. Saying so beats a silently absent
+		// progress section, which reads as "no phase is done yet".
+		b.WriteString("\nThis is a legacy accepted plan, sealed before plan.md. Phase progress is unavailable for it: work from the plan text and finish the phase the usual way.\n")
+	}
 	if plan != nil {
 		// Verbatim, never collapsed. The plan is the execution map an
 		// implement session works from, and a rotated successor has to receive
diff --git a/internal/domain/domain.go b/internal/domain/domain.go
index a43cfff..2bbe7f7 100644
--- a/internal/domain/domain.go
+++ b/internal/domain/domain.go
@@ -203,7 +203,11 @@ type Task struct {
 	// finished. The next phase reads these, never the session that wrote them.
 	ResearchRef string `json:"research_ref,omitempty"`
 	PlanRef     string `json:"plan_ref,omitempty"`
-	LastError   string `json:"last_error,omitempty"`
+	// PlanProgress is what Orchestra established about the accepted plan's
+	// phases. Read it through PlanPhases, which discards records belonging to
+	// a superseded plan.
+	PlanProgress *PlanProgress `json:"plan_progress,omitempty"`
+	LastError    string        `json:"last_error,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // ReviewRef binds a sealed review artifact to one commit.
@@ -262,7 +266,7 @@ func ValidateEvent(e Event) error {
 	if e.SchemaVersion >= 2 && strings.TrimSpace(e.Surface) == "" {
 		return fmt.Errorf("%w: surface required", ErrInvalid)
 	}
-	allowed := map[string]bool{"TaskCreated": true, "TaskLeased": true, "TaskLeaseRenewed": true, "TaskReleased": true, "TaskLaunchAcknowledged": true, "TaskPickupValidated": true, "TaskCompleted": true, "TaskFailed": true, "TaskBlocked": true, "TaskNeedsAttention": true, "ApprovalRequested": true, "ApprovalGranted": true, "ApprovalDenied": true, "TaskAmended": true, "TaskCorrected": true, "QuotaReported": true, "StandupAdvisory": true, EventHumanDecisionRecorded: true, EventHumanDecisionSuperseded: true, EventWorkPhaseChanged: true, EventDeferredFindingRecorded: true, EventReviewRecorded: true, EventTaskSubmitted: true, EventTaskChangesRequested: true}
+	allowed := map[string]bool{"TaskCreated": true, "TaskLeased": true, "TaskLeaseRenewed": true, "TaskReleased": true, "TaskLaunchAcknowledged": true, "TaskPickupValidated": true, "TaskCompleted": true, "TaskFailed": true, "TaskBlocked": true, "TaskNeedsAttention": true, "ApprovalRequested": true, "ApprovalGranted": true, "ApprovalDenied": true, "TaskAmended": true, "TaskCorrected": true, "QuotaReported": true, "StandupAdvisory": true, EventHumanDecisionRecorded: true, EventHumanDecisionSuperseded: true, EventWorkPhaseChanged: true, EventDeferredFindingRecorded: true, EventReviewRecorded: true, EventTaskSubmitted: true, EventTaskChangesRequested: true, EventPlanPhaseVerified: true}
 	if !allowed[e.Type] {
 		return fmt.Errorf("%w: unknown type %q", ErrInvalid, e.Type)
 	}
@@ -540,6 +544,8 @@ func ValidatePayload(typ string, p map[string]any) error {
 				return fmt.Errorf("%w: decision_ids entries must be ids", ErrInvalid)
 			}
 		}
+	case EventPlanPhaseVerified:
+		return ValidatePlanPhaseVerified(p)
 	case EventReviewRecorded:
 		if err := requiredHash(p, "artifact_ref"); err != nil {
 			return err
diff --git a/internal/domain/planprogress.go b/internal/domain/planprogress.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ba5de79
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/domain/planprogress.go
@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+package domain
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// EventPlanPhaseVerified records that Orchestra ran a plan phase's automated
+// verification and what happened. The implementer never emits it: an agent may
+// request verification, and only the plane can establish it.
+const EventPlanPhaseVerified = "PlanPhaseVerified"
+
+// PlanPhaseStatus is what Orchestra established about one phase.
+type PlanPhaseStatus string
+
+const (
+	// PlanPhaseInProgress is the default and the outcome of a failed run. It
+	// is never written by a request, only left in place by one.
+	PlanPhaseInProgress PlanPhaseStatus = "in_progress"
+	// PlanPhaseAwaitingManual means every automated check passed and manual
+	// steps remain. A human signs those off; the agent cannot.
+	PlanPhaseAwaitingManual PlanPhaseStatus = "awaiting_manual_verification"
+	// PlanPhaseVerified means nothing further is required for this phase.
+	PlanPhaseVerified PlanPhaseStatus = "verified"
+)
+
+func (s PlanPhaseStatus) Valid() bool {
+	switch s {
+	case PlanPhaseInProgress, PlanPhaseAwaitingManual, PlanPhaseVerified:
+		return true
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+// PlanPhaseRequestStatus is the single value an implementer may write. Every
+// other status is a conclusion Orchestra reaches, so allowing an agent to
+// assert one would let it declare its own work verified.
+const PlanPhaseRequestStatus = "ready_for_verification"
+
+// PlanPhaseRecord is one verification run, bound to the plan it belongs to and
+// the commit it ran against.
+//
+// Both bindings are load-bearing. Without PlanRef, a phase verified under plan
+// A survives into plan B, which is the same class of bug as a review that
+// outlives the commit it examined. Without AtSHA, "verified" outlives the code
+// that made it true.
