diff --git a/.github/scripts/test_ci_workflow.py b/.github/scripts/test_ci_workflow.py
index 7c608bcc..38387183 100644
--- a/.github/scripts/test_ci_workflow.py
+++ b/.github/scripts/test_ci_workflow.py
@@ -94,8 +94,17 @@ def test_ci_workflow_guard_is_run_by_ci(self) -> None:
         )
         self.assertLess(
             text.index("python3 .github/scripts/test_h2_source_snapshot_closeout.py"),
+            text.index("python3 .github/scripts/test_evidence_anchor_v1_contract.py"),
+        )
+        self.assertLess(
+            text.index("python3 .github/scripts/test_evidence_anchor_v1_contract.py"),
             text.index("python3 .github/scripts/test_milestone_d_internal_contracts.py"),
         )
+        self.assertIn("python3 .github/scripts/test_evidence_anchor_v1_contract.py", text)
+        self.assertEqual(
+            1,
+            text.count("python3 .github/scripts/test_evidence_anchor_v1_contract.py"),
+        )
         self.assertIn("python3 .github/scripts/test_milestone_d_internal_contracts.py", text)
         self.assertIn("python3 .github/scripts/test_milestone_b_closeout_record.py", text)
         self.assertIn("python3 .github/scripts/test_milestone_c_closeout_record.py", text)
diff --git a/.github/scripts/test_evidence_anchor_v1_contract.py b/.github/scripts/test_evidence_anchor_v1_contract.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..bdc7b7c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/scripts/test_evidence_anchor_v1_contract.py
@@ -0,0 +1,254 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+#
+# Copyright 2026 The Ethos maintainers
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+#
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import ast
+import json
+import re
+import unittest
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from jsonschema import Draft202012Validator
+from makefile_guard import makefile_text, target_block
+
+
+ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2]
+CONTRACT = ROOT / "docs/evidence-anchor-v1-contract.md"
+CONTRACT_INVENTORY = ROOT / "examples/verify/evidence_anchor_v1_contract.json"
+CONTRACT_SCHEMA = ROOT / "schemas/ethos-evidence-anchor-contract.schema.json"
+REQUEST_SCHEMA = ROOT / "schemas/ethos-evidence-anchor-request.schema.json"
+REPORT_SCHEMA = ROOT / "schemas/ethos-evidence-anchor-report.schema.json"
+SCHEMAS_README = ROOT / "schemas/README.md"
+VALIDATE_EXAMPLES = ROOT / "schemas/validate_examples.py"
+ROADMAP = ROOT / "docs/roadmap.md"
+EXECUTION_STATUS = ROOT / "docs/execution-status.md"
+README = ROOT / "README.md"
+EVIDENCE_TYPES = ROOT / "crates/ethos-core/src/evidence_anchor.rs"
+CLI_TESTS = ROOT / "crates/ethos-cli/tests/evidence_anchor.rs"
+
+EXPECTED_TARGET_COMMANDS = [
+    "cargo test --locked -p ethos-cli --test evidence_anchor",
+    "cargo test --locked -p ethos-grounding-opendataloader-json",
+    "$(PYTHON) schemas/validate_examples.py",
+    "$(PYTHON) .github/scripts/test_execution_status.py",
+    "$(PYTHON) .github/scripts/test_roadmap_status.py",
+    "$(PYTHON) .github/scripts/test_evidence_anchor_v1_contract.py",
+    "git diff --check",
+]
+EXPECTED_ANCHOR_STATUSES = [
+    "bound",
+    "mismatch",
+    "not_found",
+    "stale_fingerprint",
+    "capability_limited",
+    "unsupported_evidence_kind",
+]
+EXPECTED_BLOCKERS = [
+    "semantic answer verification",
+    "multi-source joins",
+    "crop rendering or source-region image generation",
+    "hosted API or service surfaces",
+    "DocuShell-specific behavior",
+    "production positioning",
+    "benchmark, speed, footprint, parser-quality, or table-quality claims",
+]
+
+
+def load_json(path: Path) -> dict:
+    return json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+
+
+def schema_errors(schema: dict, instance: dict) -> list:
+    return sorted(
+        Draft202012Validator(schema).iter_errors(instance),
+        key=lambda error: list(error.absolute_path),
+    )
+
+
+def rust_test_names(path: Path) -> set[str]:
+    text = path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    return set(re.findall(r"(?m)^\s*fn ([a-z][a-z0-9_]*)\(", text))
+
+
+def snake_case(name: str) -> str:
+    return re.sub(r"(?<!^)([A-Z])", r"_\1", name).lower()
+
+
+def anchor_status_variants() -> list[str]:
+    text = EVIDENCE_TYPES.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    match = re.search(r"pub enum AnchorStatus \{(?P<body>.*?)\n\}", text, re.DOTALL)
+    if match is None:
+        raise AssertionError("missing AnchorStatus enum")
+    variants = re.findall(r"(?m)^\s*([A-Z][A-Za-z0-9]*)\b", match.group("body"))
+    return [snake_case(variant) for variant in variants]
+
+
+def contract_explicit_blockers() -> list[str]:
+    lines = CONTRACT.read_text(encoding="utf-8").splitlines()
+    try:
+        start = lines.index("## Explicit Blockers For This Slice") + 1
+    except ValueError as exc:
+        raise AssertionError("missing explicit blockers section") from exc
+
+    blockers: list[str] = []
+    for line in lines[start:]:
+        if line.startswith("- "):
+            blockers.append(line.removeprefix("- ").rstrip(";."))
