diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 033d4979..654b550a 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ Versioning follows [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 - Vault performance dynamic date filter
 
 ### Documentation
+- Add incident postmortem templates, publication playbook, and CI validation workflow (#769)
 - Add release notes playbook and changelog curation guidelines (#618)
 - Add API versioning and deprecation policy with sunset windows, migration guide, and breaking-change classification (#610)
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ae0a8479..c540d30f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -163,6 +163,16 @@ YieldVault has comprehensive disaster recovery procedures to ensure system resil
   - [Disaster Recovery Runbooks Overview](./docs/runbooks/README.md)
   - [Replay and State Recovery Procedures](./docs/runbooks/REPLAY_PROCEDURES.md)
 
+## Incident Postmortems
+
+YieldVault documents significant incidents with blameless postmortems and tracked action items:
+
+- **Templates:** [Post-mortem](./docs/runbooks/templates/post-mortem.md), [Incident Report](./docs/runbooks/templates/incident-report.md)
+- **Publication workflow:** [Postmortem Playbook](./docs/postmortem-playbook.md)
+- **Published reports:** [docs/incidents/](./docs/incidents/README.md)
+
+Postmortem drafts are due within 48 hours of incident resolution; publication within 5 business days.
+
 ## Roadmap (Phases)
 
 - **Phase 1**: Planning, Documentation, and Frontend UI Baseline (Completed)
diff --git a/docs/ci/postmortem-docs.workflow.yml b/docs/ci/postmortem-docs.workflow.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..02016e2d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/ci/postmortem-docs.workflow.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+# Postmortem Docs CI Workflow
+
+Install this file at `.github/workflows/postmortem-docs.yml` to enable PR validation
+for published postmortem reports.
+
+```yaml
+name: Validate Postmortem Docs
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    paths:
+      - 'docs/incidents/**'
+      - 'docs/runbooks/templates/**'
+      - 'docs/postmortem-playbook.md'
+      - 'scripts/validate-postmortem.sh'
+
+jobs:
+  validate:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - name: Validate postmortem structure
+        run: chmod +x scripts/validate-postmortem.sh && ./scripts/validate-postmortem.sh
+```
+
+See [ISSUE_769_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md](../runbooks/ISSUE_769_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md).
diff --git a/docs/incident_response_runbook.md b/docs/incident_response_runbook.md
index 0b46bf20..ca29c61a 100644
--- a/docs/incident_response_runbook.md
+++ b/docs/incident_response_runbook.md
@@ -77,7 +77,9 @@ This runbook documents the operational procedures for handling **RPC degradation
 
 ---
 ## 7. Post‑mortem & Continuous Improvement
-- Complete the **Post‑mortem Template** (`docs/POSTMORTEM_TEMPLATE.md`).
+- Complete the **Post‑mortem Template** ([`docs/runbooks/templates/post-mortem.md`](./runbooks/templates/post-mortem.md)).
+- Follow the **Publication Workflow** in [`docs/postmortem-playbook.md`](./postmortem-playbook.md).
+- Publish finalized reports to [`docs/incidents/`](./incidents/README.md).
 - Update runbook if new failure modes were discovered.
 - Review alert thresholds and adjust if false‑positives occurred.
 - Schedule a **runbook drill** quarterly.
diff --git a/docs/incidents/README.md b/docs/incidents/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3d29c3b3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/incidents/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+# Published Incident Postmortems
+
+This directory contains finalized, published postmortem reports for YieldVault incidents and significant DR exercises.
+
+## Index
+
+| Date | Incident ID | Title | Severity | Postmortem |
+|------|-------------|-------|----------|------------|
+| — | — | *No published postmortems yet* | — | — |
+
+## Creating a New Postmortem
+
+1. Copy [`docs/runbooks/templates/post-mortem.md`](../runbooks/templates/post-mortem.md)
+2. Draft in `docs/incidents/drafts/` during review (optional)
+3. Follow the publication workflow in [`docs/postmortem-playbook.md`](../postmortem-playbook.md)
+4. Publish via PR using filename: `YYYY-MM-DD-INCIDENT-XXX-short-slug.md`
+5. Update this index table
+
+## Related Resources
+
+- [Postmortem Playbook](../postmortem-playbook.md)
+- [Incident Response Runbooks](../runbooks/README.md)
+- [Incident Report Template](../runbooks/templates/incident-report.md)
+
+**Last Updated:** June 26, 2026
+**Maintained By:** DevOps Team
diff --git a/docs/incidents/drafts/.gitkeep b/docs/incidents/drafts/.gitkeep
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8b137891
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/incidents/drafts/.gitkeep
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+
diff --git a/docs/postmortem-playbook.md b/docs/postmortem-playbook.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..26084ef7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/postmortem-playbook.md
@@ -0,0 +1,138 @@
+# Incident Postmortem Playbook
+
+This document describes when YieldVault writes postmortems, how action items are
+tracked, and the publication workflow for finalized reports.
