diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 95b9410..c57881b 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,23 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Added
+
+- **Portable Project Work Contract (draft).** Add the `project-work/v0`
+  standard, JSON Schema family (`ready-packet`, `project-state`,
+  `control-record`, `progress-event`), `contract.json` entry manifest, README,
+  examples, and structural rejects — a source-neutral contract for exchanging
+  ready work and project projections without importing a board or runtime.
+- **ADR-0008: project-work contract.** Record `project-work/v0` as a proposed
+  companion portable contract family. Promotion to a stable version follows
+  ADR-0001.
+
+### Changed
+
+- **Validation coverage.** `make check` now runs the project-work control
+  battery (examples, structural rejects, classifier-key alignment) and the
+  project-work contract manifest.
+
 ## [0.1.28] - 2026-08-20
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index c05952e..45a9094 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -354,6 +354,8 @@ lint-config: lint-role-prompts lint-coverage-attestation ## Validate config data
 		sh scripts/test-agent-wait-controls.sh || exit 1; \
 		echo "    Service-job controls..."; \
 		sh scripts/test-service-job-controls.sh || exit 1; \
+		echo "    Project-work controls..."; \
+		sh scripts/test-project-work-controls.sh || exit 1; \
 		echo "    Validating contract manifests..."; \
 		sh scripts/validate-contract-manifests.sh \
 			schemas/data-artifact/v0/contract.json \
@@ -361,7 +363,8 @@ lint-config: lint-role-prompts lint-coverage-attestation ## Validate config data
 			schemas/process-run/v0/contract.json \
 			schemas/review-journal/v0/contract.json \
 			schemas/agent-wait/v0/contract.json \
-			schemas/service-job/v0/contract.json || exit 1; \
+			schemas/service-job/v0/contract.json \
+			schemas/project-work/v0/contract.json || exit 1; \
 	else \
 		echo "[!!] goneat not found, skipping config validation"; \
 	fi
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ab62ded..9af81db 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -112,6 +112,7 @@ This is a **reference-based model**—we don't sync standards into repositories.
 │   ├── data-artifact/v0/      # Portable data artifact contract
 │   ├── foundation/v0/         # Lifecycle phases, release phases, types
 │   ├── process-run/v0/        # Local process telemetry/control (proposed)
+│   ├── project-work/v0/       # Ready packets, project state, work ledger (draft)
 │   └── service-job/v0/        # Portable service job contract
 └── scripts/                   # Release and automation scripts
 ```
diff --git a/docs/README.md b/docs/README.md
index 7f70f5e..eb2f884 100644
--- a/docs/README.md
+++ b/docs/README.md
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ Cross-cutting classification standards for data and artifacts, plus contract sta
 - [classifiers-framework.md](standards/classifiers-framework.md) - How the classifiers system fits together (docs + config + schemas)
 - [data-artifact-contract.md](standards/data-artifact-contract.md) - Portable artifact, representation, catalog, provenance, and protection contract
 - [service-job-contract.md](standards/service-job-contract.md) - Portable catalog, digest-bound submit, and job lifecycle contract
+- [project-work-contract.md](standards/project-work-contract.md) - Portable ready-packet, project-state, control-record, and progress-ledger contract
 - [data-artifact-contract-examples.md](standards/data-artifact-contract-examples.md) - Source-neutral stress cases and producer adoption preview template
 - [data-sensitivity-classification.md](standards/data-sensitivity-classification.md) - Sensitivity levels (UNKNOWN, 0-6)
 - [volatility-classification.md](standards/volatility-classification.md) - Update cadence (static → streaming)
diff --git a/docs/decisions/ADR-0008-project-work-contract.md b/docs/decisions/ADR-0008-project-work-contract.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f273f35
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/decisions/ADR-0008-project-work-contract.md
@@ -0,0 +1,179 @@
+---
+id: "ADR-0008"
+title: "Portable Project Work as a Companion Contract"
+status: "proposed"
+date: "2026-08-21"
+last_updated: "2026-08-21"
+deciders:
+  - "@3leapsdave"
+scope: "Crucible foundation / project-work contracts"
+tags:
+  - "schemas"
+  - "project-work"
+  - "tasking"
+  - "interchange-contract"
+relates-to:
+  - "crucible ADR-0001 (schema/config versioning — the promotion gate)"
+  - "crucible ADR-0006 (process-run — companion-contract and event-envelope precedent)"
+  - "docs/standards/data-artifact-contract.md (published ledger representations)"
+---
+
+# ADR-0008: Portable Project Work as a Companion Contract
+
+## Status
+
+**Current Status**: Proposed — the contract enters its own review and adoption
+lane at `v0`. Promotion to a stable version follows ADR-0001 and requires a
+proven downstream producer and consumer.
+
+## Context
+
+Repositories and tools need to exchange bounded work without importing a
+particular board, scheduler, database, or project-management product. The
+shared minimum is broader than a task title and status string:
+
+- an executable packet needs an outcome, accountable owner, acceptance
+  criteria, dependencies, and escalation;
+- project leadership needs an inspectable project projection without embedding
+  a recursive task tree;
+- status, blockers, and decisions need portable records;
+- consumers need an ordered progress ledger whose lifecycle transitions can be
+  projected deterministically.
+
+Keeping these shapes product-local would create incompatible task dialects.
+Making a product runtime canonical would also force adopters to install an
+unrelated tool merely to validate a work packet. A prose convention alone
+would not give producers and consumers an executable compatibility surface.
+
+## Decision
+
+Establish `contract: project-work/v0` as a companion portable contract family
+in Crucible:
+
+- `docs/standards/project-work-contract.md` is the normative standard.
+- `schemas/project-work/v0/contract.json` is the capability manifest.
+- `ready-packet.schema.json` is the entry schema and dispatchable root.
+- `project-state.schema.json` is an inspectable project projection.
+- `control-record.schema.json` represents status, blocker, and decision
+  records.
+- `progress-event.schema.json` represents one ordered NDJSON ledger line.
+
+The family uses the same hostless capability-resolution posture as the other
+portable contracts. Schema publication URLs are retrieval locations, not
+instance identity.
+
+### One family, four governed objects
+
+The packet, project projection, control record, and progress event version
+together under one capability. They describe different views of the same work
+domain and share identity, lifecycle, ownership, and classification semantics.
+Splitting them into independently versioned families would allow those shared
+semantics to drift.
+
+### Flat work, sibling projects
+
+Work packets are flat. Dependencies are explicit edges; recursive
+`children[]` and parent-task containment are outside the portable floor. A
+project is a sibling object referenced by identity, not a task that contains
+other tasks. Products may render hierarchy, columns, milestones, or grouping,
+but those views do not change the interchange taxonomy.
+
+### Semantic lifecycle, not board columns
+
+Packets and projects use the closed lifecycle classes:
+
+`draft | ready | active | blocked | review | done | cancelled`
+
+These are portable meanings, not UI column names. Product-specific states map
+onto them. Dispatch readiness and acceptance requirements are defined by the
+standard rather than inferred from a column label.
+
+### Portable ownership and escalation
+
+A packet has one accountable owner expressed as a person, role, or explicitly
+unassigned actor. Ready work cannot be unassigned. Role identities follow the
+portable role-slug shape; the contract does not enumerate one organization’s
+seats or human directory.
+
+### Deterministic, store-neutral progress
+
+The progress ledger is append-only NDJSON. Every event identifies exactly one
+packet or project, carries an actor and per-subject sequence, and gives
+unambiguous lifecycle-transition data. Timestamps describe occurrence time;
+they are not ordering or deduplication keys.
+
+The contract does not select a database. Implementations may project the
+ledger into local SQL, analytical tables, columnar artifacts, or other query
+stores. When a ledger is published as a data product, the data-artifact
+contract governs the published bag while `progress-event` remains the line
+contract.
+
+### Reuse classifier dimensions
+
+Packets and projects may carry the existing sensitivity, access-tier, and
+retention-lifecycle classifier keys. Sensitivity and access tier travel as a
+compatible pair. This family does not mint work-specific copies of those
+dimensions.
+
+### Product overlays remain downstream
+
+Boards, timers, sprint identifiers, wait-state machinery, query engines,
+product frontmatter, and persistence layouts remain implementation concerns.
+They may extend or map to this floor but do not become alternate sources of
+truth for the portable contract.
+
+## Relationship to Other Contracts
+
+- `process-run/v0` describes execution telemetry and live process control; it
+  does not replace a work packet or project projection.
+- `data-artifact/v0` describes a published ledger representation; it does not
+  replace the event-line schema.
+- `review-journal/v0` describes relied-upon review evidence; it does not become
+  the general work ledger.
+- `agent-wait/v0` describes waiting and wake outcomes; live wait state remains
+  outside a work packet.
+
+## Consequences
+
+- Repositories can emit and validate ready work before adopting a project
+  runtime.
+- Tools gain one mapping target instead of defining competing task vocabularies.
+- Flat identity and typed references make packets portable across storage and
+  presentation models.
+- Deterministic events support loss detection, replay, and downstream
+  projections.
+- Consumers still enforce cross-record rules, such as blocked work requiring
+  an open blocker and completed work requiring a terminal lifecycle
+  transition. Structural schema validation alone does not prove those set
+  invariants.