+        elif blockers and line.strip():
+            break
+    return blockers
+
+
+def path_expr_to_repo_path(node: ast.AST) -> str:
+    roots = {
+        "ROOT": "",
+        "SCHEMAS": "schemas",
+        "EXAMPLES": "schemas/examples",
+    }
+    if isinstance(node, ast.Name) and node.id in roots:
+        return roots[node.id]
+    if isinstance(node, ast.Constant) and isinstance(node.value, str):
+        return node.value
+    if isinstance(node, ast.BinOp) and isinstance(node.op, ast.Div):
+        left = path_expr_to_repo_path(node.left)
+        right = path_expr_to_repo_path(node.right)
+        return f"{left}/{right}" if left else right
+    raise AssertionError(f"unsupported validate_examples path expression: {ast.dump(node)}")
+
+
+def schema_example_validation_pairs() -> set[tuple[str, str]]:
+    tree = ast.parse(VALIDATE_EXAMPLES.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    pairs_node = next(
+        node.value
+        for node in tree.body
+        if isinstance(node, ast.Assign)
+        and any(isinstance(target, ast.Name) and target.id == "PAIRS" for target in node.targets)
+    )
+
+    pairs = set()
+    for pair_node in pairs_node.elts:
+        schema_node, example_nodes = pair_node.elts
+        schema_path = f"schemas/{schema_node.value}"
+        for example_node in example_nodes.elts:
+            pairs.add((schema_path, path_expr_to_repo_path(example_node)))
+    return pairs
+
+
+class EvidenceAnchorV1ContractTests(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_target_is_declared_phony(self) -> None:
+        text = makefile_text()
+
+        self.assertIn(".PHONY:", text)
+        self.assertIn("evidence-anchor-v1-contract", text)
+
+    def test_target_composes_guard_commands(self) -> None:
+        commands = [line.strip() for line in target_block("evidence-anchor-v1-contract").splitlines() if line.strip()]
+
+        self.assertEqual(EXPECTED_TARGET_COMMANDS, commands)
+
+    def test_target_stays_contract_scoped(self) -> None:
+        block = target_block("evidence-anchor-v1-contract")
+
+        for out_of_scope in [
+            "release-candidate-prep",
+            "milestone-e-prep",
+            "release-hygiene",
+            "npm",
+            "pypi",
+            "cargo publish",
+            "gh release",
+            "verify-rendered-crops",
+            "compare-rendered-crops",
+        ]:
+            self.assertNotIn(out_of_scope, block)
+
+    def test_contract_inventory_schema_validates_inventory(self) -> None:
+        schema = load_json(CONTRACT_SCHEMA)
+        inventory = load_json(CONTRACT_INVENTORY)
+
+        Draft202012Validator.check_schema(schema)
+        self.assertEqual([], schema_errors(schema, inventory))
+
+    def test_contract_inventory_binds_existing_files_and_tests(self) -> None:
+        inventory = load_json(CONTRACT_INVENTORY)
+
+        self.assertEqual(inventory["schema_version"], 1)
+        self.assertEqual(inventory["contract"], "evidence_anchor.v1")
+        self.assertEqual(inventory["status"], "source-only-public-beta-evaluation")
+        self.assertEqual(inventory["carrier"], "ethos evidence anchor")
+        for key in ["request_schema", "report_schema"]:
+            self.assertTrue((ROOT / inventory[key]).is_file(), key)
+        for path in inventory["implementation"]:
+            self.assertTrue((ROOT / path).is_file(), path)
+        self.assertLessEqual(set(inventory["cli_tests"]), rust_test_names(CLI_TESTS))
+
+    def test_schema_registry_validates_contract_inventory(self) -> None:
+        pair = (
+            "schemas/ethos-evidence-anchor-contract.schema.json",
+            "examples/verify/evidence_anchor_v1_contract.json",
+        )
+
+        self.assertIn(pair, schema_example_validation_pairs())
+
+    def test_schema_readme_registers_contract_inventory(self) -> None:
+        text = SCHEMAS_README.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+
+        self.assertIn("`ethos-evidence-anchor-contract.schema.json`", text)
+        self.assertIn("`docs/evidence-anchor-v1-contract.md`", text)
+        self.assertIn("`examples/verify/evidence_anchor_v1_contract.json`", text)
+