+type PlanPhaseRecord struct {
+	PlanRef   string          `json:"plan_ref"`
+	PhaseID   string          `json:"phase_id"`
+	Status    PlanPhaseStatus `json:"status"`
+	Commands  [][]string      `json:"commands,omitempty"`
+	ExitCodes []int           `json:"exit_codes,omitempty"`
+	AtSHA     string          `json:"at_sha"`
+	// EvidenceRef is the CAS ref of the captured command output.
+	EvidenceRef string    `json:"evidence_ref,omitempty"`
+	At          time.Time `json:"at"`
+}
+
+// Stale reports whether the tree has moved since this phase was verified. A
+// stale record is retained and labelled rather than discarded: it is still
+// true that the phase passed at that commit, and hiding it would lose the
+// provenance. What it must never do is read as current.
+func (r PlanPhaseRecord) Stale(headSHA string) bool {
+	return headSHA != "" && r.AtSHA != "" && r.AtSHA != headSHA
+}
+
+// PlanProgress is the durable verification state for one accepted plan.
+type PlanProgress struct {
+	// PlanRef is the plan these records belong to. A record from a superseded
+	// plan is never counted, so a replan cannot inherit progress it did not
+	// earn.
+	PlanRef string            `json:"plan_ref"`
+	Phases  []PlanPhaseRecord `json:"phases,omitempty"`
+}
+
+// PlanPhases returns the records that belong to the currently accepted plan.
+// A task whose plan was superseded reports none, whatever the log still holds.
+func (t Task) PlanPhases() []PlanPhaseRecord {
+	if t.PlanProgress == nil || t.PlanRef == "" || t.PlanProgress.PlanRef != t.PlanRef {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return t.PlanProgress.Phases
+}
+
+// PlanPhase returns the record for one phase of the accepted plan.
+func (t Task) PlanPhase(id string) (PlanPhaseRecord, bool) {
+	for _, r := range t.PlanPhases() {
+		if r.PhaseID == id {
+			return r, true
+		}
+	}
+	return PlanPhaseRecord{}, false
+}
+
+// PlanPhaseSubject is the decision subject a manual sign-off carries. The key
+// binds the approval to one phase of one plan, so a later "looks good" on an
+// unrelated thread cannot satisfy a gate nobody was talking about.
+func PlanPhaseSubject(planRef, phaseID string) string {
+	return "plan_phase_verification:" + planRef + ":" + phaseID
+}
+
+const maxVerificationCommands = 16
+
+func ValidatePlanPhaseVerified(p map[string]any) error {
+	planRef, _ := p["plan_ref"].(string)
+	if strings.TrimSpace(planRef) == "" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%w: plan_ref required", ErrInvalid)
+	}
+	phaseID, _ := p["phase_id"].(string)
+	if strings.TrimSpace(phaseID) == "" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%w: phase_id required", ErrInvalid)
+	}
+	status, _ := p["status"].(string)
+	if !PlanPhaseStatus(status).Valid() {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%w: status %q is not a plan phase status", ErrInvalid, status)
+	}
+	if sha, _ := p["at_sha"].(string); len(sha) != 40 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%w: at_sha must be a full commit sha", ErrInvalid)
+	}
+	codes, _ := p["exit_codes"].([]any)
+	if len(codes) > maxVerificationCommands {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%w: %d exit codes exceeds the %d command bound", ErrInvalid, len(codes), maxVerificationCommands)
+	}
+	// A verified phase whose commands failed would be a contradiction the
+	// reducer could not detect later.
+	if PlanPhaseStatus(status) != PlanPhaseInProgress {
+		for _, c := range codes {
+			if code, ok := c.(float64); !ok || code != 0 {
+				return fmt.Errorf("%w: status %q cannot carry a non-zero exit code", ErrInvalid, status)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/internal/domain/planprogress_test.go b/internal/domain/planprogress_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b478eb7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/domain/planprogress_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+package domain
+
+import "testing"
+
+// Progress earned under plan A must not survive into plan B. Without this, a
+// replan inherits verification it did not earn, which is the same shape as a
+// review outliving the commit it examined.
+//
+// The reducer also clears the records on a re-seal. This guards the read side,
+// so a record that reaches a reader by any other route is still not counted.
+func TestPlanPhasesIgnoresRecordsFromASupersededPlan(t *testing.T) {
+	task := Task{
+		PlanRef: "plan-b",
+		PlanProgress: &PlanProgress{PlanRef: "plan-a", Phases: []PlanPhaseRecord{
+			{PhaseID: "phase-1", PlanRef: "plan-a", Status: PlanPhaseVerified, AtSHA: "abc"},
+		}},
+	}
+	if got := task.PlanPhases(); len(got) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("progress from plan-a counted under plan-b: %+v", got)
+	}
+	if _, ok := task.PlanPhase("phase-1"); ok {
+		t.Fatal("a superseded phase was addressable")
+	}
+	task.PlanProgress.PlanRef = "plan-b"
+	if got := task.PlanPhases(); len(got) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("progress for the accepted plan was discarded: %+v", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// A task with no accepted plan counts nothing, whatever the projection holds.