+- The `v0` family may change while adoption reveals gaps; consumers must pin a
+  reviewed revision until a stable version is promoted.
+
+## Alternatives Considered
+
+### Make a project-management product the canonical home
+
+Rejected. A runtime may implement the contract, but portable validation must
+not require installing that runtime or importing its product-specific fields.
+
+### Use one recursive task/project object
+
+Rejected. Combining packet and project semantics invites recursive containment,
+ambiguous ownership, and product-specific hierarchy into every consumer.
+
+### Standardize a database or board model
+
+Rejected. Storage engines and UI columns have different portability and
+evolution constraints from the interchange contract.
+
+### Keep the agreement as prose only
+
+Rejected. Producers and consumers need machine-readable validation for the
+closed envelope, lifecycle, ownership, and reference rules.
+
+## Review-loop Items
+
+1. Whether Crucible should provide a reference validator for cross-record
+   journal-set invariants in addition to structural schema controls.
+2. Whether a later stable version requires a first-class published-ledger
+   profile beyond the existing data-artifact bridge.
diff --git a/docs/decisions/README.md b/docs/decisions/README.md
index 650176b..c6f054d 100644
--- a/docs/decisions/README.md
+++ b/docs/decisions/README.md
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ Examples:
 | [ADR-0005](ADR-0005-operation-record-classification.md)                    | Operation-Record Classification Standard                           | proposed | 2026-07-02 |
 | [ADR-0006](ADR-0006-process-run-contract.md)                               | Local Process Telemetry & Control as a Companion Portable Contract | proposed | 2026-07-06 |
 | [ADR-0007](ADR-0007-separate-documentation-and-schema-registry-origins.md) | Separate Crucible Documentation and Schema Registry Origins        | proposed | 2026-08-19 |
+| [ADR-0008](ADR-0008-project-work-contract.md)                              | Portable Project Work as a Companion Contract                      | proposed | 2026-08-21 |
 | [PDR-0001](PDR-0001-adopt-data-pipeline-principles.md)                     | Adopt the Data-Pipeline Engineering Principles                     | accepted | 2026-06-29 |
 | [PDR-0002](PDR-0002-worktree-per-task.md)                                  | One git worktree per concurrent task                               | accepted | 2026-06-29 |
 | [PDR-0003](PDR-0003-role-portfolio-tiering.md)                             | Role portfolio tiering: core, supplemental, deprecated             | accepted | 2026-06-29 |
diff --git a/docs/standards/project-work-contract.md b/docs/standards/project-work-contract.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c5bb2e1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/standards/project-work-contract.md
@@ -0,0 +1,215 @@
+---
+title: "Portable Project Work Contract"
+description: "Source-neutral contract for ready-work packets, project state, control records, and an append-only NDJSON progress ledger"
+category: "standards"
+status: "draft"
+version: "0.0.0"
+lastUpdated: "2026-08-21"
+maintainer: "core-standards"
+reviewers: ["architecture", "project-management"]
+approvers: ["lead-maintainer"]
+tags: ["project", "task", "contract", "ledger", "interoperability"]
+content_license: "CC0"
+relatedDocs:
+  - "docs/standards/process-run-contract.md"
+  - "docs/standards/data-artifact-contract.md"
+  - "docs/standards/classifiers-framework.md"
+audience: "implementers"
+---
+
+# Portable Project Work Contract
+
+This draft defines the portable contract identified by
+`contract: project-work/v0`.
+
+The contract describes **ready work** and **project state** so a downstream
+consumer can dispatch a bounded packet, inspect a project projection, append
+progress as NDJSON, and honor classification without knowing which product
+board or store produced the records.
+
+This is not a kanban product, a session checkpoint, a mission runner, an
+attribution ledger, or a data-pipeline grain. Producers keep native boards
+and caches. The portable contract governs the envelopes that travel between
+orgs: the packet, the project projection, the control record, and the
+progress-event line.
+
+## Design Stance
+
+- **Flat work items.** Packets have no parent/child tree. Dependencies are
+  edges. A project is a sibling object, not a parent task.
+- **Semantic classes, not columns.** `lifecycle_class` is a closed set.
+  Board column strings are producer-local mappings.
+- **One accountable owner.** `unassigned` cannot be `ready`.
+- **Payload-open events.** Progress-event `data` is producer-owned; the
+  envelope and core kinds are closed.
+- **Store-neutral ledger.** The contract line is NDJSON. Consumers may
+  project to Parquet, DuckDB, WASM, or a local cache. A local SQL file is
+  not the contract.
+- **Sterile identity.** Opaque `id`, optional `scope` and `slug`. Instance
+  prefixes are local convention, not a schema enum.
+
+## Capability And Versioning
+
+Ready packets and project-state documents MUST carry the capability token:
+
+```json
+{
+  "capabilities": ["contract: project-work/v0"]
+}
+```
+
+The L2 entry point is `schemas/project-work/v0/contract.json`. Consumers
+resolve `contract: project-work/v0` to that manifest and load
+`entry_schema` (`ready-packet.schema.json`).
+
+Path versioning follows ADR-0001 (`v0/` is unstable).
+
+## Objects
+
+| Object         | Schema                       | Role                         |
+| -------------- | ---------------------------- | ---------------------------- |
+| Ready packet   | `ready-packet.schema.json`   | Dispatchable unit            |
+| Project state  | `project-state.schema.json`  | Inspectable projection       |
+| Control record | `control-record.schema.json` | Status, blocker, or decision |
+| Progress event | `progress-event.schema.json` | One NDJSON ledger line       |
+
+### Lifecycle class
+
+Closed set on packets, projects, and `class-changed` events:
+
+`draft` | `ready` | `active` | `blocked` | `review` | `done` | `cancelled`
+
+| Value       | Dispatch?                                   |
+| ----------- | ------------------------------------------- |
+| `draft`     | No                                          |
+| `ready`     | Yes                                         |
+| `active`    | Already dispatched                          |
+| `blocked`   | No                                          |
+| `review`    | No (executor claims complete; not accepted) |
+| `done`      | Terminal                                    |
+| `cancelled` | Terminal                                    |
+
+**Dispatchable-packet rule.** On a **ready packet**, classes `ready`,
+`active`, `review`, and `done` require `owner.kind` ≠ `unassigned` and at
+least one acceptance criterion. `draft`, `blocked`, and `cancelled` may
+have an empty `acceptance` array. This rule applies to packets only.
+
+**Project-state rule.** A project uses the same `lifecycle_class` vocabulary.
+It does **not** carry `acceptance`. `owner` is optional. A project is an
+inspectable projection, not a dispatchable packet.
+
+**Milestone dates.** `project-state.milestones[].target` is an ISO-8601
+full date (`YYYY-MM-DD`). The schema asserts both the pattern and
+`format: date`, so impossible dates (for example `2026-99-99`) are
+rejected.
+
+### Owner
+
+```json
+{ "kind": "person" | "role" | "unassigned", "id": "…", "display": "…" }
+```
+
+`person` and `role` require `id`. When `kind` is `role`, `id` MUST match
+the role-prompt slug shape: `^[a-z][a-z0-9]*$`, length 2–16 (no hyphens).
+Do not catalog humans in the schema. `unassigned` MUST omit `id` and
+`display`.
+
+`escalation.default` (packets only) is the same role-slug shape — not a
+closed list of one org's seats. Instance files may use those slugs; the
+schema must not require them.
+
+### Progress event kinds
+
+`created` | `class-changed` | `reopened` | `blocked` | `unblocked`
+
+There is no `completed` kind. Completion is `class-changed` with
+`data.to` = `done`. Each event names exactly one of `packet_id` or
+`project_id`. `seq` is required: monotonic per subject; it is the ledger
+order key. Timestamp is not a ledger key.
+
+| kind            | Authoritative transition                | Required `data`                                                                                          |
+| --------------- | --------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| `created`       | Birth of the subject                    | `lifecycle_class` (initial class); MUST NOT carry `from` or `to`                                         |
+| `class-changed` | Any other class→class not covered below | `from`, `to` (`from` ≠ `to`; `from` not terminal; not a block/unblock); MUST NOT carry `lifecycle_class` |
+| `reopened`      | Terminal → open                         | `from` ∈ {done, cancelled}, `to` ∈ {draft, ready}; MUST NOT carry `lifecycle_class`                      |
+| `blocked`       | Open → blocked                          | `from` ∈ {draft, ready, active, review}, `to` = blocked; MUST NOT carry `lifecycle_class`                |
+| `unblocked`     | blocked → open                          | `from` = blocked, `to` ∈ {draft, ready, active, review}; MUST NOT carry `lifecycle_class`                |
+
+### Control records
+
+`kind` is `status` | `blocker` | `decision`. Status notes do not change
+class and MUST NOT carry `waiting_on`, `decider`, `open`, or `affects`.
+Blockers require `waiting_on` (opaque), may carry `open`, and MUST NOT
+carry `decider` or `affects`. Decisions require `decider` (person or role
+— never `unassigned`) and `affects` (a non-empty, unique list of the
+packet or project ids the decision governs) and MUST NOT carry
+`waiting_on` or `open`. Every record requires `actor` and exactly one of
+`packet_id` or `project_id`.