+    def test_status_docs_link_contract_without_expanding_posture(self) -> None:
+        for path in [ROADMAP, EXECUTION_STATUS]:
+            text = path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+            self.assertIn("evidence-anchor-v1-contract.md", text, path)
+            self.assertIn("make evidence-anchor-v1-contract", text, path)
+
+        readme = README.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        self.assertIn("Status: public beta evaluation.", readme)
+        self.assertNotIn("production-ready", readme.lower())
+
+    def test_anchor_statuses_match_inventory(self) -> None:
+        inventory = load_json(CONTRACT_INVENTORY)
+
+        self.assertEqual(EXPECTED_ANCHOR_STATUSES, inventory["supported_anchor_statuses"])
+        self.assertEqual(EXPECTED_ANCHOR_STATUSES, anchor_status_variants())
+
+    def test_contract_records_current_boundaries(self) -> None:
+        text = re.sub(r"\s+", " ", CONTRACT.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+        inventory = load_json(CONTRACT_INVENTORY)
+
+        for required in [
+            "`ethos.evidence_anchor_request.v1`",
+            "`ethos.evidence_anchor_report.v1`",
+            "native Ethos JSON and OpenDataLoader-style JSON",
+            "non-bound per-ref outcomes remain report data and exit `0`",
+            "usage errors remain exit `2`",
+            "mismatch takes precedence over capability-limited",
+        ]:
+            self.assertIn(required, text)
+        self.assertEqual(EXPECTED_BLOCKERS, contract_explicit_blockers())
+        self.assertEqual(EXPECTED_BLOCKERS, inventory["explicit_blockers"])
+
+    def test_request_and_report_schemas_are_strict_objects(self) -> None:
+        for path in [REQUEST_SCHEMA, REPORT_SCHEMA, CONTRACT_SCHEMA]:
+            schema = load_json(path)
+            self.assertEqual(False, schema.get("additionalProperties"))
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()
diff --git a/.github/scripts/test_milestone_d_internal_contracts.py b/.github/scripts/test_milestone_d_internal_contracts.py
index c8ecd34e..310638f7 100644
--- a/.github/scripts/test_milestone_d_internal_contracts.py
+++ b/.github/scripts/test_milestone_d_internal_contracts.py
@@ -330,6 +330,7 @@ def schemas_readme_contract_table_entries() -> dict[str, str]:
         schema_name: description
         for schema_name, description in schemas_readme_table_entries().items()
         if re.fullmatch(r"ethos-.+-contract\.schema\.json", schema_name)
+        and description.startswith("Milestone D ")
     }
 
 
@@ -376,6 +377,7 @@ def discovered_d_contract_schemas() -> list[str]:
     return sorted(
         str(path.relative_to(ROOT))
         for path in (ROOT / "schemas").glob("ethos-*-contract.schema.json")
+        if "Milestone D" in path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
     )
 
 
@@ -401,6 +403,7 @@ def discovered_d_contract_inventories() -> list[str]:
         str(path.relative_to(ROOT))
         for root in roots
         for path in root.glob("*_v1_contract.json")
+        if load_json(str(path.relative_to(ROOT))).get("status") == "source-only-pre-alpha"
     )
 
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 66b36ef6..1d92f7f6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -84,6 +84,8 @@ jobs:
         run: python3 .github/scripts/test_h2_source_snapshot_candidate_evidence.py
       - name: H2 source-snapshot closeout tests
         run: python3 .github/scripts/test_h2_source_snapshot_closeout.py
+      - name: Evidence anchor v1 contract guard tests
+        run: python3 .github/scripts/test_evidence_anchor_v1_contract.py
       - name: Milestone D internal contract target tests
         run: python3 .github/scripts/test_milestone_d_internal_contracts.py
       - name: Milestone B closeout validation record tests
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 65b138b4..64e68d96 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+- boundary-exception: add an `evidence_anchor` v1 guard target, CI guard step, and schema-bound inventory for the merged source-only command; no hosted, production, Windows, bundled PDFium, benchmark, parser-quality, table-quality, or release-posture boundary change.