+func TestPlanPhasesRequiresAnAcceptedPlan(t *testing.T) {
+	task := Task{PlanProgress: &PlanProgress{PlanRef: "plan-a", Phases: []PlanPhaseRecord{{PhaseID: "phase-1"}}}}
+	if got := task.PlanPhases(); len(got) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("progress counted with no PlanRef: %+v", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestPlanPhaseSubjectBindsPlanAndPhase(t *testing.T) {
+	if PlanPhaseSubject("ref-a", "phase-1") == PlanPhaseSubject("ref-b", "phase-1") {
+		t.Fatal("two plans share a manual sign-off subject")
+	}
+	if PlanPhaseSubject("ref-a", "phase-1") == PlanPhaseSubject("ref-a", "phase-2") {
+		t.Fatal("two phases share a manual sign-off subject")
+	}
+}
+
+// An agent may request verification. Every other status is a conclusion
+// Orchestra reaches, so a payload claiming one with a failing command is a
+// contradiction the reducer could not detect later.
+func TestVerifiedStatusCannotCarryAFailingCommand(t *testing.T) {
+	sha := "1111111111111111111111111111111111111111"
+	base := func() map[string]any {
+		return map[string]any{"plan_ref": "r", "phase_id": "phase-1", "at_sha": sha}
+	}
+	ok := base()
+	ok["status"] = string(PlanPhaseVerified)
+	ok["exit_codes"] = []any{float64(0)}
+	if err := ValidatePlanPhaseVerified(ok); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("a passing verification was refused: %v", err)
+	}
+	bad := base()
+	bad["status"] = string(PlanPhaseVerified)
+	bad["exit_codes"] = []any{float64(1)}
+	if err := ValidatePlanPhaseVerified(bad); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("verified with a non-zero exit code was accepted")
+	}
+	agent := base()
+	agent["status"] = PlanPhaseRequestStatus
+	if err := ValidatePlanPhaseVerified(agent); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("ready_for_verification was accepted as a durable status")
+	}
+	noSHA := base()
+	noSHA["status"] = string(PlanPhaseVerified)
+	noSHA["at_sha"] = "abc"
+	if err := ValidatePlanPhaseVerified(noSHA); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("a verification with no anchored commit was accepted")
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/federation/client.go b/internal/federation/client.go
index b2b8caa..83bd0e5 100644
--- a/internal/federation/client.go
+++ b/internal/federation/client.go
@@ -326,6 +326,52 @@ func (c Client) Submit(ctx context.Context, taskID, epoch string, expectedVersio
 	return out.Status, nil
 }
 
+// VerificationRun is one plan command the worker executed.
+type VerificationRun struct {
+	Command  []string `json:"command"`
+	ExitCode int      `json:"exit_code"`
+	Output   string   `json:"output,omitempty"`
+}
+
+// PlanPhaseCommands asks the coordinator which commands a phase's verification
+// runs. The worker never takes a command from the agent's request: the plan
+// settled that at seal time, and the project's policy authorises it here.
+func (c Client) PlanPhaseCommands(ctx context.Context, taskID, phaseID, epoch string) ([][]string, error) {
+	resp, err := c.request(ctx, http.MethodPost, "/v1/federation/workers/"+url.PathEscape(c.WorkerID)+"/plan-phase", map[string]any{
+		"task_id": taskID, "phase_id": phaseID, "lease_epoch": epoch,
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	defer resp.Body.Close()
+	var out struct {
+		Commands [][]string `json:"commands"`
+	}
+	if err := json.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&out); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return out.Commands, nil
+}
+
+// RecordPlanPhase reports what the commands exited and returns the status
+// Orchestra established. The worker supplies evidence; it does not conclude.
+func (c Client) RecordPlanPhase(ctx context.Context, taskID, phaseID, atSHA, epoch string, runs []VerificationRun) (string, error) {
+	resp, err := c.request(ctx, http.MethodPost, "/v1/federation/workers/"+url.PathEscape(c.WorkerID)+"/plan-phase-result", map[string]any{
+		"task_id": taskID, "phase_id": phaseID, "at_sha": atSHA, "lease_epoch": epoch, "runs": runs,
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	defer resp.Body.Close()
+	var out struct {
+		Status string `json:"status"`
+	}
+	if err := json.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&out); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	return out.Status, nil
+}
+
 func (c Client) PublishCapture(ctx context.Context, capture Capture) (Capture, error) {
 	resp, err := c.request(ctx, http.MethodPost, "/v1/federation/workers/"+url.PathEscape(c.WorkerID)+"/captures", capture)
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/internal/operations/planprogress.go b/internal/operations/planprogress.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4d7a54e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/operations/planprogress.go
@@ -0,0 +1,171 @@
+package operations
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+
+	"orchestra/internal/authz"
+	"orchestra/internal/domain"
+	"orchestra/internal/registry"
+	"orchestra/internal/store"
+	"orchestra/internal/workphase"
+)
+
+// ErrPlanPhase reports that a verification request cannot proceed. The reason
+// is always specific, because it is delivered to a live implementer that has
+// to act on it.
+var ErrPlanPhase = fmt.Errorf("plan phase verification refused")
+
+// VerificationRun is the outcome of one command the worker executed.
+type VerificationRun struct {
+	Command  []string `json:"command"`
+	ExitCode int      `json:"exit_code"`
+	Output   string   `json:"output,omitempty"`
+}
+
+// PlanPhaseCommands resolves the commands a phase's verification will run.
+//
+// The commands come from the accepted plan, never from the request. An
+// implementer asks to verify a phase; what that phase is checked with was
+// settled when the plan was sealed, so a request cannot smuggle in a command
+// the planner did not write.
+//
+// Every command is checked against the project's policy before any of them
+// runs. A partial execution followed by a refusal would leave side effects
+// behind with nothing recording them.