+
+## Journal-set rules (consumer-enforced)
+
+These rules span multiple records. Structural `make check` does **not**
+prove them. Consumers MUST enforce:
+
+1. A subject with `lifecycle_class` `blocked` has at least one control
+   record with `kind=blocker` and `open` not false.
+2. `done` is claimed by a `class-changed` event to `done`, not by activity
+   prose.
+3. A packet in `done` MUST NOT `depends_on` a packet that is not `done` or
+   `cancelled`.
+4. Additional properties on governed envelopes fail closed. Event `data`
+   may carry extra producer keys beside the required transition fields.
+   Extra keys MUST NOT be reserved core transition keys of another
+   discriminant (`lifecycle_class` vs `from`/`to`).
+
+## Classifiers
+
+When a `classifiers` object is present on a packet, project, or published
+ledger grain, `sensitivity` and `access-tier` are required (keys from the
+existing classifier dimensions). `retention-lifecycle` is optional.
+
+`unknown` is valid only as a pair (both dimensions unknown, or neither).
+`access-tier` MUST meet the minimum for `sensitivity` in
+`docs/standards/access-tier-classification.md`. Inlined schema enums MUST
+match `config/classifiers/dimensions/*` (the control script checks this).
+
+Do not attach `volume-tier`, `velocity-mode`, or `volatility` to a single
+packet. Those classify a published ledger grain under the data-artifact
+contract, not a task.
+
+Optional `priority` on a packet is `p0` | `p1` | `p2` | `p3`. It is not a
+classifier dimension.
+
+## Relationship To Other Contracts
+
+- **process-run** — local process telemetry. Do not encode a packet as a
+  process card.
+- **data-artifact** — when a progress ledger is **published** (not a private
+  cache), wrap it with `contract: data-artifact/v0`. Representations:
+  NDJSON (interchange) and optional Parquet (compact). Query
+  (DuckDB/WASM) is a consumer, not this contract. Hang `volume-tier` /
+  `velocity-mode` / `volatility` on **that artifact**, never on a single
+  packet. `progress-event` remains the line; data-artifact is the
+  published bag. Do not invent a second ledger wrapper.
+- **review-journal** — relied-upon review events. Not the work ledger.
+- **agent-wait** — live wait/poll. Not a packet field.
+
+## Out Of Scope For v0
+
+Board columns, timers, nested tasks, sprint identifiers as required fields,
+and product-specific wait-state.
+
+## Schema identity
+
+The contract identity is the host-less capability token
+`contract: project-work/v0`. Schema `$id` values are
+`contract:project-work/v0/<file>`. Instances MUST NOT embed a schema host
+as identity.
+
+## Publication / registry URL
+
+A hosted documentation or registry URL (for example
+`https://schemas.3leaps.dev/project-work/v0/ready-packet.schema.json`) is
+a retrieval convenience for humans and tooling. It is **not** the
+capability token and **not** the schema `$id`. Same posture as
+`process-run/v0`.
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/README.md b/schemas/project-work/v0/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..379f865
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+# Project Work Schemas v0
+
+Machine-readable companion schemas for the portable project-work contract.
+
+The normative standard is
+[`docs/standards/project-work-contract.md`](../../../docs/standards/project-work-contract.md).
+These schemas provide a **structural** validation surface. Journal-set rules
+(an open blocker when class is `blocked`; a `class-changed` to `done` as
+evidence of completion) **MUST** be enforced by consumers. Kind
+discriminants close reserved transition keys and kind-owned control
+fields. The reference controls in `scripts/test-project-work-controls.sh`
+cover structural examples/rejects and classifier-key alignment only.
+`make check` does **not** prove blocked↔blocker or done↔event.
+
+The contract identity is the opaque capability token
+`contract: project-work/v0`. Consumers resolve that token through local
+configuration, a vendored copy, or another trusted registry. Instances must
+not embed a schema host as their identity.
+
+The L2 contract entry point is `contract.json`. Consumers resolve the
+capability to that manifest, verify its `capability`, and load the relative
+`entry_schema` (`ready-packet.schema.json` — the packet is the dispatchable
+root). Resolution fails closed when the manifest is missing, the capability
+does not match, or the entry schema is missing.
+
+| Schema                       | Governs                                                                |
+| ---------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| `ready-packet.schema.json`   | Dispatchable unit of work                                              |
+| `project-state.schema.json`  | Inspectable project projection (sibling of packets, not a parent task) |
+| `control-record.schema.json` | Status note, blocker, or decision                                      |
+| `progress-event.schema.json` | One NDJSON line of the append-only work ledger                         |
+
+Worked examples in [`examples/`](examples/). Negative fixtures in [`rejects/`](rejects/).
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/contract.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/contract.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eb4e7ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/contract.json
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+{
+  "capability": "contract: project-work/v0",
+  "entry_schema": "ready-packet.schema.json"
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/control-record.schema.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/control-record.schema.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6aec85c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/control-record.schema.json
@@ -0,0 +1,121 @@
+{
+  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
+  "$id": "contract:project-work/v0/control-record.schema.json",
+  "title": "Control Record",
+  "description": "Structural schema companion for contract: project-work/v0. One status note, blocker, or decision. Kind closes kind-owned fields: decisions own decider and affects (non-empty, unique); status and blocker forbid them. Class changes are progress events, not status notes. Subject is typed: exactly one of packet_id or project_id. Journal-set rules (blocked requires an open blocker) are consumer-enforced, not proven by structural make check.",
+  "type": "object",
+  "additionalProperties": false,
+  "required": ["id", "kind", "summary", "ts", "actor"],
+  "oneOf": [{ "required": ["packet_id"] }, { "required": ["project_id"] }],
+  "properties": {
+    "id": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "minLength": 1,
+      "maxLength": 128
+    },
+    "packet_id": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "minLength": 1,
+      "maxLength": 128
+    },
+    "project_id": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "minLength": 1,
+      "maxLength": 128
+    },
+    "kind": { "enum": ["status", "blocker", "decision"] },
+    "summary": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 4096 },
+    "ts": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time" },
+    "actor": { "$ref": "#/$defs/actor" },
+    "open": {
+      "type": "boolean",
+      "description": "For blocker records: whether the blocker still applies. Default true when omitted."
+    },
+    "waiting_on": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "minLength": 1,
+      "maxLength": 512,
+      "description": "Opaque description of the missing fact, person, or decision. Not a chat wait-state."
+    },
+    "decider": { "$ref": "#/$defs/actor" },
+    "affects": {
+      "type": "array",
+      "items": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 128 },
+      "minItems": 1,
+      "uniqueItems": true,
+      "description": "For decision records: the packet or project ids this decision governs. Decision-owned; forbidden on status and blocker records."
+    }
+  },
+  "allOf": [
+    {
+      "if": {
+        "properties": { "kind": { "const": "status" } },
+        "required": ["kind"]
+      },
+      "then": {
+        "properties": {
+          "waiting_on": false,
+          "decider": false,
+          "open": false,
+          "affects": false
+        }
+      }
+    },
+    {
+      "if": {
+        "properties": { "kind": { "const": "blocker" } },
+        "required": ["kind"]
+      },
+      "then": {
+        "required": ["waiting_on"],
+        "properties": {
+          "decider": false,
+          "affects": false
+        }
+      }
+    },
+    {
+      "if": {
+        "properties": { "kind": { "const": "decision" } },
+        "required": ["kind"]
+      },
+      "then": {
+        "required": ["decider", "affects"],
+        "properties": {
+          "waiting_on": false,
+          "open": false
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  ],
+  "$defs": {
+    "actor": {
+      "type": "object",
+      "additionalProperties": false,
+      "required": ["kind", "id"],
+      "properties": {
+        "kind": { "enum": ["person", "role"] },
+        "id": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 128 },
+        "display": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 256 }
+      },
+      "allOf": [
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "kind": { "const": "role" } },
+            "required": ["kind"]
+          },
+          "then": {
+            "properties": { "id": { "$ref": "#/$defs/role-slug" } }
+          }
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    "role-slug": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "pattern": "^[a-z][a-z0-9]*$",
+      "minLength": 2,
+      "maxLength": 16,
+      "description": "Exact role-prompt slug shape (no hyphens)."
