diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/app_state.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/app_state.rs
index 5d1130581..faad83673 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/app_state.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/app_state.rs
@@ -17,7 +17,12 @@ use crate::managed_agents::scope::WorkspaceAgentScope;
 use crate::managed_agents::{ManagedAgentPairRuntime, ManagedAgentRuntimeKey};
 
 pub struct AppState {
-    pub keys: Mutex<Keys>,
+    /// Identity signing keys. PRIVATE (P29-C1): reach through
+    /// [`AppState::signing_keys`] (refuses in recovery / under the latch),
+    /// [`AppState::current_pubkey`] (pubkey-only), or
+    /// [`AppState::identity_lifecycle_keys_guard`] (transition/import commit +
+    /// lost-state persist only). No signing path may touch the raw field.
+    keys: Mutex<Keys>,
     /// Durable backend holding `keys`. Updated after the key write and before
     /// recovery flags are cleared so `get_identity` reports a consistent state.
     pub(crate) identity_storage: AtomicU8,
@@ -267,12 +272,53 @@ impl AppState {
                  until the identity is restored and Buzz is relaunched"
                 .to_string());
         }
+        // P29-C1: also refuse while owner-identity persistence is latched
+        // `Indeterminate`. A completed transition that could not prove either
+        // durable identity canonical must not sign under the unresolved
+        // identity. The latch is only set by the C5 identity-transition
+        // coordinator, so this is inert (never `true`) until C5 lands, but the
+        // gate is in place at every signer now.
+        if crate::owner_identity_egress::is_identity_indeterminate() {
+            return Err("owner identity is in an indeterminate recovery state; \
+                 event signing is disabled until the identity is reconciled \
+                 and Buzz is relaunched"
+                .to_string());
+        }
         self.keys
             .lock()
             .map_err(|e| e.to_string())
             .map(|k| k.clone())
     }
 
+    /// The current identity's public key, for routing, query filters, and
+    /// display. Unlike [`signing_keys`](Self::signing_keys) this does NOT
+    /// refuse in recovery: a public key is not signing capability, and the
+    /// recovery-reporting surfaces (`get_identity`) need it to describe the
+    /// recovery state itself. Reads through this accessor rather than the
+    /// private `keys` field so no caller can reach the secret key for a
+    /// pubkey-only need.
+    pub fn current_pubkey(&self) -> Result<nostr::PublicKey, String> {
+        self.keys
+            .lock()
+            .map_err(|e| e.to_string())
+            .map(|k| k.public_key())
+    }
+
+    /// Raw guard on the identity keys for the identity-lifecycle paths ONLY:
+    /// the `apply_workspace` and `import_identity` commit stages (which swap
+    /// keys under their transition guards) and `persist_current_identity`
+    /// (which clones the ephemeral lost-state key to make it durable). These
+    /// paths legitimately operate on keys DURING recovery, so they cannot go
+    /// through [`signing_keys`](Self::signing_keys). Signing and publishing
+    /// MUST use [`signing_keys`](Self::signing_keys), never this — the field
+    /// is private so this is the only write door, and it is named to make a
+    /// signing misuse obvious in review.
+    pub(crate) fn identity_lifecycle_keys_guard(
+        &self,
+    ) -> std::sync::LockResult<std::sync::MutexGuard<'_, Keys>> {
+        self.keys.lock()
+    }
+
     /// Emit the current huddle state to the frontend via Tauri event.
     ///
     /// Acquires both locks (app_handle + huddle_state), clones a snapshot,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/archive/mod.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/archive/mod.rs
index 42c681267..9ea691e54 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/archive/mod.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/archive/mod.rs
@@ -46,8 +46,7 @@ fn open_db() -> Result<Connection, String> {
 }
 
 fn identity_pubkey(state: &AppState) -> Result<String, String> {
-    let keys = state.keys.lock().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
-    Ok(keys.public_key().to_hex())
+    Ok(state.current_pubkey()?.to_hex())
 }
 
 fn now_secs() -> i64 {
@@ -156,11 +155,7 @@ pub async fn archive_events(
     let bucket_results = query_buckets(plan.buckets, state_ref).await;
 
     // ── Phase 3: persist (blocking SQLite) ──────────────────────────────────
-    let owner_keys = {
-        let keys_guard = state.keys.lock().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
-        keys_guard.clone()
-        // guard drops here, before awaiting the blocking commit task.
-    };
+    let owner_keys = state.signing_keys()?;
     let commit_identity_pk = identity_pk.clone();
     let commit_relay_url = relay_url.clone();
     run_archive_db_task(move |conn| {
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/archive/mod_tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/archive/mod_tests.rs
index 288d2ab34..5c8e86843 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/archive/mod_tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/archive/mod_tests.rs
@@ -839,7 +839,7 @@ mod real_relay {
     /// is exercised, including NIP-98 signing inside `query_relay`.
     fn make_test_app_state(keys: Keys, relay_url: &str) -> AppState {
         let state = build_app_state();
-        *state.keys.lock().unwrap() = keys;
+        *state.identity_lifecycle_keys_guard().unwrap() = keys;
         *state.relay_url_override.lock().unwrap() = Some(relay_url.to_string());
         state
     }
@@ -920,7 +920,7 @@ mod real_relay {
         state: &AppState,
         db_path: &Path,
     ) -> ArchiveBatchResult {
-        let identity_pk = state.keys.lock().unwrap().public_key().to_hex();
+        let identity_pk = state.current_pubkey().unwrap().to_hex();
         let relay_url = crate::relay::relay_ws_url_with_override(state);
 
         // Phase 1: plan (sync). Connection dropped before any .await.
@@ -936,7 +936,7 @@ mod real_relay {
 
         // Phase 3: persist (sync). Fresh connection, same file.
         let conn = store::open_archive_db(db_path).expect("open archive db for commit");
-        let owner_keys = state.keys.lock().unwrap().clone();
+        let owner_keys = state.identity_lifecycle_keys_guard().unwrap().clone();
         commit_archive(
             bucket_results,
             plan.ephemeral,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agents.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agents.rs
index 8d17e205c..f7994c9ca 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agents.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agents.rs
@@ -21,8 +21,7 @@ use crate::{
 /// Read the workspace owner pubkey without holding the lock. Used to populate `BUZZ_ACP_AGENT_OWNER`
 /// as a fallback for legacy agent records that have no NIP-OA `auth_tag`.
 pub(super) fn workspace_owner_hex(state: &AppState) -> Result<String, String> {
-    let keys = state.keys.lock().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
-    Ok(keys.public_key().to_hex())
+    Ok(state.current_pubkey()?.to_hex())
 }
 
 /// Retain a freshly authored managed-agent event in the local store, flagged
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/channels.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/channels.rs
index 59c80c480..32081b301 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/channels.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/channels.rs
@@ -78,10 +78,7 @@ fn classify_pending_owner(state: &AppState, my_pubkey: &str, d_tag: Option<&str>
 #[tauri::command]
 pub async fn get_channels(state: State<'_, AppState>) -> Result<Vec<ChannelInfo>, String> {
     let _profile_start = std::time::Instant::now();
-    let my_pubkey = {
-        let keys = state.keys.lock().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
-        keys.public_key().to_hex()
-    };
+    let my_pubkey = state.current_pubkey()?.to_hex();
 
     // Step 1: find all kind:39002 (members) events that mention me, then
     // pull the channel ids out of their `d` tags.
@@ -511,8 +508,11 @@ async fn ensure_starter_channel_memberships(
         }
 
         let channel_uuid = parse_channel_uuid(&channel.id)?;
+        let lease = crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease::OwnerIdentity(
+            crate::owner_identity_egress::try_admit_owner_identity_egress().await?,
+        );
         let builder = events::build_join(channel_uuid)?;
-        submit_event_with_keys(builder, state, keys, None).await?;
+        submit_event_with_keys(builder, state, keys, None, &lease).await?;
         channel.is_member = true;
     }
 
@@ -579,7 +579,10 @@ pub async fn create_channel(
     // able to retarget the mark onto the new identity.
     let creator_keys = state.signing_keys()?;
     let creator_pubkey = creator_keys.public_key().to_hex();
-    submit_event_with_keys(builder, &state, &creator_keys, None).await?;
+    let lease = crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease::OwnerIdentity(
+        crate::owner_identity_egress::try_admit_owner_identity_egress().await?,
+    );
+    submit_event_with_keys(builder, &state, &creator_keys, None, &lease).await?;
 
     // Mark this channel pending-owner: we just created it, so we know we're
     // the owner, but the relay's kind:39002 membership entry (#1761) is
@@ -630,6 +633,9 @@ pub async fn ensure_starter_channels(
         let channel_uuid = starter_channel_uuid(&relay_scope, spec.slug);
         let channel_uuid_string = channel_uuid.to_string();
         starter_ids.push(channel_uuid_string.clone());
+        let lease = crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease::OwnerIdentity(
+            crate::owner_identity_egress::try_admit_owner_identity_egress().await?,
+        );
         let builder = events::build_create_channel(
             channel_uuid,
             spec.name,
@@ -639,7 +645,7 @@ pub async fn ensure_starter_channels(
             None,
         )?;
 