+
+---
+
+## 1. When to write a postmortem
+
+Write a postmortem for any of the following:
+
+| Trigger | Examples |
+|---------|----------|
+| **Severity 1–2 incidents** | Full outage, data loss risk, contract pause |
+| **DR events** | Database restore, RPC failover, backend redeploy under pressure |
+| **Security incidents** | Key compromise, unauthorized access, exploit attempt |
+| **Contract upgrades with issues** | Failed upgrade, rollback, unexpected state |
+
+Lower-severity incidents may use a shortened report at the Incident Commander's
+discretion, but must still capture root cause and action items.
+
+---
+
+## 2. Timeline
+
+| Phase | Deadline | Deliverable |
+|-------|----------|-------------|
+| During incident | Real-time | [Incident Report Template](./runbooks/templates/incident-report.md) |
+| Post-incident | Within 48 hours | Postmortem draft |
+| Publication | Within 5 business days | Published report in `docs/incidents/` |
+
+These deadlines align with the [Quick Reference](./runbooks/QUICK_REFERENCE.md)
+post-mortem checklist and [Incident Response Runbooks](./runbooks/README.md).
+
+---
+
+## 3. Roles
+
+| Role | Responsibility |
+|------|----------------|
+| **Incident Commander** | Owns timeline accuracy and severity classification |
+| **Author** | Drafts postmortem from incident report and logs |
+| **Reviewer** | DevOps or Security lead validates technical accuracy |
+| **Release engineer** | Ensures security-sensitive details follow disclosure rules |
+
+---
+
+## 4. Creation flow
+
+1. **Start from template** — Copy
+   [`docs/runbooks/templates/post-mortem.md`](./runbooks/templates/post-mortem.md).
+2. **Optional draft location** — Save work-in-progress to
+   `docs/incidents/drafts/INCIDENT-XXX-slug.md` (not indexed until published).
+3. **Gather inputs**:
+   - Live [incident report](./runbooks/templates/incident-report.md)
+   - Grafana / PagerDuty timelines
+   - Backend diagnostics bundle (`/api/diagnostics/bundle`)
+   - Relevant runbook steps exercised
+4. **Complete all sections** — Summary, impact metrics, timeline, root cause,
+   action items table, lessons learned.
+
+---
+
+## 5. Action-item tracking
+
+Every postmortem must include an **Action Items** table with:
+
+| Column | Required |
+|--------|----------|
+| ID | Yes (`AI-001`, `AI-002`, …) |
+| Action | Yes |
+| Owner | Yes |
+| Priority | Yes (P0/P1/P2) |
+| Due Date | Yes |
+| Tracking Issue | Yes — link to GitHub issue |
+| Status | Yes (Open / In Progress / Done) |
+
+**Workflow:**
+
+1. File each action item as a GitHub issue referencing the incident ID.
+2. Link the issue number in the postmortem table.
+3. Review open action items in the quarterly runbook review
+   ([runbooks README](./runbooks/README.md) §Continuous Improvement).