 - boundary-exception: add source-only `ethos evidence anchor` schema and CLI surface for deterministic evidence refs; no hosted, production, Windows, bundled PDFium, benchmark, parser-quality, table-quality, or release-posture boundary change.
 - boundary-exception: refresh patch `0.1.1` execution status for published evaluation surfaces while retaining hosted, production, Windows, bundled PDFium, benchmark, `ethos-doc`, and `ethos-rag` blockers.
 - boundary-exception: document bounded patch `0.1.1` public install paths for published evaluation surfaces while retaining hosted, production, Windows, bundled PDFium, benchmark, `ethos-doc`, and `ethos-rag` blockers.
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index d8f98b6b..71ac3235 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ COMPARE_RENDERED_CROPS_LEFT ?= $(VERIFY_RENDERED_CROPS_OUT)/run1
 COMPARE_RENDERED_CROPS_RIGHT ?= $(VERIFY_RENDERED_CROPS_OUT)/run2
 LAYOUT_EVALUATOR_OUT ?= $(ROOT)/target/layout-evaluator-alpha
 
-.PHONY: verify-alpha verify-alpha-tree rag-chunk-alpha security-report-alpha milestone-d-verify-citations-contract milestone-d-crop-element-contract milestone-d-sandbox-subprocess-contract milestone-d-internal-contracts milestone-e-prep release-candidate-prep light-check package-publication-dry-run-smoke verify-rendered-crops compare-rendered-crops layout-evaluator-alpha python-surface-test milestone-b-internal-checks milestone-c-internal-checks release-hygiene release-advisory third-party-license-manifest release-notice-draft
+.PHONY: verify-alpha verify-alpha-tree rag-chunk-alpha security-report-alpha evidence-anchor-v1-contract milestone-d-verify-citations-contract milestone-d-crop-element-contract milestone-d-sandbox-subprocess-contract milestone-d-internal-contracts milestone-e-prep release-candidate-prep light-check package-publication-dry-run-smoke verify-rendered-crops compare-rendered-crops layout-evaluator-alpha python-surface-test milestone-b-internal-checks milestone-c-internal-checks release-hygiene release-advisory third-party-license-manifest release-notice-draft
 .PHONY: milestone-d-capability-downgrade-contract
 .PHONY: milestone-d-opendataloader-adapter-shape-contract
 .PHONY: milestone-d-grounding-source-contract
@@ -52,6 +52,15 @@ security-report-alpha:
 	$(PYTHON) .github/scripts/test_security_report_alpha.py
 	git diff --check
 
+evidence-anchor-v1-contract:
+	cargo test --locked -p ethos-cli --test evidence_anchor
+	cargo test --locked -p ethos-grounding-opendataloader-json
+	$(PYTHON) schemas/validate_examples.py
+	$(PYTHON) .github/scripts/test_execution_status.py
+	$(PYTHON) .github/scripts/test_roadmap_status.py
+	$(PYTHON) .github/scripts/test_evidence_anchor_v1_contract.py
+	git diff --check
+
 milestone-d-verify-citations-contract:
 	cargo test --locked -p ethos-cli --test verify
 	$(PYTHON) schemas/validate_examples.py
diff --git a/crates/ethos-cli/tests/evidence_anchor.rs b/crates/ethos-cli/tests/evidence_anchor.rs
index a8dea1df..dc0f491e 100644
--- a/crates/ethos-cli/tests/evidence_anchor.rs
+++ b/crates/ethos-cli/tests/evidence_anchor.rs
@@ -16,10 +16,13 @@
 
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 use std::process::{Command, Output};
+use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicU64, Ordering};
 use std::time::{SystemTime, UNIX_EPOCH};
 
 use serde_json::Value;
 
+static TEMP_COUNTER: AtomicU64 = AtomicU64::new(0);
+
 fn ethos_bin() -> &'static str {
     env!("CARGO_BIN_EXE_ethos")
 }
@@ -61,7 +64,11 @@ fn temp_json(name: &str, value: Value) -> PathBuf {
         .duration_since(UNIX_EPOCH)
         .expect("clock after unix epoch")
         .as_nanos();
-    let path = std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("ethos-evidence-anchor-{name}-{nanos}.json"));
+    let pid = std::process::id();
+    let counter = TEMP_COUNTER.fetch_add(1, Ordering::Relaxed);
+    let path = std::env::temp_dir().join(format!(
+        "ethos-evidence-anchor-{name}-{pid}-{nanos}-{counter}.json"
+    ));
     std::fs::write(
         &path,
         serde_json::to_string(&value).expect("temp JSON serializes"),
diff --git a/docs/evidence-anchor-v1-contract.md b/docs/evidence-anchor-v1-contract.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..77d190da
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/evidence-anchor-v1-contract.md
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+# Evidence Anchor V1 Contract Guard
+
+Status: source-only public beta evaluation guard for the current `ethos evidence anchor` surface.