-        match submit_event_with_keys(builder, &state, &creator_keys, None).await {
+        match submit_event_with_keys(builder, &state, &creator_keys, None, &lease).await {
             Ok(_) => {
                 state.mark_pending_owned_channel(&creator_pubkey, &channel_uuid_string);
                 created_ids.insert(channel_uuid_string.clone());
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/channels_tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/channels_tests.rs
index 5b65695a9..e3b0df5cc 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/channels_tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/channels_tests.rs
@@ -230,14 +230,14 @@ fn pending_owner_mark_uses_signer_captured_before_identity_swap() {
     // Simulate an in-process identity swap landing during the (here,
     // implicit) submit await — e.g. `import_identity` replacing
     // `state.keys` while the create request is in flight.
-    *state.keys.lock().expect("lock keys") = Keys::generate();
+    *state.identity_lifecycle_keys_guard().expect("lock keys") = Keys::generate();
 
     // The mark must use the captured signer, not whatever `state.keys`
     // holds now.
     state.mark_pending_owned_channel(&creator_pubkey, "chan-1");
 
     assert!(state.is_pending_owned_channel(&creator_pubkey, "chan-1"));
-    let post_swap_pubkey = state.keys.lock().expect("lock keys").public_key().to_hex();
+    let post_swap_pubkey = state.current_pubkey().expect("pubkey").to_hex();
     assert!(!state.is_pending_owned_channel(&post_swap_pubkey, "chan-1"));
 }
 
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/engrams.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/engrams.rs
index 74de12949..d3136318c 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/engrams.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/engrams.rs
@@ -137,10 +137,7 @@ pub async fn get_agent_memory(
     let agent = PublicKey::from_hex(&agent_pubkey)
         .map_err(|e| format!("agent pubkey must be 64-hex: {e}"))?;
 
-    let viewer_pubkey = {
-        let keys = state.keys.lock().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
-        keys.public_key().to_hex()
-    };
+    let viewer_pubkey = state.current_pubkey()?.to_hex();
 
     let managed = load_managed_agents(&app)?;
     let is_managed = managed.iter().any(|m| m.pubkey == agent_pubkey);
@@ -160,10 +157,10 @@ pub async fn get_agent_memory(
     }
 
     // ── Resolve owner key material ──────────────────────────────────────
-    // Owner = viewer. Clone the secret key out of the lock immediately so
-    // we don't hold the mutex across the relay round trip.
+    // Owner = viewer. `signing_keys()` refuses in recovery / under the latch,
+    // so a NIP-44 encrypt-to-self here cannot run under an unresolved identity.
     let (owner_pubkey, owner_seckey) = {
-        let keys = state.keys.lock().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
+        let keys = state.signing_keys()?;
         (keys.public_key(), keys.secret_key().clone())
     };
 
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/identity.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/identity.rs
index 3126a0aa9..7cf3e3f7e 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/identity.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/identity.rs
@@ -26,8 +26,7 @@ fn truncated_display_name(pubkey: &PublicKey) -> Result<String, String> {
 
 #[tauri::command]
 pub fn get_identity(state: State<'_, AppState>) -> Result<IdentityInfo, String> {
-    let keys = state.keys.lock().map_err(|error| error.to_string())?;
-    let pubkey = keys.public_key();
+    let pubkey = state.current_pubkey()?;
     let pubkey_hex = pubkey.to_hex();
     let display_name = truncated_display_name(&pubkey)?;
     let lost = state
@@ -619,7 +618,10 @@ pub(crate) fn commit_imported_identity(
     persist: impl FnOnce(&nostr::Keys) -> Result<crate::app_state::IdentityStorage, String>,
 ) -> Result<(nostr::PublicKey, crate::app_state::IdentityStorage), String> {
     // Capture the previous pubkey up front for post-commit cleanup.
-    let previous_pubkey = state.keys.lock().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?.public_key();
+    let previous_pubkey = state
+        .identity_lifecycle_keys_guard()
+        .map_err(|e| e.to_string())?
+        .public_key();
 
     let storage = persist(&keys)?;
 
@@ -628,7 +630,9 @@ pub(crate) fn commit_imported_identity(
     // observing false is guaranteed to see the updated keys.
     let pubkey = keys.public_key();
     {
-        let mut active_keys = state.keys.lock().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
+        let mut active_keys = state
+            .identity_lifecycle_keys_guard()
+            .map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
         *active_keys = keys;
         state.set_identity_storage(storage);
     }
@@ -692,7 +696,13 @@ pub async fn persist_current_identity(
         }
 
         // Clone current keys without holding the mutex across keyring I/O.
-        let keys = state.keys.lock().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?.clone();
+        // Lost-state path: `signing_keys()` would refuse here, but this command
+        // exists to make the ephemeral lost-state key durable, so it reads the
+        // raw guard directly.
+        let keys = state
+            .identity_lifecycle_keys_guard()
+            .map_err(|e| e.to_string())?
+            .clone();
 
         let data_dir = app_handle
             .path()
@@ -824,11 +834,7 @@ pub async fn sign_nostr_identity_binding(
         &expires_at,
     )?;
 
-    let keys = state
-        .keys
-        .lock()
-        .map_err(|error| error.to_string())?
-        .clone();
+    let keys = state.signing_keys()?;
 
     tauri::async_runtime::spawn_blocking(move || {
         let event = build_nostr_identity_binding_event(
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/identity_archive.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/identity_archive.rs
index d15ee82ab..883bab77c 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/identity_archive.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/identity_archive.rs
@@ -104,10 +104,7 @@ pub async fn resolve_oa_owner(
         return Ok(None);
     };
 
-    let my_pubkey = {
-        let keys = state.keys.lock().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
-        keys.public_key().to_hex()
-    };
+    let my_pubkey = state.current_pubkey()?.to_hex();
 
     Ok(Some(OwnerOfAgent {
         is_me: my_pubkey.eq_ignore_ascii_case(&owner_hex),
@@ -189,10 +186,7 @@ async fn maybe_owner_auth_tag(
     state: &AppState,
     target_pubkey: &str,
 ) -> Result<Option<[String; 4]>, String> {
-    let my_pubkey = {
-        let keys = state.keys.lock().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
-        keys.public_key().to_hex()
-    };
+    let my_pubkey = state.current_pubkey()?.to_hex();
 
     // Self path: never attach auth (spec §Self Requests: if actor==target and
     // an `auth` tag is also present, relay MUST treat it as self).
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/identity_key_backup_tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/identity_key_backup_tests.rs
index ee8feb751..c351c9a18 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/identity_key_backup_tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/identity_key_backup_tests.rs
@@ -12,10 +12,7 @@ fn verification_returns_only_public_identity_and_match_status() {
     let state = build_app_state();
     let backup = create_backup_with_log_n(&state, PASSWORD, FAST_LOG_N).unwrap();
     let result = verify_ncryptsec_backup_inner(&state, &backup, PASSWORD).unwrap();
-    assert_eq!(
-        result.pubkey,
-        state.keys.lock().unwrap().public_key().to_hex()
-    );
+    assert_eq!(result.pubkey, state.current_pubkey().unwrap().to_hex());
     assert!(result.npub.starts_with("npub1"));
     assert!(result.matches_current_identity);
 }
@@ -112,7 +109,7 @@ fn recovery_mode_blocks_backup_creation() {
 #[test]
 fn concurrent_identity_swap_vs_backup_is_serialized() {
     let state = std::sync::Arc::new(build_app_state());
-    let key_a = state.keys.lock().unwrap().clone();
+    let key_a = state.identity_lifecycle_keys_guard().unwrap().clone();
     let key_b = Keys::generate();
 
     let swapper = {
@@ -122,7 +119,7 @@ fn concurrent_identity_swap_vs_backup_is_serialized() {
             // Mirrors import_identity's locking: mutation guard held
             // across the key swap.
             let _guard = state.identity_mutation.blocking_lock();
-            *state.keys.lock().unwrap() = key_b;
+            *state.identity_lifecycle_keys_guard().unwrap() = key_b;
         })
     };
 
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/messages.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/messages.rs
index b7c37bec3..b23f9f693 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/messages.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/messages.rs
@@ -61,10 +61,7 @@ pub async fn get_feed(
         .map(|t| t.split(',').any(|s| s.trim() == "needs_action"))
         .unwrap_or(true);
 
-    let my_pubkey = {
-        let keys = state.keys.lock().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
-        keys.public_key().to_hex()
-    };
+    let my_pubkey = state.current_pubkey()?.to_hex();
 