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/examples/control-record.blocker.example.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/examples/control-record.blocker.example.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..78017e2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/examples/control-record.blocker.example.json
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+{
+  "id": "pw-blocker-001",
+  "packet_id": "pw-ready-packet-001",
+  "kind": "blocker",
+  "summary": "Schema brief is not yet accepted.",
+  "waiting_on": "maintainer-acceptance-of-schema-brief",
+  "open": true,
+  "actor": { "kind": "role", "id": "projectmgr" },
+  "ts": "2026-08-21T15:30:00Z"
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/examples/control-record.decision.example.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/examples/control-record.decision.example.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..87874ec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/examples/control-record.decision.example.json
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+{
+  "id": "pw-decision-001",
+  "packet_id": "pw-ready-packet-001",
+  "kind": "decision",
+  "summary": "Adopt the portable project-work v0 envelope for cross-org work.",
+  "affects": ["pw-ready-packet-001", "pw-project-001"],
+  "decider": { "kind": "role", "id": "entarch" },
+  "actor": { "kind": "role", "id": "projectmgr" },
+  "ts": "2026-08-24T14:00:00Z"
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/examples/progress-events.example.ndjson b/schemas/project-work/v0/examples/progress-events.example.ndjson
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ca11b97
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/examples/progress-events.example.ndjson
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+{"ts":"2026-08-21T15:00:00Z","packet_id":"pw-ready-packet-001","kind":"created","actor":{"kind":"role","id":"projectmgr"},"seq":0,"data":{"lifecycle_class":"draft"}}
+{"ts":"2026-08-21T15:10:00Z","packet_id":"pw-ready-packet-001","kind":"class-changed","actor":{"kind":"role","id":"projectmgr"},"seq":1,"data":{"from":"draft","to":"ready"}}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/examples/project-state.example.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/examples/project-state.example.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f959094
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/examples/project-state.example.json
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+{
+  "id": "pw-project-001",
+  "capabilities": ["contract: project-work/v0"],
+  "slug": "portable-work-floor",
+  "scope": "3leaps/crucible",
+  "outcome": "Orgs can emit and validate ready work without a product task tool.",
+  "owner": { "kind": "role", "id": "projectmgr" },
+  "lifecycle_class": "active",
+  "milestones": [
+    {
+      "id": "ms-floor",
+      "title": "v0 schemas in the public catalog",
+      "lifecycle_class": "review"
+    }
+  ],
+  "critical_path": ["pw-ready-packet-001"],
+  "forecast": {
+    "narrative": "Floor schemas first; product overlays after the contract exists to pin.",
+    "as_of": "2026-08-21T15:30:00Z",
+    "confidence": "medium"
+  },
+  "updated": "2026-08-21T15:30:00Z"
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/examples/ready-packet.example.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/examples/ready-packet.example.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3ec4a23
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/examples/ready-packet.example.json
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+{
+  "id": "pw-ready-packet-001",
+  "capabilities": ["contract: project-work/v0"],
+  "slug": "role-prompt-bounded-authority",
+  "scope": "3leaps/crucible",
+  "outcome": "Canonical role schema accepts bounded-authority metadata.",
+  "owner": { "kind": "role", "id": "devlead" },
+  "lifecycle_class": "ready",
+  "priority": "p1",
+  "acceptance": [
+    "Canonical roles validate",
+    "Missing required tier fails",
+    "Malformed authority fails"
+  ],
+  "escalation": { "default": "entarch" },
+  "depends_on": [{ "id": "schema-brief-accepted", "kind": "decision" }],
+  "updated": "2026-08-21T15:30:00Z"
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/progress-event.schema.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/progress-event.schema.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ee2a018
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/progress-event.schema.json
@@ -0,0 +1,238 @@
+{
+  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
+  "$id": "contract:project-work/v0/progress-event.schema.json",
+  "title": "Progress Event",
+  "description": "Structural schema companion for contract: project-work/v0. One NDJSON line of the append-only work ledger. Envelope is contract-governed; extra keys on data are producer-owned except reserved core transition keys, which are reserved by kind. Kinds are locked; each kind has authoritative transition semantics so a consumer can project lifecycle state. seq is the per-subject order key (timestamp is not).",
+  "type": "object",
+  "additionalProperties": false,
+  "required": ["ts", "kind", "actor", "seq", "data"],
+  "oneOf": [{ "required": ["packet_id"] }, { "required": ["project_id"] }],
+  "properties": {
+    "ts": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time" },
+    "packet_id": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 128 },
+    "project_id": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 128 },
+    "kind": {
+      "enum": ["created", "class-changed", "reopened", "blocked", "unblocked"]
+    },
+    "actor": { "$ref": "#/$defs/actor" },
+    "seq": {
+      "type": "integer",
+      "minimum": 0,
+      "description": "Monotonic per-subject sequence. The ledger order key. Gaps indicate loss; regression indicates corruption."
+    },
+    "data": {
+      "type": "object",
+      "description": "Transition payload. Core from/to and lifecycle_class keys are contract-governed and reserved by kind; additional properties are producer-owned."
+    }
+  },
+  "allOf": [
+    {
+      "if": {
+        "properties": { "kind": { "const": "created" } },
+        "required": ["kind"]
+      },
+      "then": {
+        "properties": {
+          "data": {
+            "type": "object",
+            "required": ["lifecycle_class"],
+            "properties": {
+              "lifecycle_class": { "$ref": "#/$defs/lifecycle-class" },
+              "from": false,
+              "to": false
+            }
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    },
+    {
+      "if": {
+        "properties": { "kind": { "const": "class-changed" } },
+        "required": ["kind"]
+      },
+      "then": {
+        "properties": {
+          "data": {
+            "type": "object",
+            "required": ["from", "to"],
+            "properties": {
+              "from": { "$ref": "#/$defs/lifecycle-class" },
+              "to": { "$ref": "#/$defs/lifecycle-class" },
+              "lifecycle_class": false
+            },
+            "allOf": [
+              {
+                "not": {
+                  "properties": { "to": { "const": "blocked" } },
+                  "required": ["to"]
+                }
+              },
+              {
+                "not": {
+                  "properties": { "from": { "const": "blocked" } },
+                  "required": ["from"]
+                }
+              },
+              {
+                "not": {
+                  "properties": {
+                    "from": { "enum": ["done", "cancelled"] }
+                  },
+                  "required": ["from"]
+                }
+              },
+              {
+                "if": {
+                  "properties": { "from": { "const": "draft" } },
+                  "required": ["from"]
+                },
+                "then": {
+                  "properties": { "to": { "not": { "const": "draft" } } }
+                }
+              },
+              {
+                "if": {
+                  "properties": { "from": { "const": "ready" } },
+                  "required": ["from"]
+                },
+                "then": {
+                  "properties": { "to": { "not": { "const": "ready" } } }
+                }
+              },
+              {
+                "if": {
+                  "properties": { "from": { "const": "active" } },
+                  "required": ["from"]
+                },
+                "then": {
+                  "properties": { "to": { "not": { "const": "active" } } }
+                }
+              },
+              {
+                "if": {
+                  "properties": { "from": { "const": "review" } },
+                  "required": ["from"]
+                },
+                "then": {
+                  "properties": { "to": { "not": { "const": "review" } } }
+                }
+              },
+              {
+                "if": {
+                  "properties": { "from": { "const": "done" } },
+                  "required": ["from"]
+                },
+                "then": {
+                  "properties": { "to": { "not": { "const": "done" } } }
+                }
+              },
+              {
+                "if": {
+                  "properties": { "from": { "const": "cancelled" } },
+                  "required": ["from"]
+                },
+                "then": {
+                  "properties": { "to": { "not": { "const": "cancelled" } } }
+                }
+              }
+            ]
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    },
+    {
+      "if": {
+        "properties": { "kind": { "const": "reopened" } },
+        "required": ["kind"]
+      },
+      "then": {
+        "properties": {
+          "data": {
+            "type": "object",
+            "required": ["from", "to"],
+            "properties": {
+              "from": { "enum": ["done", "cancelled"] },
+              "to": { "enum": ["draft", "ready"] },
+              "lifecycle_class": false
+            }
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    },
+    {
+      "if": {
+        "properties": { "kind": { "const": "blocked" } },
+        "required": ["kind"]
+      },
+      "then": {
+        "properties": {
+          "data": {
+            "type": "object",
+            "required": ["from", "to"],
+            "properties": {
+              "from": {
+                "enum": ["draft", "ready", "active", "review"]
+              },
+              "to": { "const": "blocked" },
+              "lifecycle_class": false
+            }
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    },
+    {
+      "if": {
+        "properties": { "kind": { "const": "unblocked" } },
+        "required": ["kind"]
+      },
+      "then": {
+        "properties": {
+          "data": {
+            "type": "object",
+            "required": ["from", "to"],
+            "properties": {
+              "from": { "const": "blocked" },
+              "to": {
+                "enum": ["draft", "ready", "active", "review"]
+              },
+              "lifecycle_class": false
+            }
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  ],
+  "$defs": {
+    "lifecycle-class": {
+      "enum": ["draft", "ready", "active", "blocked", "review", "done", "cancelled"]
+    },
+    "actor": {
+      "type": "object",
+      "additionalProperties": false,
+      "required": ["kind", "id"],
+      "properties": {
+        "kind": { "enum": ["person", "role"] },
+        "id": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 128 },
+        "display": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 256 }
+      },
+      "allOf": [
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "kind": { "const": "role" } },
+            "required": ["kind"]
+          },
+          "then": {
+            "properties": { "id": { "$ref": "#/$defs/role-slug" } }
+          }
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    "role-slug": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "pattern": "^[a-z][a-z0-9]*$",
+      "minLength": 2,
+      "maxLength": 16,
+      "description": "Exact role-prompt slug shape (no hyphens)."