+func PlanPhaseCommands(s *store.Store, project registry.Project, taskID, phaseID string) (workphase.PlanPhase, error) {
+	t, ok := s.Task(taskID)
+	if !ok {
+		return workphase.PlanPhase{}, domain.ErrNotFound
+	}
+	if t.PlanRef == "" {
+		return workphase.PlanPhase{}, fmt.Errorf("%w: this task has no accepted plan", ErrPlanPhase)
+	}
+	raw, err := s.Artifact(t.PlanRef)
+	if err != nil {
+		return workphase.PlanPhase{}, fmt.Errorf("read accepted plan: %w", err)
+	}
+	doc, err := workphase.DecodeStoredPlan(raw)
+	if err != nil {
+		return workphase.PlanPhase{}, fmt.Errorf("read accepted plan: %w", err)
+	}
+	if len(doc.Phases) == 0 {
+		// A plan sealed before plan.md names no executable unit. Saying so is
+		// the honest answer; inventing a phase would make progress against a
+		// plan that never had any.
+		return workphase.PlanPhase{}, fmt.Errorf("%w: the accepted plan predates plan.md and declares no phases, so phase progress does not apply to it", ErrPlanPhase)
+	}
+	phase, ok := doc.Phase(phaseID)
+	if !ok {
+		return workphase.PlanPhase{}, fmt.Errorf("%w: the accepted plan has no %s; it has %s", ErrPlanPhase, phaseID, phaseNames(doc))
+	}
+	for _, argv := range phase.Automated {
+		if allowed, why := project.Verification.Allows(argv); !allowed {
+			// Refused before anything ran. The planner wrote a command the
+			// project does not permit, and the implementer is told rather
+			// than left retrying a phase that can never verify.
+			return workphase.PlanPhase{}, fmt.Errorf("%w: %s declares a command %s cannot run: %s", ErrPlanPhase, phaseID, project.ID, why)
+		}
+	}
+	return phase, nil
+}
+
+func phaseNames(doc workphase.PlanDoc) string {
+	out := make([]string, 0, len(doc.Phases))
+	for _, p := range doc.Phases {
+		out = append(out, p.ID)
+	}
+	return strings.Join(out, ", ")
+}
+
+// RecordPlanPhaseVerification establishes what the runs prove, and appends the
+// durable record.
+//
+// The status is derived here and never taken from the caller. An implementer
+// may request verification; only this function decides whether a phase is
+// verified, awaiting a human, or still in progress.
+func RecordPlanPhaseVerification(s *store.Store, project registry.Project, taskID, phaseID, atSHA string, runs []VerificationRun) (domain.Event, error) {
+	t, ok := s.Task(taskID)
+	if !ok {
+		return domain.Event{}, domain.ErrNotFound
+	}
+	if len(atSHA) != 40 {
+		return domain.Event{}, fmt.Errorf("%w: verification must name the commit it ran against", ErrPlanPhase)
+	}
+	phase, err := PlanPhaseCommands(s, project, taskID, phaseID)
+	if err != nil {
+		return domain.Event{}, err
+	}
+	if len(runs) != len(phase.Automated) {
+		return domain.Event{}, fmt.Errorf("%w: %s declares %d automated commands but %d results were reported", ErrPlanPhase, phaseID, len(phase.Automated), len(runs))
+	}
+	record := domain.PlanPhaseRecord{
+		PlanRef: t.PlanRef, PhaseID: phaseID, AtSHA: atSHA,
+		Status: domain.PlanPhaseVerified, At: time.Now().UTC(),
+	}
+	for i, r := range runs {
+		// The result must describe the command the plan named. A reordered or
+		// substituted result would attribute one command's exit code to
+		// another.
+		if strings.Join(r.Command, "\x00") != strings.Join(phase.Automated[i], "\x00") {
+			return domain.Event{}, fmt.Errorf("%w: result %d reports %q but the plan declares %q", ErrPlanPhase, i, strings.Join(r.Command, " "), strings.Join(phase.Automated[i], " "))
+		}
+		record.Commands = append(record.Commands, r.Command)
+		record.ExitCodes = append(record.ExitCodes, r.ExitCode)
+		if r.ExitCode != 0 {
+			record.Status = domain.PlanPhaseInProgress
+		}
+	}
+	if record.Status == domain.PlanPhaseVerified && len(phase.Manual) > 0 {
+		// Automated checks passing is not the whole phase. A human owns the
+		// manual steps, and the phase waits rather than claiming more than
+		// was established.
+		record.Status = domain.PlanPhaseAwaitingManual
+	}
+	if record.Status != domain.PlanPhaseInProgress && manuallySignedOff(s, t, phaseID) {
+		record.Status = domain.PlanPhaseVerified
+	}
+	if ref, err := s.PutArtifact(verificationEvidence(runs)); err == nil {
+		record.EvidenceRef = ref
+	} else {
+		return domain.Event{}, fmt.Errorf("store verification evidence: %w", err)
+	}
+	payload := map[string]any{
+		"plan_ref": record.PlanRef, "phase_id": record.PhaseID, "status": string(record.Status),
+		"commands": record.Commands, "exit_codes": record.ExitCodes, "at_sha": record.AtSHA,
+		"evidence_ref": record.EvidenceRef, "at": record.At,
+	}
+	if t.Lease != nil {
+		payload["harness_id"], payload["lease_epoch"] = t.Lease.HarnessID, t.Lease.Epoch
+	}
+	b, err := json.Marshal(payload)
+	if err != nil {
+		return domain.Event{}, err
+	}
+	e := domain.Event{ID: domain.NewID(), Type: domain.EventPlanPhaseVerified, TaskID: taskID, Version: t.Version + 1, Payload: b, Surface: string(authz.System)}
+	return e, s.Append(e)
+}
+
+// manuallySignedOff reports whether a human has already approved this exact
+// phase of this exact plan. The subject carries both, so a later "looks good"
+// on an unrelated thread cannot satisfy a gate nobody was discussing.