     // Mentions: messages that reference me via #p.
     let mut mention_filter = serde_json::json!({
@@ -736,7 +733,7 @@ fn managed_agent_submission_auth_tag(
         return Ok(Some(auth_tag));
     }
 
-    let owner_keys = state.keys.lock().map_err(|error| error.to_string())?;
+    let owner_keys = state.signing_keys()?;
     legacy_managed_agent_auth_tag(&owner_keys, agent_pubkey)
 }
 
@@ -846,6 +843,12 @@ pub async fn send_managed_agent_channel_message(
         }
     }
     let mentions = mention_pubkeys.unwrap_or_default();
+    // Managed-agent channel send (P29-C1 closed-world sink, widest blast
+    // radius). Admit BEFORE building the message so the kind:9 `created_at` is
+    // stamped after the rate-limit wait.
+    let lease = crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease::ManagedAgentKeyed(
+        crate::owner_identity_egress::admit_managed_agent_egress().await?,
+    );
     let builder = build_managed_agent_channel_message(
         channel_uuid,
         trimmed,
@@ -853,8 +856,14 @@ pub async fn send_managed_agent_channel_message(
         &mentions,
         &client_tags,
     )?;
-    let result =
-        submit_event_with_keys(builder, &state, &keys, submission_auth_tag.as_deref()).await?;
+    let result = submit_event_with_keys(
+        builder,
+        &state,
+        &keys,
+        submission_auth_tag.as_deref(),
+        &lease,
+    )
+    .await?;
 
     Ok(SendChannelMessageResponse {
         event_id: result.event_id,
@@ -892,10 +901,7 @@ pub async fn remove_reaction(
     state: State<'_, AppState>,
 ) -> Result<(), String> {
     // Find our own kind:7 reaction event referencing the target.
-    let my_pubkey = {
-        let keys = state.keys.lock().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
-        keys.public_key().to_hex()
-    };
+    let my_pubkey = state.current_pubkey()?.to_hex();
     let target = event_id.trim();
     let trimmed_emoji = emoji.trim();
 
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/inbound/seam_tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/inbound/seam_tests.rs
index 0dc24ce99..325a179b5 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/inbound/seam_tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/inbound/seam_tests.rs
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ fn frozen_linkage_corrective_failure_errs_and_boot_reconcile_converges() {
     // Mock Tauri app whose active scope points its definitions dir at the
     // seeded store; the signing keys are the event's author.
     let state = crate::app_state::build_app_state();
-    *state.keys.lock().unwrap() = owner_keys.clone();
+    *state.identity_lifecycle_keys_guard().unwrap() = owner_keys.clone();
     let app = tauri::test::mock_builder()
         .manage(state)
         .build(tauri::test::mock_context(tauri::test::noop_assets()))
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/sharing.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/sharing.rs
index 914c56252..675ec6c01 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/sharing.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/sharing.rs
@@ -95,11 +95,19 @@ async fn publish_prepared_persona(
     prepared: PreparedPersonaPublication,
 ) -> Result<SetPersonaSharedResult, String> {
     let api_base_url = crate::relay::relay_http_base_url(&prepared.scope.relay_url);
+    // The persona event was signed during preparation, so this is admit-before-
+    // submit (freshness is fixed at preparation time). The lease still gates the
+    // send under the identity-persistence latch and waits out the rate-limit
+    // gate before transmit.
+    let lease = crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease::OwnerIdentity(
+        crate::owner_identity_egress::try_admit_owner_identity_egress().await?,
+    );
     let publish_result = crate::relay::submit_signed_event_at_with_keys(
         &prepared.event,
         state,
         &api_base_url,
         &prepared.scope.owner_keys,
+        &lease,
     )
     .await;
 
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/snapshot/import.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/snapshot/import.rs
index 087c89bde..5258b3542 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/snapshot/import.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/snapshot/import.rs
@@ -870,11 +870,16 @@ pub(crate) async fn submit_engram_event(
 
     crate::egress_guard::assert_no_key_backup_bytes(event_json, "persona snapshot engram submit")?;
 
-    // Wait before signing: the relay enforces NIP-98 freshness (±60s) and the
-    // gate may hold for up to MAX_HINT_SECONDS (300s). Building auth before the
-    // wait produces a stale `created_at` that the relay will reject.
-    crate::relay_admission::wait_for_rate_limit().await;
-    let auth = build_nip98_auth_header_for_keys(agent_keys, &Method::POST, url, event_json)?;
+    // Managed-agent egress construction site (P29-C1 closed-world sink). Admit
+    // the interim keyed-egress lease, which waits out the rate-limit gate then
+    // refuses under the identity-persistence latch/drain. The event is
+    // pre-signed by the caller (freshness is caller-determined), so this is
+    // admit-before-submit.
+    let lease = crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease::ManagedAgentKeyed(
+        crate::owner_identity_egress::admit_managed_agent_egress().await?,
+    );
+    let auth =
+        build_nip98_auth_header_for_keys(agent_keys, &Method::POST, url, event_json, &lease)?;
     let mut request = state
         .http_client
         .post(url)
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/snapshot/import_tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/snapshot/import_tests.rs
index b1851b838..e923ecda6 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/snapshot/import_tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/snapshot/import_tests.rs
@@ -252,7 +252,7 @@ fn setup_import_app_with_scope(
     let owner_keys = nostr::Keys::generate();
     let state = crate::app_state::build_app_state();
     {
-        let mut locked = state.keys.lock().unwrap();
+        let mut locked = state.identity_lifecycle_keys_guard().unwrap();
         *locked = owner_keys.clone();
     }
 
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/snapshot/tests_captured_scope.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/snapshot/tests_captured_scope.rs
index 7c60e52d2..a2f7cae8a 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/snapshot/tests_captured_scope.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/snapshot/tests_captured_scope.rs
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ fn make_scope_with_keys(tmp: &tempfile::TempDir, owner_keys: &nostr::Keys) -> Wo
 fn build_import_state(owner_keys: nostr::Keys) -> AppState {
     let state = build_app_state();
     {
-        let mut locked = state.keys.lock().unwrap();
+        let mut locked = state.identity_lifecycle_keys_guard().unwrap();
         *locked = owner_keys;
     }
     state
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/profile.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/profile.rs
index ef67fac57..9e2a15b25 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/profile.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/profile.rs
@@ -114,14 +114,19 @@ pub async fn update_profile_at_relay(
         "authors": [expected_pubkey],
         "limit": 1
     });
+    let query_lease = crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease::OwnerIdentity(
+        crate::owner_identity_egress::try_admit_owner_identity_egress().await?,
+    );
     let prior_events = query_relay_at_with_keys(
         &state,
         &api_base_url,
         std::slice::from_ref(&filter),
         &signer,
         None,
+        &query_lease,
     )
     .await?;
+    drop(query_lease);
     let prior_event = prior_events.first();
     let current: Value = prior_event
         .and_then(|event| serde_json::from_str::<Value>(&event.content).ok())
@@ -136,10 +141,28 @@ pub async fn update_profile_at_relay(
         return Err("profile avatar changed before deferred save".to_string());
     }
 
+    // Admit BEFORE building the event: `build_deferred_profile_event` stamps
+    // `created_at` at build time, so admission (which waits out the rate-limit
+    // gate) must precede it to keep the kind:0 event fresh under a gate hold.
+    let submit_lease = crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease::OwnerIdentity(
+        crate::owner_identity_egress::try_admit_owner_identity_egress().await?,
+    );
     let builder = build_deferred_profile_event(&current, &avatar_url, prior_event)?;
-    submit_event_at_with_keys(builder, &state, &api_base_url, &signer).await?;
+    submit_event_at_with_keys(builder, &state, &api_base_url, &signer, &submit_lease).await?;
+    drop(submit_lease);
 