+
+---
+
+## 6. Review and redaction
+
+Before publication:
+
+- [ ] Incident Commander and Reviewer sign off on timeline and severity
+- [ ] Remove credentials, PII, and unreleased vulnerability details
+- [ ] For **security incidents**, follow the 48-hour minimum disclosure window
+  described in [Release Notes Playbook](./release-notes-playbook.md) §8
+- [ ] Confirm customer-facing language is approved if published externally
+
+---
+
+## 7. Publication flow
+
+1. **Open a PR** adding the finalized report to `docs/incidents/` using the
+   naming convention: `YYYY-MM-DD-INCIDENT-XXX-short-slug.md`
+2. **Set `Status: Published`** in the report header (drafts must not remain in
+   `docs/incidents/` root)
+3. **Update the index** in [`docs/incidents/README.md`](./incidents/README.md)
+4. **Link action items** — Ensure every `AI-xxx` row has a merged or open GitHub
+   issue
+5. **Update runbooks** if new failure modes were discovered
+6. **Announce** in `#yieldvault-incidents`; update status page if user-facing
+7. **Merge PR** after reviewer approval
+
+CI validates postmortem structure via `scripts/validate-postmortem.sh`. Install the
+workflow from [`docs/ci/postmortem-docs.workflow.yml`](./ci/postmortem-docs.workflow.yml)
+into `.github/workflows/` to enable automated PR checks.
+
+---
+
+## 8. DR test reports
+
+Disaster recovery exercises that surface runbook gaps should file a
+[DR Test Report](./runbooks/templates/dr-test-report.md). Significant findings
+warrant a full postmortem using the same publication flow.
+
+---
+
+## 9. Runbook feedback loop
+
+After each published postmortem:
+
+1. Identify runbook sections that were unclear or missing
+2. Open a follow-up PR updating the relevant runbook under `docs/runbooks/`
+3. Record the change in the postmortem's **Runbook Updates Required** section
+
+---
+
+**Last Updated:** June 26, 2026
+**Maintained By:** DevOps Team
+**Issue:** [#769](https://github.com/Junirezz/YieldVault-RWA/issues/769)
diff --git a/docs/runbooks/ISSUE_769_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md b/docs/runbooks/ISSUE_769_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e6c9a2cf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/runbooks/ISSUE_769_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+# Issue #769 Implementation Summary: Incident Postmortem Template and Publication Workflow
+
+**Issue:** General: Add incident postmortem template and publication workflow  
+**Status:** ✅ COMPLETED  
+**Date:** June 26, 2026
+
+---
+
+## Goal
+
+Create a standard postmortem template with action-item tracking and a publication
+workflow so the team can consistently document and learn from incidents.
+
+---
+
+## Scope Delivered
+
+### 1. Postmortem and Incident Templates ✅
+
+**Directory:** [docs/runbooks/templates/](./templates/)
+
+| File | Purpose |
+|------|---------|
+| [post-mortem.md](./templates/post-mortem.md) | Blameless postmortem with action-item table and publication checklist |
+| [incident-report.md](./templates/incident-report.md) | Live incident log during active response |
+| [dr-test-report.md](./templates/dr-test-report.md) | DR exercise report with RTO/RPO tracking |
+
+Fixes previously broken links in [runbooks README](./README.md) Appendix C.
+
+### 2. Publication Workflow Playbook ✅
+
+**File:** [docs/postmortem-playbook.md](../postmortem-playbook.md)
+
+- When to write postmortems (severity, DR, security, contract events)
+- 48-hour draft / 5-day publication timeline
+- Roles, review/redaction, and security disclosure alignment
+- PR-based publication flow into `docs/incidents/`
+- Action-item → GitHub issue tracking requirements
+
+### 3. Published Postmortem Archive ✅
+
+**File:** [docs/incidents/README.md](../incidents/README.md)
+
+- Index table for published reports
+- Naming convention: `YYYY-MM-DD-INCIDENT-XXX-slug.md`
+- Optional drafts under `docs/incidents/drafts/`
+
+### 4. Automation ✅
+
+| File | Purpose |
+|------|---------|
+| [scripts/new-postmortem.sh](../../scripts/new-postmortem.sh) | Scaffold draft from template |
+| [scripts/validate-postmortem.sh](../../scripts/validate-postmortem.sh) | CI validation for published reports |