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/project-state.schema.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/project-state.schema.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bc7d62a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/project-state.schema.json
@@ -0,0 +1,245 @@
+{
+  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
+  "$id": "contract:project-work/v0/project-state.schema.json",
+  "title": "Project State",
+  "description": "Structural schema companion for contract: project-work/v0. Inspectable project projection: approved outcome, lifecycle class, milestones, and critical path as packet ids. A project is a sibling of packets, not a parent task. Packets are not embedded.",
+  "type": "object",
+  "additionalProperties": false,
+  "required": ["capabilities", "id", "outcome", "lifecycle_class", "updated"],
+  "properties": {
+    "capabilities": {
+      "type": "array",
+      "items": { "type": "string" },
+      "contains": { "const": "contract: project-work/v0" },
+      "minItems": 1,
+      "uniqueItems": true
+    },
+    "id": { "$ref": "#/$defs/opaque-id" },
+    "scope": { "$ref": "#/$defs/scope-path" },
+    "slug": { "$ref": "#/$defs/display-slug" },
+    "outcome": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 4096 },
+    "owner": { "$ref": "#/$defs/owner" },
+    "lifecycle_class": { "$ref": "#/$defs/lifecycle-class" },
+    "milestones": {
+      "type": "array",
+      "items": {
+        "type": "object",
+        "additionalProperties": false,
+        "required": ["id", "title", "lifecycle_class"],
+        "properties": {
+          "id": { "$ref": "#/$defs/opaque-id" },
+          "title": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 256 },
+          "target": {
+            "type": "string",
+            "pattern": "^[0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}$",
+            "format": "date"
+          },
+          "lifecycle_class": { "$ref": "#/$defs/lifecycle-class" }
+        }
+      }
+    },
+    "critical_path": {
+      "type": "array",
+      "items": { "$ref": "#/$defs/opaque-id" },
+      "description": "Ordered packet ids. Does not embed packets."
+    },
+    "forecast": {
+      "type": "object",
+      "additionalProperties": false,
+      "required": ["narrative", "as_of", "confidence"],
+      "properties": {
+        "narrative": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 4096 },
+        "as_of": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time" },
+        "confidence": { "enum": ["low", "medium", "high"] }
+      }
+    },
+    "classifiers": { "$ref": "#/$defs/classifiers" },
+    "updated": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time" }
+  },
+  "$defs": {
+    "opaque-id": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "minLength": 1,
+      "maxLength": 128
+    },
+    "scope-path": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "pattern": "^[a-z0-9]([a-z0-9-]{0,61}[a-z0-9])?(/[a-z0-9]([a-z0-9-]{0,61}[a-z0-9])?)*$",
+      "maxLength": 253
+    },
+    "display-slug": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "pattern": "^[a-z0-9]+(-[a-z0-9]+)*$",
+      "maxLength": 63
+    },
+    "lifecycle-class": {
+      "enum": ["draft", "ready", "active", "blocked", "review", "done", "cancelled"]
+    },
+    "role-slug": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "pattern": "^[a-z][a-z0-9]*$",
+      "minLength": 2,
+      "maxLength": 16,
+      "description": "Exact role-prompt slug shape (no hyphens)."
+    },
+    "owner": {
+      "type": "object",
+      "additionalProperties": false,
+      "required": ["kind"],
+      "properties": {
+        "kind": { "enum": ["person", "role", "unassigned"] },
+        "id": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 128 },
+        "display": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 256 }
+      },
+      "allOf": [
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "kind": { "enum": ["person", "role"] } },
+            "required": ["kind"]
+          },
+          "then": { "required": ["id"] }
+        },
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "kind": { "const": "role" } },
+            "required": ["kind"]
+          },
+          "then": {
+            "properties": { "id": { "$ref": "#/$defs/role-slug" } }
+          }
+        },
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "kind": { "const": "unassigned" } },
+            "required": ["kind"]
+          },
+          "then": {
+            "not": {
+              "anyOf": [{ "required": ["id"] }, { "required": ["display"] }]
+            }
+          }
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    "classifiers": {
+      "type": "object",
+      "additionalProperties": false,
+      "required": ["sensitivity", "access-tier"],
+      "description": "Reuse of catalog dimensions. Cross-enum floor access-tier >= sensitivity. unknown is valid only as a pair.",
+      "properties": {
+        "sensitivity": {
+          "enum": [
+            "unknown",
+            "0-public",
+            "1-confidential",
+            "2-blinded",
+            "3-proprietary",
+            "4-personal",
+            "5-privileged",
+            "6-eyes-only"
+          ]
+        },
+        "access-tier": {
+          "enum": ["unknown", "public", "internal", "restricted", "privileged", "eyes-only"]
+        },
+        "retention-lifecycle": {
+          "enum": ["unknown", "transient", "short", "standard", "long", "legal-hold"]
+        }
+      },
+      "allOf": [
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "sensitivity": { "const": "unknown" } }
+          },
+          "then": {
+            "properties": { "access-tier": { "const": "unknown" } }
+          }
+        },
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "access-tier": { "const": "unknown" } }
+          },
+          "then": {
+            "properties": { "sensitivity": { "const": "unknown" } }
+          }
+        },
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "sensitivity": { "const": "0-public" } }
+          },
+          "then": {
+            "properties": {
+              "access-tier": {
+                "enum": ["public", "internal", "restricted", "privileged", "eyes-only"]
+              }
+            }
+          }
+        },
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "sensitivity": { "const": "1-confidential" } }
+          },
+          "then": {
+            "properties": {
+              "access-tier": {
+                "enum": ["internal", "restricted", "privileged", "eyes-only"]
+              }
+            }
+          }
+        },
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "sensitivity": { "const": "2-blinded" } }
+          },
+          "then": {
+            "properties": {
+              "access-tier": {
+                "enum": ["internal", "restricted", "privileged", "eyes-only"]
+              }
+            }
+          }
+        },
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "sensitivity": { "const": "3-proprietary" } }
+          },
+          "then": {
+            "properties": {
+              "access-tier": {
+                "enum": ["restricted", "privileged", "eyes-only"]
+              }
+            }
+          }
+        },
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "sensitivity": { "const": "4-personal" } }
+          },
+          "then": {
+            "properties": {
+              "access-tier": { "enum": ["privileged", "eyes-only"] }
+            }
+          }
+        },
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "sensitivity": { "const": "5-privileged" } }
+          },
+          "then": {
+            "properties": {
+              "access-tier": { "enum": ["privileged", "eyes-only"] }
+            }
+          }
+        },
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "sensitivity": { "const": "6-eyes-only" } }
+          },
+          "then": {
+            "properties": { "access-tier": { "const": "eyes-only" } }
+          }
+        }
+      ]
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/ready-packet.schema.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/ready-packet.schema.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5fbbdef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/ready-packet.schema.json
@@ -0,0 +1,306 @@
+{
+  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
+  "$id": "contract:project-work/v0/ready-packet.schema.json",
+  "title": "Ready Packet",
+  "description": "Structural schema companion for contract: project-work/v0. The ready packet is the dispatchable unit of work: outcome, owner, lifecycle class, and acceptance. Hierarchy is forbidden. Journal-set rules are consumer-enforced.",
+  "type": "object",
+  "additionalProperties": false,
+  "required": [
+    "capabilities",
+    "id",
+    "outcome",
+    "owner",
+    "lifecycle_class",
+    "acceptance",
+    "updated"
+  ],
+  "properties": {
+    "capabilities": {
+      "type": "array",
+      "description": "Host-less capability tokens. Must include the exact opaque project-work contract token.",
+      "items": { "type": "string" },
+      "contains": { "const": "contract: project-work/v0" },
+      "minItems": 1,
+      "uniqueItems": true
+    },
+    "id": { "$ref": "#/$defs/opaque-id" },
+    "scope": { "$ref": "#/$defs/scope-path" },
+    "slug": { "$ref": "#/$defs/display-slug" },
+    "project_id": { "$ref": "#/$defs/opaque-id" },
+    "milestone_id": { "$ref": "#/$defs/opaque-id" },
+    "outcome": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "minLength": 1,
+      "maxLength": 4096,
+      "description": "The desired result in one breath. Completion is recognized against this plus acceptance."
+    },
+    "boundary": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "minLength": 1,
+      "maxLength": 4096,
+      "description": "What is out of scope."
+    },
+    "owner": { "$ref": "#/$defs/owner" },
+    "lifecycle_class": { "$ref": "#/$defs/lifecycle-class" },
+    "acceptance": {
+      "type": "array",
+      "items": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 1024 },
+      "description": "Checkable completion criteria. Required (min 1) on dispatchable classes ready, active, review, and done. Empty is allowed on draft, blocked, and cancelled."
+    },
+    "inputs": {
+      "type": "array",
+      "items": {
+        "type": "object",
+        "additionalProperties": false,
+        "required": ["ref"],
+        "properties": {
+          "ref": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 1024 },
+          "note": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 1024 }
+        }
+      }
+    },
+    "depends_on": {
+      "type": "array",
+      "items": {
+        "type": "object",
+        "additionalProperties": false,
+        "required": ["id", "kind"],
+        "properties": {
+          "id": { "$ref": "#/$defs/opaque-id" },
+          "kind": { "enum": ["packet", "project", "decision", "external"] }
+        }
+      }
+    },
+    "escalation": {
+      "type": "object",
+      "additionalProperties": false,
+      "required": ["default"],
+      "properties": {
+        "default": {
+          "$ref": "#/$defs/role-slug",
+          "description": "Accountable escalation target as a role slug. Not a closed catalog of one org's seats."