-    let events = query_relay_at_with_keys(&state, &api_base_url, &[filter], &signer, None).await?;
+    let requery_lease = crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease::OwnerIdentity(
+        crate::owner_identity_egress::try_admit_owner_identity_egress().await?,
+    );
+    let events = query_relay_at_with_keys(
+        &state,
+        &api_base_url,
+        &[filter],
+        &signer,
+        None,
+        &requery_lease,
+    )
+    .await?;
     Ok(events
         .first()
         .map(nostr_convert::profile_info_from_event)
@@ -394,8 +417,7 @@ pub async fn get_presence(
 }
 
 fn current_pubkey_hex(state: &AppState) -> Result<String, String> {
-    let keys = state.keys.lock().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
-    Ok(keys.public_key().to_hex())
+    Ok(state.current_pubkey()?.to_hex())
 }
 
 fn current_pubkey_hex_unwrap(state: &AppState) -> String {
@@ -426,11 +448,11 @@ mod tests {
 
         let captured = capture_expected_signer(&state, &original_pubkey)
             .expect("matching identity should be captured");
-        *state.keys.lock().expect("lock keys") = nostr::Keys::generate();
+        *state.identity_lifecycle_keys_guard().expect("lock keys") = nostr::Keys::generate();
 
         assert_eq!(captured.public_key().to_hex(), original_pubkey);
         assert_ne!(
-            state.keys.lock().expect("lock keys").public_key().to_hex(),
+            state.current_pubkey().expect("pubkey").to_hex(),
             original_pubkey
         );
         assert_eq!(
@@ -481,4 +503,96 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(filter["limit"], serde_json::json!(25));
         assert_eq!(filter["page"], serde_json::json!(1));
     }
+
+    /// End-to-end drive of `update_profile_at_relay`'s three-lease path
+    /// (query → submit → re-query) against a per-path counting loopback relay.
+    ///
+    /// Proves the P29-C1 posture Paul gated C1 close on: the deferred profile
+    /// save admits exactly one owner-identity egress lease per network op and
+    /// submits the kind:0 event exactly once. It also exercises the C1c
+    /// accessor sweep on the live path — `capture_expected_signer` reads the
+    /// identity through `signing_keys()` (the latch-gated accessor), so a
+    /// regression that broke the accessor or the funnel witness threading would
+    /// fail here rather than only in unit isolation.
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn update_profile_at_relay_submits_exactly_once_across_three_leases() {
+        use std::io::{Read, Write};
+        use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicUsize, Ordering};
+        use std::sync::Arc;
+
+        let _serial = crate::relay_admission::TEST_SERIAL.lock().await;
+        crate::relay_admission::reset_rate_limit_gate();
+
+        let query_count = Arc::new(AtomicUsize::new(0));
+        let submit_count = Arc::new(AtomicUsize::new(0));
+        let (qc, sc) = (Arc::clone(&query_count), Arc::clone(&submit_count));
+
+        // Loopback relay: the `/query` path answers `[]` (empty profile
+        // history), any other path (the submit endpoint) answers an accepted
+        // `SubmitEventResponse`. Both are counted so the test can assert the
+        // exactly-once submit + two queries of the deferred save flow.
+        let listener = std::net::TcpListener::bind("127.0.0.1:0").unwrap();
+        let addr = listener.local_addr().unwrap();
+        let server = std::thread::spawn(move || {
+            for _ in 0..3 {
+                let Ok((mut stream, _)) = listener.accept() else {
+                    break;
+                };
+                let mut buf = [0u8; 8192];
+                let n = stream.read(&mut buf).unwrap_or(0);
+                let request = String::from_utf8_lossy(&buf[..n]);
+                let request_line = request.lines().next().unwrap_or("");
+                let body = if request_line.contains("/query") {
+                    qc.fetch_add(1, Ordering::SeqCst);
+                    "[]".to_string()
+                } else {
+                    sc.fetch_add(1, Ordering::SeqCst);
+                    r#"{"event_id":"deadbeef","accepted":true,"message":"ok"}"#.to_string()
+                };
+                let _ = stream.write_all(
+                    format!(
+                        "HTTP/1.1 200 OK\r\nContent-Type: application/json\r\nContent-Length: {}\r\nConnection: close\r\n\r\n{body}",
+                        body.len()
+                    )
+                    .as_bytes(),
+                );
+                let _ = stream.flush();
+            }
+        });
+
+        let app = tauri::test::mock_builder()
+            .manage(crate::app_state::build_app_state())
+            .build(tauri::test::mock_context(tauri::test::noop_assets()))
+            .expect("mock app");
+        use tauri::Manager;
+        let state = app.state::<crate::app_state::AppState>();
+        let expected_pubkey = state.signing_keys().unwrap().public_key().to_hex();
+
+        let result = update_profile_at_relay(
+            format!("http://{addr}"),
+            expected_pubkey.clone(),
+            None,
+            "https://example.com/avatar.png".to_string(),
+            state,
+        )
+        .await
+        .expect("deferred profile save must complete");
+
+        // Empty re-query returns the empty canonical profile for the identity.
+        assert_eq!(result.pubkey, expected_pubkey);
+        // Exactly-once posture: one prior-query, one submit, one re-query.
+        assert_eq!(
+            submit_count.load(Ordering::SeqCst),
+            1,
+            "kind:0 submitted once"
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            query_count.load(Ordering::SeqCst),
+            2,
+            "prior + re-query only"
+        );
+
+        server.join().unwrap();
+        crate::relay_admission::reset_rate_limit_gate();
+    }
 }
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/project_git_workflow.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/project_git_workflow.rs
index 9e0685276..eaa577b33 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/project_git_workflow.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/project_git_workflow.rs
@@ -102,6 +102,11 @@ fn normalize_event_id(value: &str) -> Option<String> {
 struct ProjectOwnerIdentity {
     keys: Keys,
     auth_tag: Option<String>,
+    /// Whether the resolved identity is a managed agent's key (non-viewer
+    /// branch) rather than the human owner's (viewer branch). Set explicitly at
+    /// the branch that knows it — the P29-C1 egress lease variant is chosen from
+    /// this, never inferred from `auth_tag`.
+    is_managed_agent: bool,
 }
 
 fn project_owner_identity(
@@ -114,6 +119,7 @@ fn project_owner_identity(
         return Ok(ProjectOwnerIdentity {
             keys: viewer_keys,
             auth_tag: None,
+            is_managed_agent: false,
         });
     }
 
@@ -140,9 +146,30 @@ fn project_owner_identity(
     Ok(ProjectOwnerIdentity {
         keys,
         auth_tag: record.auth_tag.clone(),
+        is_managed_agent: true,
     })
 }
 
+/// Admit the P29-C1 egress lease for a resolved [`ProjectOwnerIdentity`]:
+/// the managed-agent keyed lease for the non-viewer branch, the owner-identity
+/// lease for the viewer branch. Both wait out the rate-limit gate internally,
+/// so callers must admit BEFORE building/signing the event they publish.
+async fn admit_project_egress(
+    identity: &ProjectOwnerIdentity,
+) -> Result<crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease, String> {
+    if identity.is_managed_agent {
+        Ok(
+            crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease::ManagedAgentKeyed(
+                crate::owner_identity_egress::admit_managed_agent_egress().await?,
+            ),
+        )
+    } else {
+        Ok(crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease::OwnerIdentity(
+            crate::owner_identity_egress::try_admit_owner_identity_egress().await?,
+        ))
+    }
+}
+
 fn validate_repo_address(repo_address: &str, owner: &str) -> Result<(), String> {
     let prefix = format!("30617:{owner}:");
     if repo_address.strip_prefix(&prefix).is_none_or(str::is_empty) {
@@ -438,6 +465,9 @@ pub async fn sign_project_pull_request_status(
         return Err("Invalid target repository owner.".to_string());
     }
     let identity = project_owner_identity(&app, &state, &target_owner)?;
+    // P29-C1 condition 1: admit BEFORE signing so the NIP-98 freshness window
+    // opens after the rate-limit wait, not between sign and submit.
+    let lease = admit_project_egress(&identity).await?;
     let event = Event::from_json(build_pull_request_status_event(
         &identity.keys,
         &input.repo_address,
@@ -447,8 +477,14 @@ pub async fn sign_project_pull_request_status(
         input.created_at,
     )?)
     .map_err(|error| format!("parse signed pull request status: {error}"))?;
-    submit_signed_event_with_keys(&event, &state, &identity.keys, identity.auth_tag.as_deref())
-        .await?;
+    submit_signed_event_with_keys(
+        &event,
+        &state,
+        &identity.keys,
+        identity.auth_tag.as_deref(),
+        &lease,
+    )
+    .await?;
     Ok(())
 }
 
@@ -463,6 +499,8 @@ pub async fn sign_project_pull_request_review_request(
         return Err("Invalid target repository owner.".to_string());
     }
     let identity = project_owner_identity(&app, &state, &target_owner)?;
+    // P29-C1 condition 1: admit before signing.
+    let lease = admit_project_egress(&identity).await?;
     let event = Event::from_json(build_review_request_event(
         &identity.keys,
         &input.repo_address,
@@ -471,8 +509,14 @@ pub async fn sign_project_pull_request_review_request(
         &input.reviewer_label,
     )?)
     .map_err(|error| format!("parse signed review request: {error}"))?;
-    submit_signed_event_with_keys(&event, &state, &identity.keys, identity.auth_tag.as_deref())
-        .await?;
+    submit_signed_event_with_keys(
+        &event,
+        &state,
+        &identity.keys,
+        identity.auth_tag.as_deref(),
+        &lease,
+    )
+    .await?;
     Ok(())
 }
 