+
+This note defines the narrow post-merge guard for `evidence_anchor` v1. It does not change the
+approved public beta/evaluation posture, and it does not approve any hosted, production, benchmark,
+parser-quality, table-quality, Windows, bundled-PDFium, `ethos-doc`, or `ethos-rag` surface.
+
+The current executable carrier is the `ethos evidence anchor` CLI command. It consumes a single
+source artifact plus caller-provided evidence refs and emits a deterministic evidence anchor
+report. The command remains parser- and app-agnostic: native Ethos JSON and OpenDataLoader-style
+JSON are current grounding inputs, while downstream applications decide what to do with the
+report.
+
+## Contract Surface
+
+`evidence_anchor` v1 covers:
+
+- request and report envelope identity through `ethos.evidence_anchor_request.v1` and
+  `ethos.evidence_anchor_report.v1`;
+- caller-provided evidence refs with page, text, text-region, and table-cell locator checks;
+- native Ethos JSON and OpenDataLoader-style JSON grounding inputs;
+- deterministic per-ref outcomes: `bound`, `mismatch`, `not_found`, `stale_fingerprint`,
+  `capability_limited`, and `unsupported_evidence_kind`;
+- usage errors for malformed request shape, missing required locator/text inputs, unknown
+  grounding modes, and unsupported source artifact shape.
+
+The executable inventory is `examples/verify/evidence_anchor_v1_contract.json`. It binds the
+current command surface to schema examples, focused CLI tests, the OpenDataLoader adapter test
+suite, and status/roadmap guard scripts.
+
+## Validation Target
+
+- `make evidence-anchor-v1-contract PYTHON=<jsonschema-venv>/bin/python`
+
+The target runs the focused evidence-anchor CLI tests, the OpenDataLoader adapter tests,
+schema/example validation, status guards, roadmap guards, this contract guard, and whitespace diff
+checks.
+
+## Boundaries Locked By This Guard
+
+- one command: `ethos evidence anchor`;
+- one source artifact per invocation;
+- caller-provided evidence refs in, deterministic anchor report out;
+- native Ethos JSON and OpenDataLoader-style JSON only;
+- non-bound per-ref outcomes remain report data and exit `0`;
+- request/schema/source-shape usage errors remain exit `2`;
+- table-cell expected text uses normalized equality, not substring matching;
+- mismatch takes precedence over capability-limited when a checked required axis fails.
+
+## Explicit Blockers For This Slice
+
+This `evidence_anchor` guard does not add:
+
+- semantic answer verification;
+- multi-source joins;
+- crop rendering or source-region image generation;
+- hosted API or service surfaces;
+- DocuShell-specific behavior;
+- production positioning;
+- benchmark, speed, footprint, parser-quality, or table-quality claims.
+
+Until those blockers are explicitly handled, public language remains limited to public beta
+evaluation of deterministic evidence anchoring over the currently approved surfaces.
diff --git a/docs/execution-status.md b/docs/execution-status.md
index ba4214de..f62df7ed 100644
--- a/docs/execution-status.md
+++ b/docs/execution-status.md
@@ -125,6 +125,7 @@ The committed implementation now includes:
 - Schema/example/profile validation is green through `schemas/validate_examples.py` using `jsonschema` draft 2020-12 validation, including the crop descriptor artifact contract plus referential-integrity and bbox sanity checks outside JSON Schema. Fixture validation also binds internal font-isolation PDFs to committed manifest hashes.
 - `ethos verify` now produces non-empty quote, value, presence, and table-cell verification checks over native Ethos document JSON and synthetic OpenDataLoader-style JSON through `--grounding opendataloader-json`; it also verifies quote/value/presence citations over pinned real OpenDataLoader 2.4.7 JSON, including grounded and ungrounded cases, maps explicit real OpenDataLoader-style row/cell structures to table-cell grounding, and normalizes conservative real-style text/child-container aliases when page/bbox/text data remains explicit. Citation/config inputs are rejected when they drift outside the closed schemas. The public demo harness covers grounded, ungrounded, split-quote, not-found, stale-fingerprint, unsupported non-v1 claim, capability-limited, malformed-citation, malformed OpenDataLoader-style input, and summary-format reject paths.