+        },
+        "note": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 1024 }
+      }
+    },
+    "priority": { "enum": ["p0", "p1", "p2", "p3"] },
+    "labels": {
+      "type": "array",
+      "items": { "$ref": "#/$defs/display-slug" },
+      "uniqueItems": true
+    },
+    "classifiers": { "$ref": "#/$defs/classifiers" },
+    "updated": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time" }
+  },
+  "allOf": [
+    {
+      "if": {
+        "properties": {
+          "lifecycle_class": {
+            "enum": ["ready", "active", "review", "done"]
+          }
+        },
+        "required": ["lifecycle_class"]
+      },
+      "then": {
+        "properties": {
+          "owner": {
+            "not": {
+              "properties": { "kind": { "const": "unassigned" } },
+              "required": ["kind"]
+            }
+          },
+          "acceptance": { "minItems": 1 }
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  ],
+  "$defs": {
+    "opaque-id": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "minLength": 1,
+      "maxLength": 128,
+      "description": "Opaque identity. Instance prefixes are local convention, not a closed enum."
+    },
+    "scope-path": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "pattern": "^[a-z0-9]([a-z0-9-]{0,61}[a-z0-9])?(/[a-z0-9]([a-z0-9-]{0,61}[a-z0-9])?)*$",
+      "maxLength": 253
+    },
+    "display-slug": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "pattern": "^[a-z0-9]+(-[a-z0-9]+)*$",
+      "maxLength": 63
+    },
+    "role-slug": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "pattern": "^[a-z][a-z0-9]*$",
+      "minLength": 2,
+      "maxLength": 16,
+      "description": "Exact role-prompt slug shape (lowercase letters/numbers, no hyphens, 2–16)."
+    },
+    "lifecycle-class": {
+      "enum": ["draft", "ready", "active", "blocked", "review", "done", "cancelled"],
+      "description": "Semantic class, not a board column."
+    },
+    "owner": {
+      "type": "object",
+      "additionalProperties": false,
+      "required": ["kind"],
+      "properties": {
+        "kind": { "enum": ["person", "role", "unassigned"] },
+        "id": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 128 },
+        "display": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 256 }
+      },
+      "allOf": [
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "kind": { "enum": ["person", "role"] } },
+            "required": ["kind"]
+          },
+          "then": { "required": ["id"] }
+        },
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "kind": { "const": "role" } },
+            "required": ["kind"]
+          },
+          "then": {
+            "properties": { "id": { "$ref": "#/$defs/role-slug" } }
+          }
+        },
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "kind": { "const": "unassigned" } },
+            "required": ["kind"]
+          },
+          "then": {
+            "not": {
+              "anyOf": [{ "required": ["id"] }, { "required": ["display"] }]
+            }
+          }
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    "classifiers": {
+      "type": "object",
+      "additionalProperties": false,
+      "required": ["sensitivity", "access-tier"],
+      "description": "Reuse of catalog dimensions. Cross-enum floor access-tier >= sensitivity per docs/standards/access-tier-classification.md. unknown is valid only as a pair.",
+      "properties": {
+        "sensitivity": {
+          "enum": [
+            "unknown",
+            "0-public",
+            "1-confidential",
+            "2-blinded",
+            "3-proprietary",
+            "4-personal",
+            "5-privileged",
+            "6-eyes-only"
+          ]
+        },
+        "access-tier": {
+          "enum": ["unknown", "public", "internal", "restricted", "privileged", "eyes-only"]
+        },
+        "retention-lifecycle": {
+          "enum": ["unknown", "transient", "short", "standard", "long", "legal-hold"]
+        }
+      },
+      "allOf": [
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "sensitivity": { "const": "unknown" } }
+          },
+          "then": {
+            "properties": { "access-tier": { "const": "unknown" } }
+          }
+        },
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "access-tier": { "const": "unknown" } }
+          },
+          "then": {
+            "properties": { "sensitivity": { "const": "unknown" } }
+          }
+        },
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "sensitivity": { "const": "0-public" } }
+          },
+          "then": {
+            "properties": {
+              "access-tier": {
+                "enum": ["public", "internal", "restricted", "privileged", "eyes-only"]
+              }
+            }
+          }
+        },
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "sensitivity": { "const": "1-confidential" } }
+          },
+          "then": {
+            "properties": {
+              "access-tier": {
+                "enum": ["internal", "restricted", "privileged", "eyes-only"]
+              }
+            }
+          }
+        },
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "sensitivity": { "const": "2-blinded" } }
+          },
+          "then": {
+            "properties": {
+              "access-tier": {
+                "enum": ["internal", "restricted", "privileged", "eyes-only"]
+              }
+            }
+          }
+        },
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "sensitivity": { "const": "3-proprietary" } }
+          },
+          "then": {
+            "properties": {
+              "access-tier": {
+                "enum": ["restricted", "privileged", "eyes-only"]
+              }
+            }
+          }
+        },
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "sensitivity": { "const": "4-personal" } }
+          },
+          "then": {
+            "properties": {
+              "access-tier": { "enum": ["privileged", "eyes-only"] }
+            }
+          }
+        },
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "sensitivity": { "const": "5-privileged" } }
+          },
+          "then": {
+            "properties": {
+              "access-tier": { "enum": ["privileged", "eyes-only"] }
+            }
+          }
+        },
+        {
+          "if": {
+            "properties": { "sensitivity": { "const": "6-eyes-only" } }
+          },
+          "then": {
+            "properties": { "access-tier": { "const": "eyes-only" } }
+          }
+        }
+      ]
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/README.md b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f90d51c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+# Rejects — project-work/v0
+
+Negative fixtures, grouped by schema. Each `reject-*.json` must fail the
+schema of its directory.
+
+## ready-packet
+
+| File                                  | Why                                                           |
+| ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| `reject-nested-children.json`         | Hierarchy is forbidden.                                       |
+| `reject-lifecycle-todo.json`          | `todo` is not a lifecycle class.                              |
+| `reject-unassigned-ready.json`        | `unassigned` owner cannot be `ready`.                         |
+| `reject-unassigned-with-id.json`      | `unassigned` must omit `id` and `display`.                    |
+| `reject-escalation-not-slug.json`     | `escalation.default` is a role slug, not an estate seat enum. |
+| `reject-role-id-hyphen.json`          | Role `id` must match role-prompt slug (no hyphens).           |
+| `reject-classifier-half-unknown.json` | `unknown` is valid only as a pair.                            |
+| `reject-classifier-floor.json`        | `access-tier` below the sensitivity floor.                    |
+
+## progress-event
+
+| File                                             | Why                                                 |
+| ------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------- |
+| `reject-missing-seq.json`                        | `seq` is the ledger order key.                      |
+| `reject-class-changed-no-to.json`                | `class-changed` requires `from` and `to`.           |
+| `reject-blocked-wrong-to.json`                   | `blocked` requires `to=blocked`.                    |
+| `reject-dual-subject.json`                       | Exactly one of `packet_id` or `project_id`.         |
+| `reject-created-no-class.json`                   | `created` requires initial `lifecycle_class`.       |
+| `reject-created-with-from-to.json`               | `created` forbids contract `from`/`to`.             |
+| `reject-class-changed-from-done.json`            | Terminal exits are `reopened`, not `class-changed`. |
+| `reject-class-changed-with-lifecycle-class.json` | Transition kinds forbid contract `lifecycle_class`. |
+
+## control-record
+
+| File                                     | Why                                         |
+| ---------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
+| `reject-dual-subject.json`               | Exactly one of `packet_id` or `project_id`. |
+| `reject-missing-actor.json`              | Records must be attributable.               |
+| `reject-unassigned-decider.json`         | A decision `decider` is a person or role.   |
+| `reject-untyped-subject.json`            | Bare `subject_id` is not a typed subject.   |
+| `reject-status-cross-kind.json`          | Status forbids blocker and decision fields. |
+| `reject-blocker-with-decider.json`       | Blockers forbid `decider`.                  |
+| `reject-decision-with-waiting-on.json`   | Decisions forbid blocker-only fields.       |
+| `reject-decision-missing-affects.json`   | A decision requires `affects`.              |
+| `reject-decision-empty-affects.json`     | Decision `affects` must be non-empty.       |
+| `reject-decision-duplicate-affects.json` | Decision `affects` must be unique.          |
+| `reject-status-with-affects.json`        | Status forbids decision-owned `affects`.    |
+| `reject-blocker-with-affects.json`       | Blockers forbid decision-owned `affects`.   |
+
+## project-state
+
+| File                                    | Why                                              |
+| --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
+| `reject-milestone-impossible-date.json` | Milestone `target` must be a real ISO-8601 date. |
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-blocker-with-affects.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-blocker-with-affects.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6c068e4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-blocker-with-affects.json
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+{
+  "id": "pw-blocker-with-affects",
+  "packet_id": "pw-ready-packet-001",
+  "kind": "blocker",
+  "summary": "Blockers must not carry decision-owned affects.",
+  "waiting_on": "schema-brief",
+  "open": true,
+  "affects": ["pw-ready-packet-001"],
+  "actor": { "kind": "role", "id": "projectmgr" },
+  "ts": "2026-08-24T14:00:00Z"
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-blocker-with-decider.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-blocker-with-decider.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2c93912