@@ -495,8 +539,22 @@ pub async fn publish_project_pull_request_merged_status(
         return Err("Invalid merged pull request status event.".to_string());
     }
     let identity = project_owner_identity(&app, &state, &target_owner)?;
-    submit_signed_event_with_keys(&event, &state, &identity.keys, identity.auth_tag.as_deref())
-        .await?;
+    // P29-C1 condition 2 (documented pre-signed exception): this command
+    // receives an ALREADY-SIGNED kind-1631 event from input (verified above:
+    // kind, pubkey == target_owner, signature). Admission-before-signing is
+    // impossible here — the signature is fixed and its freshness is
+    // input-determined by `status_created_at` — so admit-before-submit is all
+    // this site can do. Chosen, not missed; noted in the C8 closed-world
+    // evidence so the exception is auditable.
+    let lease = admit_project_egress(&identity).await?;
+    submit_signed_event_with_keys(
+        &event,
+        &state,
+        &identity.keys,
+        identity.auth_tag.as_deref(),
+        &lease,
+    )
+    .await?;
     Ok(())
 }
 
@@ -663,11 +721,17 @@ pub async fn merge_project_pull_request(
     )?;
     let signed_status = Event::from_json(&status_event)
         .map_err(|error| format!("parse signed merged status: {error}"))?;
+    // P29-C1 condition 1: the git clone→merge→push above ran in spawn_blocking
+    // for seconds to minutes; admit only now, after it completes and before the
+    // status event is built/signed, so the lease spans sign→auth→transmit and
+    // never the blocking git op.
+    let lease = admit_project_egress(&owner_identity).await?;
     let status_publication_error = submit_signed_event_with_keys(
         &signed_status,
         &state,
         &owner_identity.keys,
         owner_identity.auth_tag.as_deref(),
+        &lease,
     )
     .await
     .err();
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/relay_members.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/relay_members.rs
index 9ccf8baac..1e40114e2 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/relay_members.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/relay_members.rs
@@ -64,10 +64,7 @@ pub async fn list_relay_members(state: State<'_, AppState>) -> Result<serde_json
 pub async fn get_my_relay_membership(
     state: State<'_, AppState>,
 ) -> Result<serde_json::Value, String> {
-    let my_pubkey = {
-        let keys = state.keys.lock().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
-        keys.public_key().to_hex()
-    };
+    let my_pubkey = state.current_pubkey()?.to_hex();
 
     let events = query_relay(
         &state,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/team_snapshot/seam_tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/team_snapshot/seam_tests.rs
index 7055dcff2..e6db7704a 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/team_snapshot/seam_tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/team_snapshot/seam_tests.rs
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ fn setup_team_import_app_with_scope(
     let owner_keys = nostr::Keys::generate();
     let state = crate::app_state::build_app_state();
     {
-        let mut locked = state.keys.lock().unwrap();
+        let mut locked = state.identity_lifecycle_keys_guard().unwrap();
         *locked = owner_keys.clone();
     }
 
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/team_snapshot/tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/team_snapshot/tests.rs
index 0139a9f6a..cda3a084d 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/team_snapshot/tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/team_snapshot/tests.rs
@@ -778,7 +778,7 @@ mod egress_guard_boundary {
     ) -> crate::app_state::AppState {
         let state = crate::app_state::build_app_state();
         {
-            let mut locked = state.keys.lock().unwrap();
+            let mut locked = state.identity_lifecycle_keys_guard().unwrap();
             *locked = owner_keys;
         }
         if let Some(s) = scope {
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/workflows.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/workflows.rs
index 1d5f309fb..1581246b3 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/workflows.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/workflows.rs
@@ -290,8 +290,7 @@ pub async fn deny_approval(
 // ── Helpers (pure, unit-tested in workflows_tests.rs) ─────────────────────────
 
 fn current_pubkey_hex(state: &AppState) -> Result<String, String> {
-    let keys = state.keys.lock().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
-    Ok(keys.public_key().to_hex())
+    Ok(state.current_pubkey()?.to_hex())
 }
 
 fn now_secs() -> i64 {
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/workspace.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/workspace.rs
index ef3fe1984..ce84853c7 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/workspace.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/workspace.rs
@@ -56,11 +56,11 @@ pub struct ActiveWorkspaceInfo {
 /// Returns the current active workspace info (relay URL + pubkey).
 #[tauri::command]
 pub fn get_active_workspace(state: State<'_, AppState>) -> Result<ActiveWorkspaceInfo, String> {
-    let keys = state.keys.lock().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
+    let pubkey = state.current_pubkey()?;
     let relay_url = relay::relay_ws_url_with_override(&state);
     Ok(ActiveWorkspaceInfo {
         relay_url,
-        pubkey: keys.public_key().to_hex(),
+        pubkey: pubkey.to_hex(),
     })
 }
 
@@ -193,12 +193,7 @@ async fn apply_workspace_body(
             let base_dir = crate::managed_agents::managed_agents_base_dir(&app).unwrap_or_default();
             let effective_owner_pubkey = match &parsed_keys {
                 Some(keys) => keys.public_key().to_hex(),
-                None => state
-                    .keys
-                    .lock()
-                    .map_err(|e| e.to_string())?
-                    .public_key()
-                    .to_hex(),
+                None => state.current_pubkey()?.to_hex(),
             };
             let target_scope_id =
                 crate::managed_agents::scope::derive_scope_id(&relay_url, &effective_owner_pubkey);
@@ -297,7 +292,7 @@ async fn apply_workspace_body(
                     return Ok(WorkspaceApplyResult::drain_failed(msg));
                 }
             };
-            let mut keys_guard = match state.keys.lock() {
+            let mut keys_guard = match state.identity_lifecycle_keys_guard() {
                 Ok(g) => g,
                 Err(e) => {
                     drop(override_guard);
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/egress_guard_tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/egress_guard_tests.rs
index 20db6400e..aba987ae8 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/egress_guard_tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/egress_guard_tests.rs
@@ -91,6 +91,7 @@ async fn boundary_submit_event_at_with_keys_blocks_ncryptsec() {
         &state,
         "http://127.0.0.1:9", // discard port — must never be reached
         &keys,
+        &crate::owner_identity_egress::test_owner_egress_lease(),
     )
     .await
     .unwrap_err();
@@ -130,6 +131,7 @@ async fn boundary_submit_signed_event_at_with_keys_blocks_ncryptsec() {
         &state,
         "http://127.0.0.1:9", // discard port — must never be reached
         &keys,
+        &crate::owner_identity_egress::test_owner_egress_lease(),
     )
     .await
     .unwrap_err();
@@ -145,9 +147,15 @@ async fn boundary_submit_signed_event_with_keys_blocks_ncryptsec() {
     let event = nostr::EventBuilder::new(nostr::Kind::Custom(9), NCRYPTSEC)
         .sign_with_keys(&keys)
         .unwrap();
-    let err = crate::relay::submit_signed_event_with_keys(&event, &state, &keys, None)
-        .await
-        .unwrap_err();
+    let err = crate::relay::submit_signed_event_with_keys(
+        &event,
+        &state,
+        &keys,
+        None,
+        &crate::owner_identity_egress::test_owner_egress_lease(),
+    )
+    .await
+    .unwrap_err();
     assert_guard_error(&err);
 }
 
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/huddle/mod.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/huddle/mod.rs
index fcf29d688..dd2754e87 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/huddle/mod.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/huddle/mod.rs
@@ -301,9 +301,8 @@ pub async fn start_huddle(
                         successful_agents.clone();
                     hs.maybe_auto_enable_transcription_for_agents();
                     let own_pubkey = state
-                        .keys
-                        .lock()
-                        .map(|k| k.public_key().to_hex())
+                        .current_pubkey()
+                        .map(|pk| pk.to_hex())
                         .unwrap_or_default();
                     let mut participants = successful_agents.clone();
                     if !own_pubkey.is_empty() && !participants.contains(&own_pubkey) {
@@ -421,9 +420,8 @@ pub async fn join_huddle(
 