 - Verification semantics are now trust-honest at alpha scope: quote containment is explicitly labeled, value/table-cell checks require normalized equality, fingerprint-pinned citations fail closed when source fingerprints are unavailable, and structured capability limits explain why a run is downgraded.
+- `ethos evidence anchor` now has a post-merge [`evidence_anchor` v1 guard](evidence-anchor-v1-contract.md) over the deterministic source-tracing command, request/report schemas, focused CLI tests, native Ethos JSON and OpenDataLoader-style grounding inputs, and explicit non-goals. Focused validation is `make evidence-anchor-v1-contract PYTHON=<jsonschema-venv>/bin/python`; PR CI also runs `.github/scripts/test_evidence_anchor_v1_contract.py` so the guard's richer drift checks are enforced automatically. This guard does not expand public beta/evaluation posture, hosted surfaces, production positioning, semantic answer verification, or benchmark/parser/table-quality claims.
 - `make verify-alpha` is the current alpha trust-loop command: it checks native examples, split-quote evidence matching, unsupported non-v1 claim reporting, synthetic OpenDataLoader-style examples, pinned real OpenDataLoader grounded/ungrounded examples, schema validation, verify-alpha case inventory coverage, usage diagnostics for malformed citations and malformed OpenDataLoader-style structures, byte-identical repeated verification reports, byte-identical native crop descriptors, summary diagnostics for an ungrounded native case, and foreign fixture manifest hash binding. `make milestone-b-internal-checks` composes the current internal Milestone B validation path across fixture validation, font-policy profile checks, verify alpha, layout evaluator, Python surface tests, and policy gates; CI has a static guard for that target's command wiring.
 - The Python surface under `python/ethos_pdf` shells out to a caller-provided local `ethos` CLI binary for `ethos doc parse` JSON, Markdown, text output, and source-bound `ethos crop_element` JSON/artifact arguments, and has stdlib unit tests that use a fake local command. The published `ethos-pdf==0.1.1` wheel exposes this bounded wrapper for evaluation; it does not bundle the CLI or PDFium.
 - Native Ethos verification can emit deterministic, schema-backed crop descriptor JSON artifacts through `--crop-dir`; these bind `document_fingerprint`, page, bbox, and check ids. Native `crop_ref` filenames are logical evidence references derived from document fingerprint, check id, and page, while descriptors still record the exact observed bbox. When `--crop-source-pdf` is supplied, the CLI validates source-PDF fingerprint binding and emits PNG crop artifacts whose filenames, byte hashes, dimensions, and source fingerprint are bound from the descriptor. `make verify-rendered-crops` checks same-host repeated-run stability for the rendered artifact path, and `make compare-rendered-crops` classifies two rendered-crop runs by separating logical evidence identity from rendered artifact byte equality. Cross-platform rendered image determinism is not claimed; the 2026-06-14 macOS arm64 vs Linux x64 validation record in `docs/validation/rendered-crops-2026-06-14.md` preserved document fingerprint and `payload_sha256` but failed rendered artifact byte equality because the evidence bbox differed slightly across platforms.
diff --git a/docs/roadmap.md b/docs/roadmap.md
index 78a0a306..3807f35c 100644
--- a/docs/roadmap.md
+++ b/docs/roadmap.md
@@ -53,6 +53,15 @@ The source-only [`sandbox_subprocess` v1 contract](milestone-d-sandbox-subproces
 classifies the existing PDF worker-process boundary behind `ethos doc parse` and
 `ethos fingerprint`; it does not add hardened sandbox rules or a new command or
 binding surface.
+The post-merge [`evidence_anchor` v1 guard](evidence-anchor-v1-contract.md)
+binds the current `ethos evidence anchor` command to request/report schemas,
+focused CLI tests, native Ethos JSON and OpenDataLoader-style grounding inputs,
+and explicit non-goals. Focused validation is
+`make evidence-anchor-v1-contract PYTHON=<jsonschema-venv>/bin/python`; PR CI also runs
+`.github/scripts/test_evidence_anchor_v1_contract.py` so the guard's richer drift checks are
+enforced automatically. This guard does not expand public beta/evaluation posture, hosted
+surfaces, production positioning, semantic answer verification, or benchmark/parser/table-quality
+claims.
 Current Milestone D source-only final closeout is recorded in
 [`docs/validation/milestone-d-final-closeout-validation-2026-06-19.md`](validation/milestone-d-final-closeout-validation-2026-06-19.md).
