diff --git a/docs/credential-governance-break-glass.md b/docs/credential-governance-break-glass.md
index 9262258..240e34c 100644
--- a/docs/credential-governance-break-glass.md
+++ b/docs/credential-governance-break-glass.md
@@ -37,6 +37,11 @@ Hard lockdown is not an agent command. The irreversible hold point is the
 platform owner's attended seal action. All prerequisites below must be true
 before that hold point; repository access alone grants no authority to cross it.
 
+Route planning must select `openbao-shamir-recovery-ceremony` and return one
+`founder_required` approval act. A result that selects `openbao-api-key`, asks
+for paste-once provisioning, or offers any raw-value transport is a routing
+failure and must not be executed.
+
 ## Pre-seal hold point
 
 - An approved, bounded window names the accountable platform driver and a
diff --git a/registry/routing/catalog.yaml b/registry/routing/catalog.yaml
index 07b2c42..f4c5382 100644
--- a/registry/routing/catalog.yaml
+++ b/registry/routing/catalog.yaml
@@ -171,6 +171,29 @@ entries:
     exec_capable: true
     lane: login
 
+  - id: openbao-shamir-recovery-ceremony
+    title: Attended OpenBao Shamir seal and unseal recovery ceremony
+    # A ceremony pointer, not a credential-value lane. Approval coordinates
+    # existing out-of-band custodians; Warden never requests or transports a share.
+    risk: high
+    workload_ref:
+      applicability: not-applicable
+      reason: "Attended platform trust-root ceremony; no workload credential is retrieved."
+    need_keywords: [openbao, shamir, seal, unseal, sealed, emergency, recovery, break-glass, quorum, share, shares, custodian, ceremony, raft, snapshot, provider-console, abort, attended]
+    owner_repo: railiance-platform
+    subsystem: OpenBao operator recovery
+    warden_executes: false
+    wiki_ref: wiki/playbooks/openbao-shamir-recovery-ceremony.md#worker-checklist
+    canon_ref: railiance-platform/docs/railiance01-coordinated-reboot.md
+    reviewed: "2026-08-22"
+    status: active
+    delegation:
+      mode: native
+      intended_owner: railiance-platform
+      reviewed: "2026-08-22"
+      verified: source-read
+    lane: ceremony
+
   - id: whynot-design-npm-publish
     title: whynot-design npm publish token (@whynot/design → coulomb Gitea registry)
     # Publish rights to the package registry — a leaked token is a supply-chain write, not a read (WARDEN-WP-0032-T05).
diff --git a/src/warden/plan.py b/src/warden/plan.py
index 639ccfc..dd0d7dd 100644
--- a/src/warden/plan.py
+++ b/src/warden/plan.py
@@ -185,6 +185,16 @@ def _founder_for_entry(entry: RouteEntry, need: str, domain: Optional[str]) -> F
                 "desk_hint": f"warden desk --from-plan (act=oidc_login) or: {expanded.fetch_command}",
             },
         )
+    if entry.lane == "ceremony":
+        return FounderAct(
+            kind="approve",
+            summary=f"Attended owner ceremony approval required for {entry.id}",
+            details={
+                "lane_id": entry.id,
+                "wiki_ref": entry.wiki_ref,
+                "desk_hint": "warden desk --act approve --lane " + entry.id,
+            },
+        )
     if _APPROVAL_SIGNS.search(need):
         return FounderAct(
             kind="approve",
@@ -293,8 +303,9 @@ def build_plan(
             domain=domain,
         )
 
-    # Login lanes always need a human identity act
-    if entry.lane == "login":
+    # Login and ceremony lanes always need a human act. A ceremony is a pure
+    # owner pointer: it must never fall through to secret paste-once mechanics.
+    if entry.lane in ("login", "ceremony"):
         act = _founder_for_entry(entry, need, domain)
         return AccessPlan(
             need=need,
@@ -308,7 +319,11 @@ def build_plan(
             founder_act=act,
             catalog=freshness,
             candidates=candidates,
-            reasons=["login lane requires interactive founder/operator identity act"],
+            reasons=[
+                "login lane requires interactive founder/operator identity act"
+                if entry.lane == "login"
+                else "ceremony lane requires attended owner approval"
+            ],
             actor=actor,
             domain=domain,
         )
diff --git a/src/warden/routing/catalog.py b/src/warden/routing/catalog.py
index aca8eaf..c04f7d7 100644
--- a/src/warden/routing/catalog.py
+++ b/src/warden/routing/catalog.py
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ _REQUIRED_FIELDS = (
     "workload_ref",
 )
 _VALID_STATUS = ("active", "draft")
-_VALID_LANES = ("secret", "login")
+_VALID_LANES = ("secret", "login", "ceremony")
 _VALID_ROTATION_METHODS = ("rotate", "re-establish")
 