     // Seed participant list with own pubkey as a fallback until relay responds.
     let own_pubkey = state
-        .keys
-        .lock()
-        .map(|k| k.public_key().to_hex())
+        .current_pubkey()
+        .map(|pk| pk.to_hex())
         .unwrap_or_default();
 
     let committed = {
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/huddle/pipeline.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/huddle/pipeline.rs
index e523ee22b..55295d174 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/huddle/pipeline.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/huddle/pipeline.rs
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ use std::{
 };
 
 use nostr::JsonUtil;
-use tauri::State;
+use tauri::{Manager, State};
 use uuid::Uuid;
 
 use crate::app_state::AppState;
@@ -632,8 +632,16 @@ pub(crate) fn spawn_transcription_task(
     let spawned_gen = session_generation.load(Ordering::Acquire);
 
     let http_client = state.http_client.clone();
-    let keys = match state.keys.lock() {
-        Ok(k) => k.clone(),
+    // Capture the AppHandle (stable for the process lifetime) rather than a
+    // long-lived owner Keys clone: P29-C1 forbids the STT task from pinning
+    // owner identity across the huddle. Keys are re-resolved per send through
+    // the recovery-gated accessor below, so an identity that enters recovery
+    // mid-huddle stops publishing at once.
+    let app = match state.app_handle.lock() {
+        Ok(guard) => match guard.clone() {
+            Some(app) => app,
+            None => return,
+        },
         Err(_) => return,
     };
     let relay_base_url = crate::relay::relay_api_base_url_with_override(state);
@@ -667,11 +675,29 @@ pub(crate) fn spawn_transcription_task(
                         continue;
                     }
                 };
-            // Wait before signing: the relay enforces NIP-98 freshness (±60s)
-            // and the gate may hold for up to MAX_HINT_SECONDS (300s). Sign
-            // the kind event and build NIP-98 auth after the wait so both
-            // timestamps are fresh — single clean order: wait → sign → auth → send.
-            crate::relay_admission::wait_for_rate_limit().await;
+            // Re-resolve keys per send through the recovery-gated accessor and
+            // admit an owner-identity egress lease. try_admit_owner_identity_egress
+            // waits out the rate-limit gate internally (NIP-98 freshness ±60s
+            // under a ≤300s hold), so the lease is born after the wait and spans
+            // only sign → auth → transmit. Acquiring per send means no owner Keys
+            // outlive a single publish, and a mid-huddle recovery latch refuses
+            // the lease so this task stops publishing.
+            let app_state = app.state::<AppState>();
+            let keys = match app_state.signing_keys() {
+                Ok(k) => k,
+                Err(e) => {
+                    eprintln!("buzz-desktop: STT signing key unavailable: {e}");
+                    break;
+                }
+            };
+            let lease = match crate::owner_identity_egress::try_admit_owner_identity_egress().await
+            {
+                Ok(lease) => crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease::OwnerIdentity(lease),
+                Err(e) => {
+                    eprintln!("buzz-desktop: STT egress refused: {e}");
+                    break;
+                }
+            };
             let body_bytes = match sign_and_guard_stt_body(builder, &keys) {
                 Ok(b) => b,
                 Err(e) => {
@@ -685,6 +711,7 @@ pub(crate) fn spawn_transcription_task(
                 &reqwest::Method::POST,
                 &url,
                 &body_bytes,
+                &lease,
             ) {
                 Ok(h) => h,
                 Err(e) => {
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/huddle/relay_api.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/huddle/relay_api.rs
index 3f2aa76a5..9baccf8ec 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/huddle/relay_api.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/huddle/relay_api.rs
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn connect_audio_relay(
     let relay_url = crate::relay::relay_ws_url_with_override(state);
     let ws_url = format!("{relay_url}/huddle/{channel_id}/audio");
 
-    let keys = state.keys.lock().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?.clone();
+    let keys = state.signing_keys()?;
 
     // TTS interrupt flags — recv task cancels TTS when remote humans speak.
     let (tts_cancel, tts_active) = {
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
index c051a1d0b..4bd6cd9b6 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ mod models;
 mod native_websocket;
 mod nostr_bind;
 pub mod nostr_convert;
+mod owner_identity_egress;
 mod prevent_sleep;
 mod ptt_shortcut;
 mod relay;
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/persona_events.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/persona_events.rs
index de396f45c..6c4cfe21d 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/persona_events.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/persona_events.rs
@@ -298,6 +298,13 @@ async fn flush_pending_events_at(
         // timestamp at publish time; kind, tags, and content are preserved,
         // and `mark_synced` below still compares against the retained row's
         // original `created_at`/`content`, which are untouched.
+        // Admit BEFORE re-signing: archive requests get a fresh `created_at`
+        // at publish time (relay ±120s freshness), so admission — which waits
+        // out the rate-limit gate — must precede the re-sign to keep the
+        // request fresh under a gate hold.
+        let lease = crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease::OwnerIdentity(
+            crate::owner_identity_egress::try_admit_owner_identity_egress().await?,
+        );
         let is_archive_request =
             buzz_core_pkg::kind::is_identity_archive_request_kind(current.kind);
         let event = if is_archive_request {
@@ -311,6 +318,7 @@ async fn flush_pending_events_at(
             state,
             &relay_api_base,
             owner_keys,
+            &lease,
         )
         .await
         .is_err()
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/persona_events/tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/persona_events/tests.rs
index 273548ca5..a5fef3ded 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/persona_events/tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/persona_events/tests.rs
@@ -855,7 +855,7 @@ mod flush_barrier {
         .sign_with_keys(&keys)
         .unwrap();
         let state = build_app_state();
-        *state.keys.lock().unwrap() = keys;
+        *state.identity_lifecycle_keys_guard().unwrap() = keys;
 
         let fresh = resign_with_fresh_timestamp(&stale, &state).unwrap();
 
@@ -914,7 +914,7 @@ mod flush_barrier {
         }
 
         let state = build_app_state();
-        *state.keys.lock().unwrap() = keys;
+        *state.identity_lifecycle_keys_guard().unwrap() = keys;
         *state.relay_url_override.lock().unwrap() = Some(spawn_stub_relay().await);
 
         let flushed = flush_pending_events(&db_path, &state).await.expect("flush");
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/restore.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/restore.rs
index f84771cbc..df0ec4993 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/restore.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/restore.rs
@@ -236,13 +236,8 @@ pub async fn restore_managed_agents_on_launch(
 
     // Snapshot the workspace owner pubkey once for the legacy auth_tag fallback.
     // Read outside the per-agent spawn loop so all parallel spawns see the same
-    // value and we don't lock `state.keys` repeatedly.
-    let owner_hex: Option<String> = state
-        .keys
-        .lock()
-        .map_err(|e| e.to_string())
-        .ok()
-        .map(|k| k.public_key().to_hex());
+    // value and we don't re-read the identity repeatedly.
+    let owner_hex: Option<String> = state.current_pubkey().ok().map(|pk| pk.to_hex());
 
     #[cfg(feature = "mesh-llm")]
     let agents_to_start = {
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/runtime_commands.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/runtime_commands.rs
index 32831a6d7..d8b4aea28 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/runtime_commands.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/runtime_commands.rs
@@ -290,11 +290,7 @@ fn start_pair_under_held_locks<R: tauri::Runtime>(
     runtimes.remove(&key);
     terminate_untracked_pair_runtime(app, &key)?;
 
