diff --git a/SCOPE.md b/SCOPE.md
index 91b057f..102211c 100644
--- a/SCOPE.md
+++ b/SCOPE.md
@@ -40,17 +40,35 @@ point, not an identity provider, and not a general secrets API.
 - Resolves legacy lane decisions from State Hub by id, with tracked local YAML
   mirrors retained only for non-production and explicit throwaway demos. This is
   not an access-engine decision record.
-- Fails every production live command closed while there is no durable
-  access-engine / ActionAuthorization record. That fail-closed row is the
-  published unreachable-engine stance for `prod` in `pep-stance.yaml`. A local
+- Fails every production live command closed while the two-artifact chain
+  cannot be completed — today because approval-engine does not serve the
+  approval-claim endpoint. That fail-closed row is the published
+  unreachable-engine stance for `prod` in `pep-stance.yaml`. A local
   mirror can unlock a prod-labeled lane only when an explicit unsafe-demo
   switch, disabled Hub URL, and loopback OpenBao target are all present. Plans
   and `apply --dry-run` remain usable.
-- Builds and validates the flex-auth `ActionAuthorization` profile, including
-  exact lane/stage/action/target/actor/purpose matching, bounded validity,
-  State Hub authority, request digest and decision binding, accepted policy
-  package/version, and an independently required distinct-approver threshold.
-  Validation is consume-only; this process does not evaluate policy.
+- Validates the two-artifact authorization chain, split by owning layer per
+  `GH-DEC-2026-005`. The approval-engine **approval-claim** supplies the approval
+  fact: issuer, `valid_now`, consumption state, freshness, `reason_code`, a
+  required `binding.pdp_path` declaration, and the `pdp_digest` tie to this exact
+  action. The flex-auth **DecisionEnvelope** supplies the decision: effect,
+  structured binding correspondence to the proposed action, canonical request
+  digest, lifetime, and the accepted policy package/version pin. Neither layer
+  republishes the other's data, and validation is consume-only; this process does
+  not evaluate policy.
+- Compares the decision binding by structured correspondence rather than
+  byte-equality, per flex-auth's published normalization rule: everything the
+  engine proposed must survive unchanged, registry enrichment may add only
+  `type`/`tenant`/`attributes`, and an enriched tenant must be the request
+  tenant. The request digest is verified against the tuple the binding carries.
+  The CheckRequest carries the package's `known_tenant`; an absent tenant is a
+  `wrong_tenant` denial, not an ignored field.
+- The `ActionAuthorization` object is **deferred and never ratified**
+  (`FLEX-DEC-2026-006`); nothing validates it. There is no State Hub authority
+  constant — State Hub is a read model and holds no runtime approval authority.
+  The distinct-approver threshold is folded into `valid_now` by the issuer and is
+  no longer an independent consumer-side check, which is correct on layering and
+  a real reduction in what this engine verifies alone.
 - Renders guarded OpenBao plans for exact consumer ACL policies and AppRoles.
 - Applies policy and AppRole metadata idempotently. Existing mounts render a
   non-mutating check and are never created by apply.
@@ -227,10 +245,18 @@ metadata. `secrets-engine wrap` implements response-wrapped operator handoff.
   service-auth / `service-jwt` provider.
 - Provider-side / workload consumer rotation. Overlay lane state is local and
   non-secret only; it is not an OpenBao-side state machine.
-- Resolution of a durable access-engine decision record / State Hub
-  ActionAuthorization and wiring its validated approval threshold to each
-  production handler. The consumer validator exists; the serving endpoint does
-  not, so live production remains fail-closed.
+- Protocol step 1 in production: approval-engine does not yet serve the
+  approval-claim endpoint (`APPROVAL-WP-0002-T03`), so `resolve_consume_binding`
+  returns no binding and live production remains fail-closed. Step 2 is served
+  and proven — a real CheckRequest against the deployed `flex-auth-secrets-engine`
+  pin returns a validated v2 decision over the owner-documented access path
+  (`docs/pdp-access-path.md`).
+- Responder authentication for the decision channel. `flex-auth.decision-record.v1`
+  carries no signature and pins serve plain HTTP, so a responder knowing the
+  published package and version could return a well-formed allow. Fail-closed
+  protects against a PDP that is absent, not one that lies (`FLEX-DEC-2026-010`).
+  The enforced loopback address shape stands in for this until `FLEX-WP-0024`
+  ships detached signatures.
 - Direct access-engine evaluation, JWT signature verification, or identity
   authentication. KeyCape claims receive only a consumer preflight; OpenBao is
   responsible for cryptographic JWT validation.
@@ -306,7 +332,7 @@ Working companion: `net-kingdom/SECURITY-COMPANION.md`.
 | Obligation | Current | Intended |
 | --- | --- | --- |
 | Layer declaration | `INTENT.md` frontmatter + `layer.yaml` | Keep in this repository's own voice |
-| One decision point | Consumer validator for ActionAuthorization; production live fail-closed from `pep-stance.yaml` | Consume an access-engine decision record before every protected side effect |
+| One decision point | Two-artifact consumer validation (approval-claim + DecisionEnvelope); step 2 proven against the deployed pin, step 1 unserved so production live stays fail-closed from `pep-stance.yaml` | Consume an access-engine decision record before every protected side effect |
 | PEP stance | Runtime loads `pep-stance.yaml`; named stance fields on privileged evidence | Unchanged map; T02 replaces fail-open residue with a decision record |
 | Evidence bound | `evidence-classification.yaml`; load-bearing local outbox; heartbeat command | Drain to `audit-core` once that sender is admitted |
 | SSH-CA surface | Contract at `docs/ssh-ca-signing-contract.md`; not shipped | Engine API after ops-warden assent |