+func manuallySignedOff(s *store.Store, t domain.Task, phaseID string) bool {
+	intent, err := s.EffectiveIntent(t.ID)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	subject := domain.PlanPhaseSubject(t.PlanRef, phaseID)
+	for _, d := range intent.Decisions {
+		if d.Subject == subject {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+func verificationEvidence(runs []VerificationRun) []byte {
+	b, _ := json.Marshal(runs)
+	return b
+}
diff --git a/internal/operations/planprogress_test.go b/internal/operations/planprogress_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7346836
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/operations/planprogress_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,267 @@
+package operations
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"orchestra/internal/authz"
+	"orchestra/internal/domain"
+	"orchestra/internal/registry"
+	"orchestra/internal/store"
+)
+
+const shaOne = "1111111111111111111111111111111111111111"
+const shaTwo = "2222222222222222222222222222222222222222"
+
+func planProject() registry.Project {
+	p := registry.Project{
+		ID: "demo", MachineAffinity: []string{"m"},
+		WorkPhases: []domain.WorkPhase{domain.WorkPhaseFrame, domain.WorkPhaseResearch, domain.WorkPhasePlan, domain.WorkPhaseImplement, domain.WorkPhaseReview},
+	}
+	p.Verification.Allowed = [][]string{{"go", "test", "./internal/..."}, {"go", "build", "./..."}}
+	return p
+}
+
+// planWith seals research and a plan, leaving the task in implement.
+func planWith(t *testing.T, markdown string) (*store.Store, registry.Project, string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	s, id := phaseStore(t)
+	project := planProject()
+	if _, err := AdvanceWorkPhase(s, project, id, nil); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if _, err := AdvanceWorkPhase(s, project, id, sealed(t, research)); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if _, err := AdvanceWorkPhase(s, project, id, []byte(markdown)); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return s, project, id
+}
+
+const twoPhasePlan = "# Two phase plan\n" + `
+## Overview
+Two phases.
+
+## Current state
+Nothing, per research:r1.
+
+## Desired end state
+Both phases done.
+
+## Non-goals
+None.
+
+## Approach
+Straightforward.
+
+## Phase 1: Build
+
+### Files
+- a.go
+
+### Changes
+Add a.
+
+### Verification
+
+#### Automated
+- run: ["go", "build", "./..."]
+
+## Phase 2: Test
+
+### Files
+- b.go
+
+### Changes
+Add b.
+
+### Verification
+
+#### Automated
+- run: ["go", "test", "./internal/..."]
+
+#### Manual
+- Confirm the output by eye.
+
+## Testing strategy
+Per phase.
+
+## Risks and edge cases
+None.
+
+## Migration
+None.
+
+## References
+- research:r1
+`
+
+func TestPassingCommandsVerifyThePhase(t *testing.T) {
+	s, project, id := planWith(t, twoPhasePlan)
+	if _, err := RecordPlanPhaseVerification(s, project, id, "phase-1", shaOne,
+		[]VerificationRun{{Command: []string{"go", "build", "./..."}, ExitCode: 0}}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	task, _ := s.Task(id)
+	rec, ok := task.PlanPhase("phase-1")
+	if !ok || rec.Status != domain.PlanPhaseVerified {
+		t.Fatalf("phase-1 = %+v", rec)
+	}
+	if rec.AtSHA != shaOne || rec.PlanRef != task.PlanRef {
+		t.Fatalf("record is not bound to the plan and the commit: %+v", rec)
+	}
+}
+
+// A failing command leaves the phase where it was. "Verified" is a conclusion
+// about the commands, never about the request that asked for them.
+func TestFailingCommandLeavesThePhaseInProgress(t *testing.T) {
+	s, project, id := planWith(t, twoPhasePlan)
+	if _, err := RecordPlanPhaseVerification(s, project, id, "phase-1", shaOne,
+		[]VerificationRun{{Command: []string{"go", "build", "./..."}, ExitCode: 2}}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	task, _ := s.Task(id)
+	rec, _ := task.PlanPhase("phase-1")
+	if rec.Status != domain.PlanPhaseInProgress {
+		t.Fatalf("status = %q, want in_progress", rec.Status)
+	}
+	if len(rec.ExitCodes) != 1 || rec.ExitCodes[0] != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("the exit code was not recorded: %+v", rec)
+	}
+}
+
+// Automated checks passing is not the whole phase when manual steps exist.
+func TestManualStepsHoldThePhaseUntilAHumanSignsOff(t *testing.T) {
+	s, project, id := planWith(t, twoPhasePlan)
+	if _, err := RecordPlanPhaseVerification(s, project, id, "phase-2", shaOne,
+		[]VerificationRun{{Command: []string{"go", "test", "./internal/..."}, ExitCode: 0}}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	task, _ := s.Task(id)
+	rec, _ := task.PlanPhase("phase-2")
+	if rec.Status != domain.PlanPhaseAwaitingManual {
+		t.Fatalf("status = %q, want awaiting_manual_verification", rec.Status)
+	}
+
+	// A generic later comment must not satisfy the gate.