-    let owner = state
-        .keys
-        .lock()
-        .ok()
-        .map(|keys| keys.public_key().to_hex());
+    let owner = state.current_pubkey().ok().map(|pk| pk.to_hex());
     let scope_id = state
         .capture_active_scope()
         .map(|scope| scope.scope_id.clone());
@@ -421,6 +417,11 @@ async fn probe_agent_relay_access(
     let keys = nostr::Keys::parse(record.private_key_nsec.trim())
         .map_err(|error| format!("invalid managed-agent key: {error}"))?;
     let api_base = crate::relay::relay_http_base_url(&key.relay_url);
+    // Managed-agent egress construction site (P29-C1 closed-world sink). Admit
+    // the interim keyed-egress lease before the probe query.
+    let lease = crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease::ManagedAgentKeyed(
+        crate::owner_identity_egress::admit_managed_agent_egress().await?,
+    );
     tokio::time::timeout(
         std::time::Duration::from_secs(10),
         crate::relay::query_relay_at_with_keys(
@@ -429,6 +430,7 @@ async fn probe_agent_relay_access(
             &[serde_json::json!({"kinds": [39002], "#p": [record.pubkey]})],
             &keys,
             record.auth_tag.as_deref(),
+            &lease,
         ),
     )
     .await
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/mesh_llm/coordinator.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/mesh_llm/coordinator.rs
index 108f94b25..5e62923c5 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/mesh_llm/coordinator.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/mesh_llm/coordinator.rs
@@ -480,12 +480,16 @@ async fn publish_status_report_at(
     payload: serde_json::Value,
 ) -> Result<(), String> {
     let api_base_url = crate::relay::relay_http_base_url(relay_url);
+    let lease = crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease::OwnerIdentity(
+        crate::owner_identity_egress::try_admit_owner_identity_egress().await?,
+    );
     let keys = state.signing_keys()?;
     crate::relay::submit_event_at_with_keys(
         build_status_report_event(payload)?,
         state,
         &api_base_url,
         &keys,
+        &lease,
     )
     .await
     .map(|_| ())
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/owner_identity_egress.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/owner_identity_egress.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d41b2789a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/owner_identity_egress.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,738 @@
+//! Owner-identity egress registry — revocation of pre-latch capability (P29-C1).
+//!
+//! # Why this exists
+//!
+//! Making `AppState.keys` private (P28-C1) closes capability ACQUISITION but
+//! cannot revoke owner `Keys` already CLONED before an identity transition. At
+//! base, long-lived tasks (huddle STT) capture the owner keys once and then
+//! sign, build NIP-98 authorization, and transmit indefinitely without
+//! consulting `AppState` again, and the explicit-key egress funnels
+//! (`submit_signed_event_at_with_keys`, `submit_event_at_with_keys`,
+//! `submit_signed_event_with_keys`, `submit_event_with_keys`,
+//! `query_relay_at_with_keys`, `build_nip98_auth_header{,_for_keys}`) accept an
+//! already-issued `&Keys` with no latch or generation check. A task that
+//! captured keys under identity A and resumes after the coordinator has latched
+//! an ambiguous transition would sign and transmit as the unresolved identity.
+//!
+//! This module makes owner-identity egress itself latch-aware, reusing the
+//! admission + RAII lease + drain-barrier shape rather than inventing a
+//! parallel mechanism:
+//!
+//! - A **process-global registry** carries an *identity-persistence
+//!   generation* and an admission [`IdentityPersistenceState`].
+//! - Every owner-identity sign / NIP-98-build / network-submit funnel acquires
+//!   an [`OwnerIdentityEgressLease`] at the last irreversible boundary via
+//!   [`try_admit_owner_identity_egress`]; admission validates — immediately
+//!   before the operation — that the state is [`Live`](IdentityPersistenceState::Live).
+//!   The lease is held only across sign → auth → transmit, never across
+//!   rate-limit waits, which bounds the drain below.
+//! - The identity-transition coordinator, after the runtime drain and BEFORE
+//!   the journal write + durable B dispatch, calls [`begin_egress_drain`] to
+//!   bump the generation and refuse new admission, then [`await_egress_drain`]
+//!   to await every in-flight lease — so no send begun under identity A can
+//!   cross the durable-dispatch boundary. The TOCTOU window is closed by
+//!   linearization (admission and state transitions share one lock), not by
+//!   prose. New admission resumes only at a proven exit via
+//!   [`resume_egress_live`] (`Committed` / `DefinitelyUnchanged` /
+//!   verified-rollback) or is latched fail-closed via
+//!   [`latch_identity_indeterminate`] on the ambiguous branch (P28-C1).
+//!
+//! # Scope of this landing (C1a)
+//!
+//! This is the P29 substrate only: the registry, the per-send RAII lease, and
+//! the coordinator drain/latch API. No production path drives a transition yet
+//! — the generation never bumps and the state stays
+//! [`Live`](IdentityPersistenceState::Live) until the identity-transition
+//! coordinator wires the drain — so this landing is behavior-preserving. The
+//! generic `OwnerIdentityCapability<T>` with its `Session`/`Bearer`/`Artifact`
+//! policies is a later extension of this same registry; the per-send lease is
+//! its `BoundedLease` instantiation, and its public name is fixed here so the
+//! funnel witness signatures stay stable across that extension.
+//!
+//! # Closed-world egress construction sites (C1c condition 3)
+//!
+//! The `EgressLease` witness is only ever minted at these eight sites — the
+//! complete owner/managed-agent egress sink set. The `relay_admission`
+//! module doc and the C8 closed-world sink test enumerate exactly this set; a
+//! new send that skips admission fails to compile (no witness) and fails the
+//! sink-test enumeration.
+//!
+//! Owner-identity (`try_admit_owner_identity_egress`):
+//! - `submit_event` / `query_relay_at` / `build_nip98_auth_header` — the
+//!   owner-default wrappers self-admit, so their transitive callers need no
+//!   witness.
+//! - `mesh_llm::coordinator` status-report publication.
+//! - `commands::profile::update_profile_at_relay` — query → submit → re-query,
+//!   three admissions (the exactly-once-per-op live case).
+//! - `managed_agents::persona_events`, `commands::personas::sharing`,
+//!   `commands::channels` (×3), and the huddle STT task (per-send inline
+//!   owner lease).
+//!
+//! Managed-agent keyed (`admit_managed_agent_egress`) — the four sink sites
+//! plus the git-workflow branch, variant selected at runtime by
+//! `ProjectOwnerIdentity::is_managed_agent` (never derived from `auth_tag`):
+//! 1. `submit_engram_event` (snapshot import).
+//! 2. `sync_managed_agent_profile`.
+//! 3. the agent query probe (`runtime_commands`).
+//! 4. `commands::messages` reaction publish.
+//! 5. the four `project_git_workflow` PR-status/merge sends (items 5–8).
+
+use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicU64, Ordering};
+use std::sync::{LazyLock, Mutex};
+
+use tokio::sync::Notify;
+
+/// Admission state of owner-identity egress — the third recovery state
+/// (`Indeterminate`) extends the existing `AppState::identity_lost` /
+/// `keyring_locked` model (P28-C1).
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub enum IdentityPersistenceState {
+    /// Persistence is settled: egress admission succeeds and the checked key
+    /// accessors serve keys normally.
+    Live,
+    /// A transition is draining in-flight egress before its durable dispatch.
+    /// New lease admission is refused; the checked key accessors still serve
+    /// keys, because already-admitted in-flight leases hold their own captures
+    /// and complete under the outgoing identity before the durable dispatch.
+    /// Transient and in-memory only — cleared at a proven exit.
+    // Consumed by C5 (P25/P28 coordinator); remove allow when C5 lands.
+    #[allow(dead_code)]
+    Draining,
+    /// A completed transition could not prove EITHER durable identity
+    /// canonical. Latched durable fail-closed: owner-identity egress admission
+    /// AND the checked key accessors refuse until reconciliation proves one
+    /// durable identity canonical. This is the P28-C1 third recovery state,
+    /// gating all checked identity access.
+    Indeterminate,
+}
+
+/// Mutable registry state, guarded by a single mutex so admission and every
+/// state transition linearize (closing the check-then-send TOCTOU window).
+struct RegistryInner {
+    state: IdentityPersistenceState,
+    /// Number of admitted leases not yet dropped. The drain awaits this
+    /// reaching zero.
+    in_flight: u64,
+}
+
+/// Process-global owner-identity egress registry. One per process, mirroring
+/// the scope-generation authority in [`crate::managed_agents::scope`].
+struct Registry {
+    inner: Mutex<RegistryInner>,
+    /// Monotonic identity-persistence generation. Read lock-free on the hot
+    /// admission path; only ever advanced by [`begin_egress_drain`] under
+    /// `inner`.
+    generation: AtomicU64,
+    /// Notified when `in_flight` reaches zero so the drain can wake.
+    drained: Notify,
+}
+
+static REGISTRY: LazyLock<Registry> = LazyLock::new(|| Registry {
+    inner: Mutex::new(RegistryInner {
+        state: IdentityPersistenceState::Live,
+        in_flight: 0,
+    }),
+    generation: AtomicU64::new(0),
+    drained: Notify::new(),
+});
+
+fn lock_inner() -> std::sync::MutexGuard<'static, RegistryInner> {
+    // A poisoned egress lock means a lease-holding thread panicked mid-send.
+    // The counters remain consistent (the panicking thread's lease Drop still
+    // runs), so recover the guard rather than propagating the poison and
+    // wedging every subsequent admission and drain.
+    REGISTRY
+        .inner
+        .lock()
+        .unwrap_or_else(|poisoned| poisoned.into_inner())
+}
+
+/// The current identity-persistence generation. A lease is valid only while
+/// this equals the generation captured at its admission.
+// Consumed by C5 (P25/P28 coordinator); remove allow when C5 lands.
+#[allow(dead_code)]
+pub fn current_identity_persistence_generation() -> u64 {
+    REGISTRY.generation.load(Ordering::Acquire)
+}
+
+/// The current admission state.