+| [docs/ci/postmortem-docs.workflow.yml](../ci/postmortem-docs.workflow.yml) | Workflow definition for maintainers to install under `.github/workflows/` |
+
+### 5. Cross-Link Updates ✅
+
+- [docs/incident_response_runbook.md](../incident_response_runbook.md) — fixed broken template link
+- [docs/runbooks/README.md](./README.md) — quick links to playbook and incidents index
+- [docs/runbooks/QUICK_REFERENCE.md](./QUICK_REFERENCE.md) — postmortem step links
+- [README.md](../../README.md) — incident postmortems section
+- [CHANGELOG.md](../../CHANGELOG.md) — unreleased documentation entry
+
+---
+
+## Acceptance Checklist
+
+- [x] Standard postmortem template with action-item tracking
+- [x] Incident report template for live incidents
+- [x] DR test report template (unblocks broken README link)
+- [x] Publication workflow playbook
+- [x] Published postmortem archive index
+- [x] Scaffold and validation scripts
+- [x] CI workflow for postmortem doc validation
+- [x] Broken documentation links fixed
+
+---
+
+## Related Files
+
+- Issue: [#769](https://github.com/Junirezz/YieldVault-RWA/issues/769)
+- Pattern reference: [ISSUE_392_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md](./ISSUE_392_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md)
+- Release disclosure pattern: [release-notes-playbook.md](../release-notes-playbook.md) §8
+
+**Last Updated:** June 26, 2026  
+**Maintained By:** DevOps Team
diff --git a/docs/runbooks/QUICK_REFERENCE.md b/docs/runbooks/QUICK_REFERENCE.md
index 2d661d6e..ea082e65 100644
--- a/docs/runbooks/QUICK_REFERENCE.md
+++ b/docs/runbooks/QUICK_REFERENCE.md
@@ -146,8 +146,8 @@ All runbooks: `docs/runbooks/`
 3. **Notify** - Alert team via PagerDuty/Slack
 4. **Respond** - Follow appropriate runbook
 5. **Verify** - Confirm system restored
-6. **Document** - Create incident report
-7. **Review** - Post-mortem within 48 hours
+6. **Document** - Create [incident report](./templates/incident-report.md)
+7. **Review** - [Post-mortem](./templates/post-mortem.md) within 48 hours per [playbook](../postmortem-playbook.md)
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/docs/runbooks/README.md b/docs/runbooks/README.md
index d6027f3d..dc3ed578 100644
--- a/docs/runbooks/README.md
+++ b/docs/runbooks/README.md
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ This directory contains operational runbooks for disaster recovery and incident
 | [RPC Failover](./RPC_FAILOVER.md) | 5 min | N/A | Stellar RPC node failure |
 | [Full DR Procedure](./FULL_DR_PROCEDURE.md) | 4 hours | 15 min | Complete infrastructure failure |
 | [Replay & State Recovery](./REPLAY_PROCEDURES.md) | N/A | N/A | Recovering/syncing ledger events or email queue |
+| [Postmortem Playbook](../postmortem-playbook.md) | N/A | N/A | Publishing incident postmortems |
+| [Published Postmortems](../incidents/README.md) | N/A | N/A | Archive of finalized incident reports |
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/docs/runbooks/templates/dr-test-report.md b/docs/runbooks/templates/dr-test-report.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3f1f4a83
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/runbooks/templates/dr-test-report.md
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+# DR Test Report: [TEST-ID] — [Scenario Name]
+
+**Test ID:** DR-TEST-___
+**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
+**Participants:** [Names]
+**Runbook Exercised:** [link]
+**Facilitator:** [Name]
+**Last Updated:** YYYY-MM-DD
+
+---
+
+## Objectives
+
+- [Objective 1]
+
+## Targets vs Actuals
+
+| Metric | Target | Actual | Pass/Fail |
+|--------|--------|--------|-----------|
+| RTO | | | |
+| RPO | | | |
+| Total test duration | | | |
+
+## Test Steps
+
+| Step | Description | Expected | Actual | Pass/Fail | Notes |
+|------|-------------|----------|--------|-----------|-------|
+| 1 | | | | | |
+
+## Issues Encountered
+
+- [Issue description]
+
+## What Went Well
+
+- [Item]
+
+## What Could Be Improved
+
+- [Item]
+
+## Action Items
+
+| ID | Action | Owner | Priority | Due Date | Tracking Issue | Status |
+|----|--------|-------|----------|----------|----------------|--------|
+| AI-001 | | | P1 | YYYY-MM-DD | #___ | Open |
+
+## Sign-off
+
+| Role | Name | Date |