 # Default review cadence for a catalog pointer — "is this still the right owner
diff --git a/src/warden/routing/models.py b/src/warden/routing/models.py
index c9c348e..2485c69 100644
--- a/src/warden/routing/models.py
+++ b/src/warden/routing/models.py
@@ -174,6 +174,8 @@ class RouteEntry:
     #   "login"  — interactive auth bootstrap (OIDC/MFA). No secret-read gate (you have
     #              no identity yet), no caller-auth precheck (the point is to get one),
     #              run interactively as the caller; warden never captures the token.
+    #   "ceremony" — attended owner operation such as Shamir seal/unseal. It is a
+    #                pointer plus approval boundary, never an executable access lane.
     lane: str = "secret"
     # Owner-native exec front door (WP-0019). When `exec_owner` is set, that subsystem
     # (e.g. secrets-engine) provides the PRIMARY way to run a secret-backed command; the
diff --git a/tests/test_plan.py b/tests/test_plan.py
index 447d487..7f6b7aa 100644
--- a/tests/test_plan.py
+++ b/tests/test_plan.py
@@ -80,6 +80,23 @@ def test_plan_first_time_openbao_database_admin_uses_platform_admin_login():
     )
 
 
+def test_plan_openbao_shamir_recovery_uses_approval_ceremony_not_secret_provision():
+    plan = build_plan(
+        "coordinate one attended production OpenBao emergency seal/unseal drill "
+        "with a fresh encrypted off-host Raft snapshot receipt, verified "
+        "provider-console access, two-of-three Shamir custodian quorum, named "
+        "driver and abort operator, without exposing credential values"
+    )
+    assert plan.verdict == "founder_required"
+    assert plan.lane_id == "openbao-shamir-recovery-ceremony"
+    assert plan.founder_act is not None
+    assert plan.founder_act.kind == "approve"
+    assert "openbao-shamir-recovery-ceremony" in plan.founder_act.details["desk_hint"]
+    assert "paste_once" not in plan.founder_act.details["desk_hint"]
+    assert all("warden access" not in item for item in plan.commands)
+    assert any("openbao-shamir-recovery-ceremony" in item for item in plan.commands)
+
+
 def test_plan_unroutable():
     # Zero keyword overlap with catalog (avoid tokens like secret/key/token)
     plan = build_plan("xyzzy-plugh-fnord-qqq-zzzz")
diff --git a/tests/test_routing.py b/tests/test_routing.py
index 1ad3498..209e54c 100644
--- a/tests/test_routing.py
+++ b/tests/test_routing.py
@@ -170,6 +170,18 @@ def test_platform_admin_login_lane_is_exact_and_non_value_bearing():
     assert entry.workload_ref.resolution == "not-applicable"
 