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-blocker-with-decider.json
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+{
+  "id": "pw-blocker-with-decider",
+  "packet_id": "pw-ready-packet-001",
+  "kind": "blocker",
+  "summary": "Blockers must not carry a decision decider.",
+  "waiting_on": "schema-brief",
+  "open": true,
+  "decider": { "kind": "role", "id": "entarch" },
+  "actor": { "kind": "role", "id": "projectmgr" },
+  "ts": "2026-08-21T15:30:00Z"
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-decision-duplicate-affects.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-decision-duplicate-affects.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fdcb8ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-decision-duplicate-affects.json
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+{
+  "id": "pw-decision-duplicate-affects",
+  "packet_id": "pw-ready-packet-001",
+  "kind": "decision",
+  "summary": "Decision affects must be unique.",
+  "affects": ["pw-ready-packet-001", "pw-ready-packet-001"],
+  "decider": { "kind": "role", "id": "entarch" },
+  "actor": { "kind": "role", "id": "projectmgr" },
+  "ts": "2026-08-24T14:00:00Z"
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-decision-empty-affects.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-decision-empty-affects.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9d47d55
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-decision-empty-affects.json
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+{
+  "id": "pw-decision-empty-affects",
+  "packet_id": "pw-ready-packet-001",
+  "kind": "decision",
+  "summary": "An empty affects list is not a valid decision.",
+  "affects": [],
+  "decider": { "kind": "role", "id": "entarch" },
+  "actor": { "kind": "role", "id": "projectmgr" },
+  "ts": "2026-08-24T14:00:00Z"
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-decision-missing-affects.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-decision-missing-affects.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6ff75ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-decision-missing-affects.json
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+{
+  "id": "pw-decision-missing-affects",
+  "packet_id": "pw-ready-packet-001",
+  "kind": "decision",
+  "summary": "A decision requires affects.",
+  "decider": { "kind": "role", "id": "entarch" },
+  "actor": { "kind": "role", "id": "projectmgr" },
+  "ts": "2026-08-24T14:00:00Z"
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-decision-with-waiting-on.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-decision-with-waiting-on.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..96638c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-decision-with-waiting-on.json
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+{
+  "id": "pw-decision-with-waiting-on",
+  "packet_id": "pw-ready-packet-001",
+  "kind": "decision",
+  "summary": "Decisions must not carry blocker-only fields.",
+  "waiting_on": "a-blocker",
+  "decider": { "kind": "role", "id": "entarch" },
+  "actor": { "kind": "role", "id": "projectmgr" },
+  "ts": "2026-08-21T15:30:00Z"
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-dual-subject.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-dual-subject.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..50df958
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-dual-subject.json
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+{
+  "id": "pw-blocker-dual",
+  "packet_id": "pw-ready-packet-001",
+  "project_id": "pw-project-001",
+  "kind": "blocker",
+  "summary": "Cannot attach to both subjects.",
+  "waiting_on": "one-subject",
+  "actor": { "kind": "role", "id": "projectmgr" },
+  "ts": "2026-08-21T15:30:00Z"
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-missing-actor.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-missing-actor.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4bc9b5e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-missing-actor.json
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+{
+  "id": "pw-blocker-no-actor",
+  "packet_id": "pw-ready-packet-001",
+  "kind": "blocker",
+  "summary": "Must be attributable.",
+  "waiting_on": "an-actor",
+  "ts": "2026-08-21T15:30:00Z"
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-status-cross-kind.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-status-cross-kind.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e94d217
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-status-cross-kind.json
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+{
+  "id": "pw-status-cross-kind",
+  "packet_id": "pw-ready-packet-001",
+  "kind": "status",
+  "summary": "Status notes must not carry blocker or decision fields.",
+  "open": false,
+  "waiting_on": "a-blocker",
+  "decider": { "kind": "role", "id": "entarch" },
+  "actor": { "kind": "role", "id": "projectmgr" },
+  "ts": "2026-08-21T15:30:00Z"
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-status-with-affects.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-status-with-affects.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..67b3a6a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-status-with-affects.json
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+{
+  "id": "pw-status-with-affects",
+  "packet_id": "pw-ready-packet-001",
+  "kind": "status",
+  "summary": "Status notes must not carry decision-owned affects.",
+  "affects": ["pw-ready-packet-001"],
+  "actor": { "kind": "role", "id": "projectmgr" },
+  "ts": "2026-08-24T14:00:00Z"
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-unassigned-decider.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-unassigned-decider.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e576080
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-unassigned-decider.json
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+{
+  "id": "pw-decision-unassigned",
+  "packet_id": "pw-ready-packet-001",
+  "kind": "decision",
+  "summary": "Decider must be a person or role.",
+  "decider": { "kind": "unassigned" },
+  "actor": { "kind": "role", "id": "projectmgr" },
+  "ts": "2026-08-21T15:30:00Z"
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-untyped-subject.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-untyped-subject.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..68841f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record/reject-untyped-subject.json
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+{
+  "id": "pw-blocker-untyped",
+  "subject_id": "pw-ready-packet-001",
+  "kind": "blocker",
+  "summary": "Subject must be packet_id or project_id.",
+  "waiting_on": "typed-subject",
+  "actor": { "kind": "role", "id": "projectmgr" },
+  "ts": "2026-08-21T15:30:00Z"
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/progress-event/reject-blocked-wrong-to.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/progress-event/reject-blocked-wrong-to.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d51cbab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/progress-event/reject-blocked-wrong-to.json
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+{
+  "ts": "2026-08-21T15:12:00Z",
+  "packet_id": "pw-ready-packet-001",
+  "kind": "blocked",
+  "actor": { "kind": "role", "id": "projectmgr" },
+  "seq": 2,
+  "data": { "from": "ready", "to": "review" }
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/progress-event/reject-class-changed-from-done.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/progress-event/reject-class-changed-from-done.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..33be881
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/progress-event/reject-class-changed-from-done.json
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+{
+  "ts": "2026-08-21T16:00:00Z",
+  "packet_id": "pw-ready-packet-001",
+  "kind": "class-changed",
+  "actor": { "kind": "role", "id": "projectmgr" },
+  "seq": 3,
+  "data": { "from": "done", "to": "active" }
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/progress-event/reject-class-changed-no-to.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/progress-event/reject-class-changed-no-to.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6dc145a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/progress-event/reject-class-changed-no-to.json
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+{
+  "ts": "2026-08-21T15:10:00Z",
+  "packet_id": "pw-ready-packet-001",
+  "kind": "class-changed",
+  "actor": { "kind": "role", "id": "projectmgr" },
+  "seq": 1,
+  "data": { "from": "draft" }
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/progress-event/reject-class-changed-with-lifecycle-class.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/progress-event/reject-class-changed-with-lifecycle-class.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..138f634
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/progress-event/reject-class-changed-with-lifecycle-class.json
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+{
+  "ts": "2026-08-21T20:00:00Z",
+  "packet_id": "pw-test",
+  "kind": "class-changed",
+  "actor": { "kind": "role", "id": "devrev" },
+  "seq": 1,
+  "data": { "from": "draft", "to": "ready", "lifecycle_class": "cancelled" }
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/progress-event/reject-created-no-class.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/progress-event/reject-created-no-class.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1eeb35a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/progress-event/reject-created-no-class.json
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+{
+  "ts": "2026-08-21T15:00:00Z",
+  "packet_id": "pw-ready-packet-001",
+  "kind": "created",
+  "actor": { "kind": "role", "id": "projectmgr" },
+  "seq": 0,
+  "data": {}
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/progress-event/reject-created-with-from-to.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/progress-event/reject-created-with-from-to.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f2c17e8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/progress-event/reject-created-with-from-to.json
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+{
+  "ts": "2026-08-21T20:00:00Z",
+  "packet_id": "pw-test",
+  "kind": "created",
+  "actor": { "kind": "role", "id": "devrev" },
+  "seq": 0,
+  "data": { "lifecycle_class": "draft", "from": "done", "to": "done" }
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/progress-event/reject-dual-subject.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/progress-event/reject-dual-subject.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..86580a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/progress-event/reject-dual-subject.json
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+{
+  "ts": "2026-08-21T15:00:00Z",
+  "packet_id": "pw-ready-packet-001",
+  "project_id": "pw-project-001",
+  "kind": "created",
+  "actor": { "kind": "role", "id": "projectmgr" },
+  "seq": 0,
+  "data": { "lifecycle_class": "draft" }
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/progress-event/reject-missing-seq.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/progress-event/reject-missing-seq.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ea78a64