+|------|------|------|
+| Test lead | | |
+| Incident Commander | | |
+
+---
+
+*File completed reports in `docs/incidents/` when the test surfaces production-impacting findings. See the [Postmortem Playbook](../../postmortem-playbook.md).*
diff --git a/docs/runbooks/templates/incident-report.md b/docs/runbooks/templates/incident-report.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f7711177
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/runbooks/templates/incident-report.md
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+# Incident Report: [INCIDENT-ID] — [Brief Title]
+
+**Incident ID:** INCIDENT-___
+**Date Opened:** YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM UTC
+**Severity:** [Critical / High / Medium / Low]
+**Status:** [Investigating / Mitigating / Monitoring / Resolved]
+**Incident Commander:** [Name]
+**War Room Channel:** #yieldvault-war-room
+**Last Updated:** YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM UTC
+
+---
+
+## Affected Components
+
+- [ ] Backend API
+- [ ] Frontend
+- [ ] Database
+- [ ] RPC / Soroban nodes
+- [ ] Smart contracts
+- [ ] Other: ___
+
+## Runbook Used
+
+- [Runbook link or "N/A"]
+
+## Current Status
+
+[One-paragraph summary of current state and ETA]
+
+## Live Timeline (append during incident)
+
+| Time (UTC) | Actor | Event |
+|------------|-------|-------|
+| HH:MM | | Incident detected |
+| HH:MM | | |
+
+## Diagnostics Collected
+
+- [ ] Incident ticket created
+- [ ] Backend diagnostics bundle retrieved (`/api/diagnostics/bundle`)
+- [ ] RPC / node logs captured
+- [ ] Grafana dashboards linked
+
+## Communication Log
+
+| Time (UTC) | Channel | Message summary |
+|------------|---------|-----------------|
+| HH:MM | #yieldvault-incidents | |
+
+## Next Steps
+
+1. [Immediate action]
+2. [Follow-up]
+
+---
+
+*When the incident is resolved, complete the [Post-Mortem Template](./post-mortem.md) within 48 hours per the [Postmortem Playbook](../../postmortem-playbook.md).*
diff --git a/docs/runbooks/templates/post-mortem.md b/docs/runbooks/templates/post-mortem.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a524c1a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/runbooks/templates/post-mortem.md
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+# Post-Mortem: [INCIDENT-ID] — [Brief Title]
+
+**Incident ID:** INCIDENT-___
+**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
+**Severity:** [Critical / High / Medium / Low]
+**Status:** [Draft / Published]
+**Authors:** [Names]
+**Reviewers:** [Names]
+**Last Updated:** YYYY-MM-DD
+**Related Runbook:** [link]
+
+---
+
+## Summary
+
+[2–3 sentences: what happened, user impact, resolution]
+
+## Impact
+
+| Metric | Value |
+|--------|-------|
+| Detection time (MTTD) | |
+| Response time | |
+| Recovery time (MTTR) | |
+| Total downtime | |
+| Data loss (RPO) | |
+| Affected components | |
+| Affected users | |
+
+## Timeline (UTC)
+
+| Time | Event |
+|------|-------|
+| HH:MM | Incident detected |
+| HH:MM | Team assembled |
+| HH:MM | Mitigation started |
+| HH:MM | Service restored |
+| HH:MM | Monitoring confirmed stable |
+
+## Root Cause
+
+[Technical root cause — blameless]
+
+## Contributing Factors
+
+- [Factor 1]
+
+## What Went Well
+
+- [Item]
+
+## What Could Be Improved
+
+- [Item]
+
+## Action Items
+
+| ID | Action | Owner | Priority | Due Date | Tracking Issue | Status |
+|----|--------|-------|----------|----------|----------------|--------|
+| AI-001 | | | P0/P1/P2 | YYYY-MM-DD | #___ | Open |
+
+## Runbook Updates Required
+
+- [ ] [Runbook name] — [what to change]
+
+## Lessons Learned
+
+[Blameless takeaways]
+
+## Publication Checklist
+
+- [ ] Internal review complete
+- [ ] Sensitive details redacted (if customer-facing)
+- [ ] Action items filed as GitHub issues
+- [ ] Runbooks updated (if applicable)
+- [ ] Added to `docs/incidents/` index
+- [ ] Stakeholders notified (#yieldvault-incidents)
diff --git a/scripts/new-postmortem.sh b/scripts/new-postmortem.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3a775520
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/new-postmortem.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Scaffold a new postmortem draft from the standard template.