+	humanReply(t, s, id, "d-generic", "looks good")
+	task, _ = s.Task(id)
+	rec, _ = task.PlanPhase("phase-2")
+	if rec.Status != domain.PlanPhaseAwaitingManual {
+		t.Fatal("an unrelated comment satisfied a manual verification gate")
+	}
+
+	// The sign-off names the plan and the phase it approves.
+	signOff(t, s, id, domain.PlanPhaseSubject(task.PlanRef, "phase-2"))
+	task, _ = s.Task(id)
+	rec, _ = task.PlanPhase("phase-2")
+	if rec.Status != domain.PlanPhaseVerified {
+		t.Fatalf("status = %q after a bound sign-off, want verified", rec.Status)
+	}
+}
+
+// A sign-off is bound to one plan. Replanning does not inherit it.
+func TestSignOffForAnotherPlanDoesNotVerify(t *testing.T) {
+	s, project, id := planWith(t, twoPhasePlan)
+	if _, err := RecordPlanPhaseVerification(s, project, id, "phase-2", shaOne,
+		[]VerificationRun{{Command: []string{"go", "test", "./internal/..."}, ExitCode: 0}}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	signOff(t, s, id, domain.PlanPhaseSubject("some-other-plan-ref", "phase-2"))
+	task, _ := s.Task(id)
+	rec, _ := task.PlanPhase("phase-2")
+	if rec.Status != domain.PlanPhaseAwaitingManual {
+		t.Fatalf("a sign-off naming another plan verified this one: %q", rec.Status)
+	}
+}
+
+// Verified at X, code moves to Y: the record stands as provenance and must
+// read as stale, never as a claim about the current tree.
+func TestVerificationGoesStaleWhenTheTreeMoves(t *testing.T) {
+	s, project, id := planWith(t, twoPhasePlan)
+	if _, err := RecordPlanPhaseVerification(s, project, id, "phase-1", shaOne,
+		[]VerificationRun{{Command: []string{"go", "build", "./..."}, ExitCode: 0}}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	task, _ := s.Task(id)
+	rec, _ := task.PlanPhase("phase-1")
+	if rec.Stale(shaOne) {
+		t.Fatal("a verification at the current head reported stale")
+	}
+	if !rec.Stale(shaTwo) {
+		t.Fatal("a verification at an older commit did not report stale")
+	}
+}
+
+// The commands come from the accepted plan. A request cannot substitute one.
+func TestReportedResultsMustMatchThePlansCommands(t *testing.T) {
+	s, project, id := planWith(t, twoPhasePlan)
+	_, err := RecordPlanPhaseVerification(s, project, id, "phase-1", shaOne,
+		[]VerificationRun{{Command: []string{"echo", "ok"}, ExitCode: 0}})
+	if !errors.Is(err, ErrPlanPhase) {
+		t.Fatalf("a substituted command was accepted: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// A command outside project policy is refused before anything runs, and the
+// refusal names the project so the planner learns its real reach.
+func TestPolicyRefusalHappensBeforeExecution(t *testing.T) {
+	s, project, id := planWith(t, twoPhasePlan)
+	project.Verification.Allowed = [][]string{{"go", "build", "./..."}}
+	_, err := PlanPhaseCommands(s, project, id, "phase-2")
+	if !errors.Is(err, ErrPlanPhase) {
+		t.Fatalf("an unauthorised command was resolved: %v", err)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "demo") || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "go test") {
+		t.Fatalf("the refusal does not name the project and the command: %v", err)
+	}
+	task, _ := s.Task(id)
+	if _, ok := task.PlanPhase("phase-2"); ok {
+		t.Fatal("a refused phase produced a record")
+	}
+}
+
+// A plan sealed before plan.md declares no executable unit, and saying so
+// beats inventing a phase it never had.
+func TestLegacyPlanIsExplicitlyNonProgressable(t *testing.T) {
+	s, id := phaseStore(t)
+	project := planProject()
+	if _, err := AdvanceWorkPhase(s, project, id, nil); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if _, err := AdvanceWorkPhase(s, project, id, sealed(t, research)); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	// A pre-markdown plan, appended straight to the CAS the way an old ref
+	// would already be there.
+	ref, err := s.PutArtifact([]byte(`{"changes":[{"target":"a.go","intent":"do a thing"}]}`))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	task, _ := s.Task(id)
+	task.PlanRef = ref
+	_, err = PlanPhaseCommands(s, project, id, "phase-1")
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("a legacy plan resolved a phase")
+	}
+}
+
+// signOff records a human decision bound to one phase of one plan, which is
+// the only thing that satisfies a manual verification gate.
+func signOff(t *testing.T, s *store.Store, taskID, subject string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	task, _ := s.Task(taskID)
+	if err := s.Append(domain.Event{
+		ID: domain.NewID(), Type: domain.EventHumanDecisionRecorded, TaskID: taskID,
+		Version: task.Version + 1, Surface: string(authz.System),
+		Payload: mustJSONBytes(t, map[string]any{
+			"decision_id": domain.NewID(), "kind": "answer", "subject": subject,
+			"value":  "manual steps confirmed",
+			"source": map[string]any{"provider": "gitea", "external_id": "signoff-" + subject},
+		}),
+	}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("sign off: %v", err)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/registry/registry.go b/internal/registry/registry.go
index cd88032..a3c4726 100644
--- a/internal/registry/registry.go
+++ b/internal/registry/registry.go
@@ -50,6 +50,9 @@ type Project struct {
 	HumanDecisions struct {
 		MaxRequestsPerTask int `json:"max_requests_per_task,omitempty"`
 	} `json:"human_decisions,omitempty"`
+	// Verification bounds what a plan's automated checks may execute. Absent
+	// policy refuses every plan command; see VerificationPolicy.