 The prior contract closeout is recorded in
diff --git a/examples/verify/evidence_anchor_v1_contract.json b/examples/verify/evidence_anchor_v1_contract.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..90ec4116
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/verify/evidence_anchor_v1_contract.json
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+{
+  "schema_version": 1,
+  "contract": "evidence_anchor.v1",
+  "status": "source-only-public-beta-evaluation",
+  "carrier": "ethos evidence anchor",
+  "request_schema": "schemas/ethos-evidence-anchor-request.schema.json",
+  "report_schema": "schemas/ethos-evidence-anchor-report.schema.json",
+  "implementation": [
+    "crates/ethos-core/src/evidence_anchor.rs",
+    "crates/ethos-verify/src/lib.rs",
+    "crates/ethos-cli/src/cmd/evidence.rs",
+    "crates/ethos-cli/src/main.rs",
+    "crates/ethos-cli/tests/evidence_anchor.rs"
+  ],
+  "cli_tests": [
+    "help_lists_evidence_anchor",
+    "missing_evidence_refs_exits_usage",
+    "empty_refs_succeeds_with_empty_anchors",
+    "native_page_text_bbox_and_table_cell_bind",
+    "opendataloader_text_binds_and_bbox_is_capability_limited",
+    "non_bound_outcomes_still_exit_zero",
+    "repeated_input_is_byte_identical",
+    "unknown_grounding_and_source_shape_exit_two",
+    "usage_errors_are_exit_two",
+    "table_cell_expected_text_uses_exact_normalized_match",
+    "text_mismatch_takes_precedence_over_bbox_capability_limit"
+  ],
+  "supported_groundings": [
+    {
+      "name": "native-ethos-json",
+      "cli_argument": "ethos-json",
+      "parser_scope": "native Ethos document JSON through the existing GroundingSource path",
+      "expected_capability_boundary": "page, text, text_bbox, and table_cell anchors can bind when the source provides the required evidence"
+    },
+    {
+      "name": "opendataloader-json",
+      "cli_argument": "opendataloader-json",
+      "parser_scope": "OpenDataLoader-style JSON through the existing opendataloader-json adapter",
+      "expected_capability_boundary": "text anchors can bind; bbox detail remains capability_limited when coordinate capability is unavailable"
+    }
+  ],
+  "supported_anchor_statuses": [
+    "bound",
+    "mismatch",
+    "not_found",
+    "stale_fingerprint",
+    "capability_limited",
+    "unsupported_evidence_kind"
+  ],
+  "deterministic_guards": [
+    "schema-backed request and report examples",
+    "byte-identical repeated report output",
+    "usage errors exit 2",
+    "non-bound per-ref outcomes exit 0"
+  ],
+  "explicit_blockers": [
+    "semantic answer verification",
+    "multi-source joins",
+    "crop rendering or source-region image generation",
+    "hosted API or service surfaces",
+    "DocuShell-specific behavior",
+    "production positioning",
+    "benchmark, speed, footprint, parser-quality, or table-quality claims"
+  ]
+}
diff --git a/schemas/README.md b/schemas/README.md
index d92e7c9f..df48af7c 100644
--- a/schemas/README.md
+++ b/schemas/README.md
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ bumps and downstream sign-off; output-changing heuristics are semver events (PRD
 | `ethos-verification-report.schema.json` | `verification_report.json` |
 | `ethos-evidence-anchor-request.schema.json` | evidence refs consumed by `ethos evidence anchor --evidence-refs` |
 | `ethos-evidence-anchor-report.schema.json` | `evidence_anchor_report.json` emitted by `ethos evidence anchor` |
+| `ethos-evidence-anchor-contract.schema.json` | `evidence_anchor` v1 source-only public beta evaluation guard inventory |
 | `ethos-verification-config.schema.json` | verification config (its c14n hash stamps reports) |
 | `ethos-crop-descriptor.schema.json` | crop descriptor JSON emitted by `ethos crop_element` and `ethos verify --crop-dir` |
 | `ethos-crop-element-request.schema.json` | source-only request envelope for Milestone D `crop_element` v1 contract work |
@@ -52,6 +53,14 @@ security-report / verification-report examples).
 `verification-report-negative.example.json` shows a non-grounded report with a per-check
 `reason` label.
 
+Evidence-anchor V1 guard work is tracked in `docs/evidence-anchor-v1-contract.md`. In this
+source-only public beta evaluation guard, `evidence_anchor` names the deterministic source-tracing
+contract currently carried by `ethos evidence anchor`; it does not add semantic answer
+verification, hosted/API behavior, app-specific integration, crop rendering, or production
+positioning. The contract inventory at `examples/verify/evidence_anchor_v1_contract.json` is
+schema-validated here; its alignment with focused CLI tests, OpenDataLoader adapter coverage,
+status docs, and Makefile wiring is checked by the evidence-anchor repository guard.