+set -euo pipefail
+
+if [[ $# -lt 2 ]]; then
+  echo "Usage: $0 INCIDENT-123 short-slug"
+  echo "Example: $0 INCIDENT-123 rpc-failover"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+INCIDENT_ID="$1"
+SLUG="$2"
+DATE="$(date -u +%Y-%m-%d)"
+REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
+DRAFTS_DIR="${REPO_ROOT}/docs/incidents/drafts"
+TEMPLATE="${REPO_ROOT}/docs/runbooks/templates/post-mortem.md"
+OUTPUT="${DRAFTS_DIR}/${DATE}-${INCIDENT_ID}-${SLUG}.md"
+
+mkdir -p "$DRAFTS_DIR"
+
+if [[ ! -f "$TEMPLATE" ]]; then
+  echo "ERROR: template not found at ${TEMPLATE}"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+cp "$TEMPLATE" "$OUTPUT"
+sed -i "s/INCIDENT-___/${INCIDENT_ID}/" "$OUTPUT" 2>/dev/null || \
+  sed -i '' "s/INCIDENT-___/${INCIDENT_ID}/" "$OUTPUT"
+sed -i "s/YYYY-MM-DD/${DATE}/" "$OUTPUT" 2>/dev/null || \
+  sed -i '' "s/YYYY-MM-DD/${DATE}/" "$OUTPUT"
+
+echo "Created draft: ${OUTPUT}"
diff --git a/scripts/validate-postmortem.sh b/scripts/validate-postmortem.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..df1b4039
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/validate-postmortem.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Validate postmortem markdown structure for published reports in docs/incidents/.
+set -euo pipefail
+
+REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
+INCIDENTS_DIR="${REPO_ROOT}/docs/incidents"
+
+REQUIRED_HEADINGS=(
+  "## Summary"
+  "## Impact"
+  "## Timeline"
+  "## Root Cause"
+  "## Action Items"
+  "## Lessons Learned"
+)
+
+errors=0
+
+validate_published_report() {
+  local file="$1"
+  local basename
+  basename="$(basename "$file")"
+
+  if [[ "$basename" == "README.md" ]]; then
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  if [[ "$basename" == .gitkeep ]]; then
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  if [[ "$file" == *"/drafts/"* ]]; then
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  if [[ ! "$basename" =~ ^[0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}-INCIDENT-.+\.md$ ]]; then
+    echo "ERROR: ${file}: filename must match YYYY-MM-DD-INCIDENT-*.md"
+    errors=$((errors + 1))
+  fi
+
+  for heading in "${REQUIRED_HEADINGS[@]}"; do
+    if ! grep -qF "$heading" "$file"; then
+      echo "ERROR: ${file}: missing required heading ${heading}"
+      errors=$((errors + 1))
+    fi
+  done
+
+  if grep -qE '^\*\*Status:\*\*.*Draft' "$file"; then
+    echo "ERROR: ${file}: published reports must not have Status: Draft"
+    errors=$((errors + 1))
+  fi
+
+  if ! grep -qE '^\| ID \| Action \| Owner \|' "$file"; then
+    echo "ERROR: ${file}: action items table must include ID, Action, Owner columns"
+    errors=$((errors + 1))
+  fi
+}
+
+# Validate templates exist
+for template in post-mortem.md incident-report.md dr-test-report.md; do
+  if [[ ! -f "${REPO_ROOT}/docs/runbooks/templates/${template}" ]]; then
+    echo "ERROR: missing template docs/runbooks/templates/${template}"
+    errors=$((errors + 1))
+  fi
+done
+
+if [[ ! -f "${REPO_ROOT}/docs/postmortem-playbook.md" ]]; then
+  echo "ERROR: missing docs/postmortem-playbook.md"
+  errors=$((errors + 1))
+fi
+
+# Validate published incident reports (if any)
+if [[ -d "$INCIDENTS_DIR" ]]; then
+  while IFS= read -r -d '' file; do
+    validate_published_report "$file"
+  done < <(find "$INCIDENTS_DIR" -maxdepth 1 -name '*.md' -print0 2>/dev/null || true)
+fi
+
+if [[ "$errors" -gt 0 ]]; then
+  echo "Postmortem validation failed with ${errors} error(s)."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "Postmortem validation passed."