+	Verification VerificationPolicy `json:"verification,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // MaxDecisionRequests is the per-task question budget.
diff --git a/internal/registry/verification.go b/internal/registry/verification.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..321c454
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/registry/verification.go
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+package registry
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+// VerificationPolicy is what a plan's automated checks may execute in this
+// project. It exists because a plan command is agent-authored, while the
+// quality gate is operator-authored: the two must not share an execution
+// envelope just because they run in the same worktree.
+//
+// Absence is a refusal, never a default-allow. A project that declares no
+// policy runs no plan command, and the planner is told so at seal time.
+type VerificationPolicy struct {
+	// Allowed is a list of argv patterns. A command runs only if some pattern
+	// matches it positionally.
+	Allowed [][]string `json:"allowed,omitempty"`
+}
+
+// Allows reports whether argv matches any pattern, and names the reason when
+// it does not. The reason reaches the planner, so "not allowed" alone would
+// send it guessing at the project's real reach.
+func (p VerificationPolicy) Allows(argv []string) (bool, string) {
+	if len(argv) == 0 {
+		return false, "the command is empty"
+	}
+	if len(p.Allowed) == 0 {
+		return false, "this project declares no verification policy, so no plan command may run"
+	}
+	for _, pattern := range p.Allowed {
+		if matchArgv(pattern, argv) {
+			return true, ""
+		}
+	}
+	return false, fmt.Sprintf("%q is not in this project's verification policy, which allows: %s", strings.Join(argv, " "), p.describe())
+}
+
+func (p VerificationPolicy) describe() string {
+	out := make([]string, 0, len(p.Allowed))
+	for _, pattern := range p.Allowed {
+		out = append(out, strings.Join(pattern, " "))
+	}
+	return strings.Join(out, "; ")
+}
+
+// matchArgv matches positionally, never by prefix.
+//
+//   - a literal element matches that element exactly
+//   - "*" matches exactly one element, any value
+//   - an element ending in "/..." matches a path argument under that prefix,
+//     so ./internal/... covers ./internal/store/... but never ./internalsecrets
+//   - "*" as the last pattern element matches every remaining element, and is
+//     the only way a pattern covers a longer command. An operator writes that
+//     deliberately for a runner that takes free-form arguments.
+//
+// A shorter pattern otherwise fails, so ["go", "test"] never authorises
+// ["go", "test", "-exec", "curl"].
+func matchArgv(pattern, argv []string) bool {
+	if len(pattern) == 0 {
+		return false
+	}
+	for i, want := range pattern {
+		if want == "*" && i == len(pattern)-1 && len(argv) >= len(pattern) {
+			// Trailing wildcard: everything from here on is covered.
+			return true
+		}
+		if i >= len(argv) {
+			return false
+		}
+		got := argv[i]
+		switch {
+		case want == "*":
+			// One element, any value. An empty argument is still an argument.
+		case strings.HasSuffix(want, "/..."):
+			if !strings.HasPrefix(got, strings.TrimSuffix(want, "...")) && got != strings.TrimSuffix(want, "/...") {
+				return false
+			}
+		case want != got:
+			return false
+		}
+	}
+	return len(pattern) == len(argv)
+}
diff --git a/internal/registry/verification_test.go b/internal/registry/verification_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c1bcc3c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/registry/verification_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+package registry
+
+import "testing"
+
+func TestVerificationPolicyMatchesPositionally(t *testing.T) {
+	p := VerificationPolicy{Allowed: [][]string{
+		{"go", "test", "./..."},
+		{"go", "test", "./internal/..."},
+		{"go", "vet", "./..."},
+		{"npm", "test", "--", "*"},
+		{"make", "*"},
+	}}
+	allowed := [][]string{
+		{"go", "test", "./..."},
+		{"go", "test", "./internal/store/..."},
+		{"go", "vet", "./..."},
+		{"npm", "test", "--", "unit"},
+		// A trailing "*" covers the remaining elements, which is the only way
+		// a pattern authorises a longer command. The operator writes that
+		// deliberately when a runner takes free-form arguments.
+		{"npm", "test", "--", "unit", "extra"},
+		{"make", "check"},
+		{"make", "check", "verbose"},
+		// Narrower than an allowed pattern: ./other/... is a subset of ./...
+		{"go", "test", "./other/..."},
+	}
+	for _, argv := range allowed {
+		if ok, why := p.Allows(argv); !ok {
+			t.Errorf("%v refused: %s", argv, why)
+		}
+	}
+	refused := [][]string{
+		// A shorter pattern must not authorise a longer command, or
+		// ["go","test"] would cover ["go","test","-exec","curl"].
+		{"go", "test", "./...", "-exec", "curl"},
+		{"go", "test"},
+		{"go", "build", "./..."},
+		{"curl", "https://example.com"},
+		{},
+	}
+	for _, argv := range refused {
+		if ok, _ := p.Allows(argv); ok {
+			t.Errorf("%v allowed, want a refusal", argv)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// Absence is a refusal. A project that declares no policy must not inherit the
+// quality gate's operator-authored envelope, because a plan command is written
+// by an agent.
+func TestAbsentVerificationPolicyRefusesEverything(t *testing.T) {
+	var p VerificationPolicy
+	ok, why := p.Allows([]string{"go", "test", "./..."})
+	if ok {
+		t.Fatal("an empty policy allowed a command")
+	}
+	if why == "" {
+		t.Fatal("a refusal with no reason sends the planner guessing")
+	}
+}
+
+// The path prefix is a prefix of the path, not of the argument text. Tested
+// against a policy that does not also allow ./..., which would cover
+// everything and hide the distinction.