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/progress-event/reject-missing-seq.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+  "ts": "2026-08-21T15:00:00Z",
+  "packet_id": "pw-ready-packet-001",
+  "kind": "created",
+  "actor": { "kind": "role", "id": "projectmgr" },
+  "data": { "lifecycle_class": "draft" }
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/project-state/reject-milestone-impossible-date.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/project-state/reject-milestone-impossible-date.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bd9f294
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/project-state/reject-milestone-impossible-date.json
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+{
+  "id": "pw-project-impossible-date",
+  "capabilities": ["contract: project-work/v0"],
+  "slug": "portable-work-floor",
+  "scope": "3leaps/crucible",
+  "outcome": "Milestone target date must be a real calendar date.",
+  "owner": { "kind": "role", "id": "projectmgr" },
+  "lifecycle_class": "active",
+  "milestones": [
+    {
+      "id": "ms-impossible",
+      "title": "Impossible target date",
+      "target": "2026-99-99",
+      "lifecycle_class": "review"
+    }
+  ],
+  "critical_path": ["pw-ready-packet-001"],
+  "forecast": {
+    "narrative": "Impossible milestone dates fail format: date.",
+    "as_of": "2026-08-24T14:00:00Z",
+    "confidence": "high"
+  },
+  "updated": "2026-08-24T14:00:00Z"
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/ready-packet/reject-classifier-floor.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/ready-packet/reject-classifier-floor.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0bb5dc9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/ready-packet/reject-classifier-floor.json
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+{
+  "id": "pw-bad-classifier-floor",
+  "capabilities": ["contract: project-work/v0"],
+  "outcome": "access-tier must meet the sensitivity floor.",
+  "owner": { "kind": "role", "id": "devlead" },
+  "lifecycle_class": "ready",
+  "acceptance": ["Floor holds"],
+  "classifiers": {
+    "sensitivity": "3-proprietary",
+    "access-tier": "public"
+  },
+  "updated": "2026-08-21T15:30:00Z"
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/ready-packet/reject-classifier-half-unknown.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/ready-packet/reject-classifier-half-unknown.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..190081e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/ready-packet/reject-classifier-half-unknown.json
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+{
+  "id": "pw-bad-half-unknown",
+  "capabilities": ["contract: project-work/v0"],
+  "outcome": "unknown classifiers must be a pair.",
+  "owner": { "kind": "role", "id": "devlead" },
+  "lifecycle_class": "ready",
+  "acceptance": ["Pair unknown"],
+  "classifiers": {
+    "sensitivity": "3-proprietary",
+    "access-tier": "unknown"
+  },
+  "updated": "2026-08-21T15:30:00Z"
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/ready-packet/reject-escalation-not-slug.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/ready-packet/reject-escalation-not-slug.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d6061d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/ready-packet/reject-escalation-not-slug.json
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+{
+  "id": "pw-bad-escalation",
+  "capabilities": ["contract: project-work/v0"],
+  "outcome": "Escalation default is a portable role slug.",
+  "owner": { "kind": "role", "id": "devlead" },
+  "lifecycle_class": "ready",
+  "acceptance": ["Portable slug"],
+  "escalation": { "default": "DISPATCH" },
+  "updated": "2026-08-21T15:30:00Z"
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/ready-packet/reject-lifecycle-todo.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/ready-packet/reject-lifecycle-todo.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e5ef289
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/ready-packet/reject-lifecycle-todo.json
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+{
+  "id": "pw-bad-class",
+  "capabilities": ["contract: project-work/v0"],
+  "outcome": "Must use a closed lifecycle class.",
+  "owner": { "kind": "role", "id": "devlead" },
+  "lifecycle_class": "todo",
+  "acceptance": ["Use ready not todo"],
+  "updated": "2026-08-21T15:30:00Z"
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/ready-packet/reject-nested-children.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/ready-packet/reject-nested-children.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9ba7eb1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/ready-packet/reject-nested-children.json
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+{
+  "id": "pw-bad-tree",
+  "capabilities": ["contract: project-work/v0"],
+  "outcome": "Must not nest tasks.",
+  "owner": { "kind": "role", "id": "devlead" },
+  "lifecycle_class": "ready",
+  "acceptance": ["No children field"],
+  "children": ["pw-child-1"],
+  "updated": "2026-08-21T15:30:00Z"
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/ready-packet/reject-role-id-hyphen.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/ready-packet/reject-role-id-hyphen.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9f11317
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/ready-packet/reject-role-id-hyphen.json
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+{
+  "id": "pw-bad-role-hyphen",
+  "capabilities": ["contract: project-work/v0"],
+  "outcome": "Role ids must match the role-prompt slug shape.",
+  "owner": { "kind": "role", "id": "dev-lead" },
+  "lifecycle_class": "ready",
+  "acceptance": ["No hyphens in role slugs"],
+  "updated": "2026-08-21T15:30:00Z"
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/ready-packet/reject-unassigned-ready.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/ready-packet/reject-unassigned-ready.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4cb79cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/ready-packet/reject-unassigned-ready.json
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+{
+  "id": "pw-bad-owner",
+  "capabilities": ["contract: project-work/v0"],
+  "outcome": "Ready work must have an accountable owner.",
+  "owner": { "kind": "unassigned" },
+  "lifecycle_class": "ready",
+  "acceptance": ["Owner is named"],
+  "updated": "2026-08-21T15:30:00Z"
+}
diff --git a/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/ready-packet/reject-unassigned-with-id.json b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/ready-packet/reject-unassigned-with-id.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ed7252d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/ready-packet/reject-unassigned-with-id.json
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+{
+  "id": "pw-bad-unassigned-id",
+  "capabilities": ["contract: project-work/v0"],
+  "outcome": "Unassigned owner must omit id and display.",
+  "owner": { "kind": "unassigned", "id": "nobody" },
+  "lifecycle_class": "draft",
+  "acceptance": [],
+  "updated": "2026-08-21T15:30:00Z"
+}
diff --git a/scripts/test-project-work-controls.sh b/scripts/test-project-work-controls.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..0642faf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/test-project-work-controls.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+set -eu
+
+packet_schema="schemas/project-work/v0/ready-packet.schema.json"
+project_schema="schemas/project-work/v0/project-state.schema.json"
+control_schema="schemas/project-work/v0/control-record.schema.json"
+event_schema="schemas/project-work/v0/progress-event.schema.json"
+
+goneat validate data --schema-file "$packet_schema" --data schemas/project-work/v0/examples/ready-packet.example.json >/dev/null
+echo "    [ok] project-work ready-packet example passes"
+
+goneat validate data --schema-file "$project_schema" --data schemas/project-work/v0/examples/project-state.example.json >/dev/null
+echo "    [ok] project-work project-state example passes"
+
+goneat validate data --schema-file "$control_schema" --data schemas/project-work/v0/examples/control-record.blocker.example.json >/dev/null
+echo "    [ok] project-work control-record example passes"
+
+goneat validate data --schema-file "$control_schema" --data schemas/project-work/v0/examples/control-record.decision.example.json >/dev/null
+echo "    [ok] project-work control-record decision example passes"
+
+tmpd=$(mktemp -d)
+tmp="$tmpd/event.json"
+while IFS= read -r line; do
+    [ -n "$line" ] || continue
+    printf '%s\n' "$line" >"$tmp"
+    goneat validate data --schema-file "$event_schema" --data "$tmp" >/dev/null
+done <schemas/project-work/v0/examples/progress-events.example.ndjson
+rm -rf "$tmpd"
+echo "    [ok] project-work progress-event example lines pass"
+
+reject_dir() {
+    schema="$1"
+    dir="$2"
+    for candidate in "$dir"/reject-*.json; do
+        [ -f "$candidate" ] || continue
+        if goneat validate data --schema-file "$schema" --data "$candidate" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            echo "    [!!] project-work reject unexpectedly passed: $candidate"
+            exit 1
+        fi
+        echo "    [ok] project-work rejected: $candidate"
+    done
+}
+
+reject_dir "$packet_schema" schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/ready-packet
+reject_dir "$event_schema" schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/progress-event
+reject_dir "$control_schema" schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/control-record
+reject_dir "$project_schema" schemas/project-work/v0/rejects/project-state
+
+# Inlined classifier keys must match catalog dimensions (anti-fork).
+dim_keys() {
+    jq -r '.categorical.values[].key' "$1" | sort | tr '\n' ' '
+}
+
+schema_enum() {
+    jq -r --arg field "$2" '."$defs".classifiers.properties[$field].enum[]' "$1" | sort | tr '\n' ' '
+}
+
+sens_dim=$(dim_keys config/classifiers/dimensions/sensitivity.dimension.json)
+tier_dim=$(dim_keys config/classifiers/dimensions/access-tier.dimension.json)
+ret_dim=$(dim_keys config/classifiers/dimensions/retention-lifecycle.dimension.json)
+
+for schema_file in "$packet_schema" "$project_schema"; do
+    sens_schema=$(schema_enum "$schema_file" sensitivity)
+    tier_schema=$(schema_enum "$schema_file" "access-tier")
+    ret_schema=$(schema_enum "$schema_file" "retention-lifecycle")
+    if [ "$sens_dim" != "$sens_schema" ]; then
+        echo "    [!!] sensitivity enum drifted in $schema_file" >&2
+        echo "         dim:    $sens_dim" >&2
+        echo "         schema: $sens_schema" >&2
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    if [ "$tier_dim" != "$tier_schema" ]; then
+        echo "    [!!] access-tier enum drifted in $schema_file" >&2
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    if [ "$ret_dim" != "$ret_schema" ]; then
+        echo "    [!!] retention-lifecycle enum drifted in $schema_file" >&2
+        exit 1
+    fi
+done
+echo "    [ok] project-work classifier keys match catalog dimensions (packet + project)"
+
+echo "    [ok] project-work controls passed"