+
 Milestone D `verify_citations` v1 contract work is tracked in
 `docs/milestone-d-verify-citations-contract.md`. In this source-only pre-alpha slice,
 `verify_citations` names the citation-input to verification-report contract currently carried by
diff --git a/schemas/ethos-evidence-anchor-contract.schema.json b/schemas/ethos-evidence-anchor-contract.schema.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..82608e5c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schemas/ethos-evidence-anchor-contract.schema.json
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+{
+  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
+  "$id": "urn:ethos:schema:evidence-anchor-contract:1",
+  "title": "Ethos evidence_anchor v1 contract inventory",
+  "description": "Source-only public beta evaluation guard inventory for the current evidence_anchor v1 contract carried by ethos evidence anchor. This validates inventory shape and vocabulary; executable alignment stays in the repository guard.",
+  "type": "object",
+  "required": [
+    "schema_version",
+    "contract",
+    "status",
+    "carrier",
+    "request_schema",
+    "report_schema",
+    "implementation",
+    "cli_tests",
+    "supported_groundings",
+    "supported_anchor_statuses",
+    "deterministic_guards",
+    "explicit_blockers"
+  ],
+  "additionalProperties": false,
+  "properties": {
+    "schema_version": { "const": 1 },
+    "contract": { "const": "evidence_anchor.v1" },
+    "status": { "const": "source-only-public-beta-evaluation" },
+    "carrier": { "const": "ethos evidence anchor" },
+    "request_schema": { "$ref": "#/$defs/repo_path" },
+    "report_schema": { "$ref": "#/$defs/repo_path" },
+    "implementation": {
+      "type": "array",
+      "minItems": 1,
+      "items": { "$ref": "#/$defs/repo_path" },
+      "uniqueItems": true
+    },
+    "cli_tests": {
+      "type": "array",
+      "minItems": 1,
+      "items": { "$ref": "#/$defs/rust_method_name" },
+      "uniqueItems": true
+    },
+    "supported_groundings": {
+      "type": "array",
+      "minItems": 1,
+      "items": { "$ref": "#/$defs/supported_grounding" },
+      "uniqueItems": true
+    },
+    "supported_anchor_statuses": {
+      "type": "array",
+      "minItems": 1,
+      "items": {
+        "enum": [
+          "bound",
+          "mismatch",
+          "not_found",
+          "stale_fingerprint",
+          "capability_limited",
+          "unsupported_evidence_kind"
+        ]
+      },
+      "uniqueItems": true
+    },
+    "deterministic_guards": {
+      "type": "array",
+      "minItems": 1,
+      "items": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1 },
+      "uniqueItems": true
+    },
+    "explicit_blockers": {
+      "type": "array",
+      "minItems": 1,
+      "items": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1 },
+      "uniqueItems": true
+    }
+  },
+  "$defs": {
+    "supported_grounding": {
+      "type": "object",
+      "required": [
+        "name",
+        "cli_argument",
+        "parser_scope",
+        "expected_capability_boundary"
+      ],
+      "additionalProperties": false,
+      "properties": {
+        "name": { "enum": ["native-ethos-json", "opendataloader-json"] },
+        "cli_argument": { "enum": ["ethos-json", "opendataloader-json"] },
+        "parser_scope": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1 },
+        "expected_capability_boundary": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1 }
+      }
+    },
+    "repo_path": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1, "pattern": "^[A-Za-z0-9_./-]+$" },
+    "rust_method_name": { "type": "string", "pattern": "^[a-z][a-z0-9_]*$" }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/schemas/validate_examples.py b/schemas/validate_examples.py
index c7af0a3f..7f9ec0c5 100644
--- a/schemas/validate_examples.py
+++ b/schemas/validate_examples.py
@@ -85,6 +85,9 @@
         EXAMPLES / "evidence-anchor-report.example.json",
         EXAMPLES / "evidence-anchor-report-negative.example.json",
     ]),
+    ("ethos-evidence-anchor-contract.schema.json", [
+        ROOT / "examples" / "verify" / "evidence_anchor_v1_contract.json",
+    ]),
     ("ethos-verification-config.schema.json", [EXAMPLES / "verification-config.example.json"]),
     ("ethos-crop-descriptor.schema.json", [EXAMPLES / "crop-descriptor.example.json"]),
     ("ethos-crop-element-request.schema.json", [