+func TestPathPrefixDoesNotMatchASiblingWithTheSameLetters(t *testing.T) {
+	p := VerificationPolicy{Allowed: [][]string{{"go", "test", "./internal/..."}}}
+	for _, argv := range [][]string{
+		{"go", "test", "./internalsecrets"},
+		{"go", "test", "./internal-tools/..."},
+		{"go", "test", "./..."},
+	} {
+		if ok, _ := p.Allows(argv); ok {
+			t.Errorf("%v allowed, want a refusal", argv)
+		}
+	}
+	for _, argv := range [][]string{
+		{"go", "test", "./internal/..."},
+		{"go", "test", "./internal/store/..."},
+		{"go", "test", "./internal"},
+	} {
+		if ok, why := p.Allows(argv); !ok {
+			t.Errorf("%v refused: %s", argv, why)
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/store/store.go b/internal/store/store.go
index 79b3d56..2d2e5ff 100644
--- a/internal/store/store.go
+++ b/internal/store/store.go
@@ -253,6 +253,7 @@ func (s *Store) apply(e domain.Event) error {
 		// folded into the contract projection.
 		var p struct {
 			DecisionID string                     `json:"decision_id"`
+			Subject    string                     `json:"subject"`
 			Source     domain.HumanDecisionSource `json:"source"`
 		}
 		if err := json.Unmarshal(e.Payload, &p); err != nil {
@@ -261,6 +262,21 @@ func (s *Store) apply(e domain.Event) error {
 		if p.Source.ExternalID != "" {
 			s.decisionSource[p.Source.Provider+"\x00"+p.Source.ExternalID] = p.DecisionID
 		}
+		// A manual sign-off is the one decision that moves plan progress. The
+		// subject carries the plan ref and the phase id, so an approval
+		// applies to exactly the gate it named and to no other.
+		if t.PlanProgress != nil {
+			for i, rec := range t.PlanProgress.Phases {
+				if rec.Status != domain.PlanPhaseAwaitingManual {
+					continue
+				}
+				if p.Subject == domain.PlanPhaseSubject(rec.PlanRef, rec.PhaseID) {
+					t.PlanProgress.Phases[i].Status = domain.PlanPhaseVerified
+					t.Version = e.Version
+					s.replaceTask(e.TaskID, t)
+				}
+			}
+		}
 	}
 	if e.Type == "StandupAdvisory" || e.Type == "ApprovalGranted" || e.Type == "ApprovalDenied" {
 		return nil
@@ -282,8 +298,13 @@ func (s *Store) apply(e domain.Event) error {
 				t.ResearchRef = p.ArtifactRef
 			}
 		case domain.WorkPhasePlan:
-			if p.ArtifactRef != "" {
+			if p.ArtifactRef != "" && p.ArtifactRef != t.PlanRef {
+				// A new plan supersedes the old one, and the progress earned
+				// against the old one with it. PlanPhases would filter these
+				// out anyway; clearing here means a superseded record is not
+				// carried around waiting for a reader that forgets to.
 				t.PlanRef = p.ArtifactRef
+				t.PlanProgress = nil
 			}
 		}
 		t.WorkPhase = p.Phase
@@ -449,6 +470,31 @@ func (s *Store) apply(e domain.Event) error {
 		t.Version = e.Version
 		s.replaceTask(e.TaskID, t)
 		return nil
+	case domain.EventPlanPhaseVerified:
+		var pp domain.PlanPhaseRecord
+		if err := json.Unmarshal(e.Payload, &pp); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		// Records are kept per plan. A record naming a plan the task no longer
+		// accepts is projected onto nothing: it stays in the log as
+		// provenance, and PlanPhases refuses to count it.
+		if t.PlanProgress == nil || t.PlanProgress.PlanRef != pp.PlanRef {
+			t.PlanProgress = &domain.PlanProgress{PlanRef: pp.PlanRef}
+		}
+		replaced := false
+		for i, existing := range t.PlanProgress.Phases {
+			if existing.PhaseID == pp.PhaseID {
+				t.PlanProgress.Phases[i] = pp
+				replaced = true
+				break
+			}
+		}
+		if !replaced {
+			t.PlanProgress.Phases = append(t.PlanProgress.Phases, pp)
+		}
+		t.Version = e.Version
+		s.replaceTask(e.TaskID, t)
+		return nil
 	case domain.EventReviewRecorded:
 		var rp struct {
 			ArtifactRef string `json:"artifact_ref"`
@@ -827,7 +873,7 @@ func (s *Store) validateTransition(e domain.Event, t domain.Task, exists bool, p
 		return nil
 	}
 	switch e.Type {
-	case "TaskLeaseRenewed", "TaskLaunchAcknowledged", "TaskReleased", "TaskPickupValidated", "TaskCompleted", "TaskBlocked", "TaskNeedsAttention", "TaskFailed", domain.EventTaskSubmitted:
+	case "TaskLeaseRenewed", "TaskLaunchAcknowledged", "TaskReleased", "TaskPickupValidated", "TaskCompleted", "TaskBlocked", "TaskNeedsAttention", "TaskFailed", domain.EventTaskSubmitted, domain.EventPlanPhaseVerified:
 		owner, _ := p["harness_id"].(string)
 		epoch, _ := p["lease_epoch"].(string)
 		// Expiry is the one coordinator-owned relinquish path. It still binds