 
+def test_openbao_recovery_ceremony_is_non_value_bearing_owner_pointer():
+    entry = load_catalog(_repo_catalog()).get("openbao-shamir-recovery-ceremony")
+    assert entry.lane == "ceremony"
+    assert entry.risk == "high"
+    assert entry.owner_repo == "railiance-platform"
+    assert entry.warden_executes is False
+    assert entry.exec_capable is False
+    assert entry.has_handoff is False
+    assert entry.vends_secret is False
+    assert entry.workload_ref.resolution == "not-applicable"
+
+
 def test_find_exact_id_wins_over_keyword_collision():
     catalog = load_catalog(_repo_catalog())
     # "npm" alone collides with openbao-api-key; the exact id must resolve uniquely.
diff --git a/wiki/CredentialRouting.md b/wiki/CredentialRouting.md
index 3b86c42..a9b04bf 100644
--- a/wiki/CredentialRouting.md
+++ b/wiki/CredentialRouting.md
@@ -91,6 +91,7 @@ lists the interim set — WARDEN-WP-0030).
 | `ops-warden-warden-sign-token` | "railiance-platform broker owns the `warden-sign` lease — use `credential exec`" | `railiance-platform/scripts/credential.py exec --grant ops-warden/warden-sign` (see playbook) |
 | `openbao-api-key` | "OpenBao owns this — here is the path/command shape" | Call OpenBao directly, or use `warden access --fetch/--exec` as yourself when the lane is `exec_capable` |
 | `openbao-platform-admin-login` | "This is an attended OpenBao administration identity act, not workload secret retrieval" | Use KeyCape-backed OIDC/MFA at `auth/netkingdom`, role `platform-admin`; never substitute a workload role or root token |
+| `openbao-shamir-recovery-ceremony` | "This is an attended trust-root ceremony, not secret provisioning" | Obtain one explicit approval and follow the railiance-platform recovery checklist with the existing out-of-band custodians; never send shares through Warden |
 | `flex-auth-policy-check` | "flex-auth decides — here is the policy doc" | Query flex-auth / embed the PEP |
 | `key-cape-oidc-login` | "key-cape / Keycloak owns identity" | Authenticate via IAM Profile, or use the `warden access` login lane as yourself |
 | `ops-bridge-tunnel` | "ops-bridge owns transport — supply a `cert_command`" | Open the tunnel with ops-bridge |
diff --git a/wiki/playbooks/openbao-shamir-recovery-ceremony.md b/wiki/playbooks/openbao-shamir-recovery-ceremony.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8aac70b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wiki/playbooks/openbao-shamir-recovery-ceremony.md
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+# OpenBao Shamir recovery ceremony
+
+This lane routes an attended production seal/unseal or trust-root recovery need
+to `railiance-platform`. It does not retrieve, provision, proxy, or transport an
+unseal share, recovery value, OpenBao token, snapshot, or console credential.
+
+## Worker checklist
+
+1. Plan the need before drafting an operator step:
+
+   ```bash
+   warden plan "attended OpenBao Shamir emergency seal/unseal recovery ceremony" --json
+   ```
+
+   The result must select `openbao-shamir-recovery-ceremony`, return
+   `founder_required`, and name one `approve` act. If it selects
+   `openbao-api-key`, proposes paste-once provisioning, or requests a raw share,
+   stop without executing the proposed act.
+
+2. Treat approval as coordination, not secret delivery. The platform owner uses
+   the existing out-of-band share custody and provider-console paths. Warden
+   Desk must never receive a share or console credential.
+
+3. Follow the authoritative owner checklist in
+   `railiance-platform/docs/railiance01-coordinated-reboot.md` and the OpenBao
+   recovery section of `railiance-platform/docs/openbao.md`. The local consumer
+   boundary and evidence requirements are in
+   `docs/credential-governance-break-glass.md`.
+
+4. Stop before the live hold point unless the owner preflight reports
+   `ready_for_live_execution: true` and the operator gives an explicit go/no-go
+   for that bounded window.
+
+Allowed records are non-secret approval ids, role attestations, timestamps,
+seal-state booleans, hashes, and verification outcomes. Never place shares,
+tokens, credentials, Secret data, or decrypted snapshots in Git, State Hub,
+logs, shell history, or chat.
diff --git a/workplans/WARDEN-WP-0027-credential-governance-lockdown.md b/workplans/WARDEN-WP-0027-credential-governance-lockdown.md
index ffe2354..3a15705 100644
--- a/workplans/WARDEN-WP-0027-credential-governance-lockdown.md
+++ b/workplans/WARDEN-WP-0027-credential-governance-lockdown.md
@@ -145,6 +145,21 @@ that boundary and still would not recover a sealed OpenBao. A separately
 approved ops-bridge unattended-signing design may re-evaluate the narrow
 AppRole under its own workplan; that is service access, not recovery authority.
 
+**Read-only readiness 2026-08-22.** The owner `node-reboot` preflight passed
+every automated check without observing a secret value: node/k3s, platform-pg
+and continuous archiving, a 16.37-hour successful backup, initialized/unsealed
+OpenBao with `shares=3` and `threshold=2`, ESO stores/projections, and the
+reviewed audit-core digest were healthy. `ready_for_live_execution` correctly
+remained false because no approved window, current encrypted off-host snapshot
+receipt, provider-console attestation, quorum attestation, owner-ack flag, or
+named abort operator was supplied.
+
+That preflight also exposed a Warden safety defect: the ceremony request matched
+the generic `openbao-api-key` template and proposed paste-once provisioning.
+`openbao-shamir-recovery-ceremony` now distinguishes the owner-operated approval
+ceremony from secret retrieval. It is a non-value-bearing pointer and can never
+offer `--fetch`, `--exec`, `--out`, `--wrap`, or paste-once share transport.
+
 ## Task: Tamper-evident policy governance + reconcile
 
 ```task