+// Consumed by C5 (P25/P28 coordinator); remove allow when C5 lands.
+#[allow(dead_code)]
+pub fn identity_persistence_state() -> IdentityPersistenceState {
+    lock_inner().state
+}
+
+/// Whether owner-identity persistence is latched `Indeterminate`. The checked
+/// key accessors (P28-C1) refuse when this is `true`.
+pub fn is_identity_indeterminate() -> bool {
+    lock_inner().state == IdentityPersistenceState::Indeterminate
+}
+
+/// A per-send owner-identity egress lease — the `BoundedLease` capability.
+///
+/// Acquired at the last irreversible egress boundary and held only across
+/// sign → auth → transmit. Dropping it decrements the in-flight count so the
+/// coordinator's drain can complete. Not `Clone` and carries no keys: the
+/// caller pairs it with a per-send key acquisition through the checked
+/// accessor, so a lease can never outlive the send it authorizes.
+#[derive(Debug)]
+#[must_use = "an egress lease authorizes exactly one sign/auth/transmit window; \
+              hold it across that window and drop it immediately after"]
+pub struct OwnerIdentityEgressLease {
+    /// The identity-persistence generation current at admission.
+    // Consumed by C5 (P25/P28 coordinator); remove allow when C5 lands.
+    #[allow(dead_code)]
+    generation: u64,
+}
+
+impl OwnerIdentityEgressLease {
+    /// The identity-persistence generation this lease was admitted under.
+    // Consumed by C5 (P25/P28 coordinator); remove allow when C5 lands.
+    #[allow(dead_code)]
+    pub fn generation(&self) -> u64 {
+        self.generation
+    }
+}
+
+impl Drop for OwnerIdentityEgressLease {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        let mut inner = lock_inner();
+        inner.in_flight = inner.in_flight.saturating_sub(1);
+        let drained = inner.in_flight == 0;
+        drop(inner);
+        if drained {
+            // Wake a drain awaiting the last in-flight lease. Harmless when no
+            // drain is in progress (no waiter registered).
+            REGISTRY.drained.notify_waiters();
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Admit an owner-identity egress send, returning a lease bound to the current
+/// identity-persistence generation.
+///
+/// Admission performs the relay rate-limit wait FIRST, then admits: the lease
+/// is born *after* the wait completes, so it never spans the wait by
+/// construction (spec L4505–4508) and the coordinator drain it participates in
+/// stays bounded. Because the explicit-key funnels require an
+/// [`EgressLease`] witness and the only constructors of one are these `admit_*`
+/// entry points, a send can never reach the funnel without having waited — no
+/// call site can forget the rate-limit wait (the funnels no longer wait
+/// themselves).
+///
+/// Succeeds only in [`IdentityPersistenceState::Live`]. Returns `Err` when a
+/// transition is [`Draining`](IdentityPersistenceState::Draining) (new
+/// admission refused while in-flight sends complete) or the state is latched
+/// [`Indeterminate`](IdentityPersistenceState::Indeterminate) (fail-closed
+/// after an unprovable transition). The admission check and the generation read
+/// happen under one lock AFTER the wait, so the lease reflects the persistence
+/// state immediately before the operation — a wait that overlaps a drain
+/// refuses on wake rather than admitting a stale generation.
+pub async fn try_admit_owner_identity_egress() -> Result<OwnerIdentityEgressLease, String> {
+    crate::relay_admission::wait_for_rate_limit().await;
+    admit_owner_identity_after_wait()
+}
+
+/// The post-wait owner-identity admission check + in-flight bump, under one
+/// lock. Split from the wait so the state-machine invariants are unit-testable
+/// without driving the async rate-limit gate.
+fn admit_owner_identity_after_wait() -> Result<OwnerIdentityEgressLease, String> {
+    let mut inner = lock_inner();
+    match inner.state {
+        IdentityPersistenceState::Live => {
+            inner.in_flight += 1;
+            Ok(OwnerIdentityEgressLease {
+                generation: REGISTRY.generation.load(Ordering::Acquire),
+            })
+        }
+        IdentityPersistenceState::Draining => Err(
+            "owner-identity egress is draining for an identity transition; \
+             signing and publishing are paused until it resolves"
+                .to_string(),
+        ),
+        IdentityPersistenceState::Indeterminate => Err(
+            "owner identity is in an indeterminate recovery state; event \
+             signing is disabled until the identity is reconciled and Buzz is \
+             relaunched"
+                .to_string(),
+        ),
+    }
+}
+
+/// Begin the coordinator's egress drain: bump the identity-persistence
+/// generation and close new admission (state → `Draining`). Returns the new
+/// generation. Call this after the runtime drain and BEFORE the journal write
+/// + durable B dispatch, then [`await_egress_drain`] to await in-flight leases.
+///
+/// Idempotent-guard: only transitions from `Live`. Returns `Err` if a
+/// transition is already in flight or latched — the coordinator serializes
+/// transitions under its own guards, so this is a defensive invariant check.
+// Consumed by C5 (P25/P28 coordinator); remove allow when C5 lands.
+#[allow(dead_code)]
+pub fn begin_egress_drain() -> Result<u64, String> {
+    let mut inner = lock_inner();
+    if inner.state != IdentityPersistenceState::Live {
+        return Err(format!(
+            "cannot begin egress drain from state {:?}; a transition is already \
+             in flight or latched",
+            inner.state
+        ));
+    }
+    inner.state = IdentityPersistenceState::Draining;
+    // Bump under the lock so no `Live` admission can capture the pre-bump
+    // generation after the state has flipped to `Draining`.
+    Ok(REGISTRY.generation.fetch_add(1, Ordering::AcqRel) + 1)
+}
+
+/// Await every in-flight lease admitted before the drain began. Returns once
+/// no lease is outstanding. Holds no lock across its await, and an in-flight
+/// lease never re-acquires a state guard mid-lease, so the drain cannot
+/// deadlock against a send it is waiting on.
+// Consumed by C5 (P25/P28 coordinator); remove allow when C5 lands.
+#[allow(dead_code)]
+pub async fn await_egress_drain() {
+    loop {
+        let notified = REGISTRY.drained.notified();
+        tokio::pin!(notified);
+        // Register the waiter BEFORE reading the count so a lease Drop that
+        // reaches zero between the read and the await cannot be lost.
+        notified.as_mut().enable();
+        if lock_inner().in_flight == 0 {
+            return;
+        }
+        notified.await;
+    }
+}
+
+/// Resume admission at a proven transition exit (`Committed` finished, or
+/// `DefinitelyUnchanged` / verified-rollback): state → `Live`. The generation
+/// is already current for the winning identity, so leases admitted from here
+/// carry it.
+// Consumed by C5 (P25/P28 coordinator); remove allow when C5 lands.
+#[allow(dead_code)]
+pub fn resume_egress_live() {
+    lock_inner().state = IdentityPersistenceState::Live;
+}
+
+/// Latch the durable fail-closed state on the ambiguous branch (P28-C1): state
+/// → `Indeterminate`. Owner-identity egress admission and the checked key
+/// accessors refuse until [`resume_egress_live`] is called after reconciliation
+/// proves one durable identity canonical.
+// Consumed by C5 (P25/P28 coordinator); remove allow when C5 lands.
+#[allow(dead_code)]
+pub fn latch_identity_indeterminate() {
+    lock_inner().state = IdentityPersistenceState::Indeterminate;
+}
+
+/// A witness that an owner-identity egress funnel caller holds a valid egress
+/// capability for the send it is about to perform.
+///
+/// The explicit-key funnels (`submit_signed_event_at_with_keys`,
+/// `submit_event_at_with_keys`, `submit_signed_event_with_keys`,
+/// `submit_event_with_keys`, `query_relay_at_with_keys`,
+/// `build_nip98_auth_header{,_for_keys}`) take an
+/// `&EgressLease` so NO unleased caller shape exists — a bypass is a compile
+/// error, not a convention (P29-C1). Two caller classes share those funnels,
+/// so the witness accommodates both:
+///
+/// - [`OwnerIdentity`](EgressLease::OwnerIdentity) — the fully-real owner
+///   capability: a generation-qualified [`OwnerIdentityEgressLease`] admitted
+///   by [`try_admit_owner_identity_egress`], which refuses under the P28-C1
+///   latch and while a transition drains.
+/// - [`ManagedAgentKeyed`](EgressLease::ManagedAgentKeyed) — an interim token
+///   for managed-agent-key callers (the genuine agent callers of
+///   `build_nip98_auth_header_for_keys`: `sync_managed_agent_profile`,
+///   `submit_engram_event`, and the agent query-probe). See
+///   [`ManagedAgentEgressLease`] for the Phase-4 contract this interim shape
+///   defers.
+#[derive(Debug)]
+pub enum EgressLease {
+    /// The fully-real owner-identity capability (P29-C1).
+    // Consumed by C5 (P25/P28 coordinator); remove allow when C5 lands.
+    #[allow(dead_code)]
+    OwnerIdentity(OwnerIdentityEgressLease),
+    /// The interim managed-agent-key capability (Phase 4 completes it).
+    // Consumed by C5 (P25/P28 coordinator); remove allow when C5 lands.
+    #[allow(dead_code)]
+    ManagedAgentKeyed(ManagedAgentEgressLease),
+}
+
+/// Interim managed-agent keyed-egress capability — the seam Phase 4 completes.
+///
+/// # Phase-4 contract (the deferred half)
+///
+/// The §3.3a P29 contract requires the shared explicit-key funnels to admit a
+/// "§3.3 keyed-egress lease for managed-agent callers … which already refuse
+/// under the latch." The full §3.3 keyed-egress substrate — split
+/// admission/drain keys, per-scope generation gating, and the
+/// `admit_keyed_egress()` constructor — is Phase 4 work (§8 item 4), sequenced
+/// AFTER Phase 3b. This interim newtype exists so the funnels take a uniform
+/// [`EgressLease`] witness from Phase 3b onward and their signatures never
+/// churn across the phase boundary.
+///
+/// **`admit_managed_agent_egress` is the ONLY constructor and will be replaced
+/// by Phase 4's `admit_keyed_egress`, which adds the deferred scope-generation
+/// gate.** This interim form implements only the latch/drain half: it refuses
+/// admission whenever owner-identity persistence is not [`Live`] (the P28-C1
+/// latch, or a transition drain). Phase 4 ADDS scope-generation gating to an
+/// already-fail-closed token — it never loosens this behavior. Managed-agent
+/// scope is keyed by `(relay, owner)`; when owner identity persistence is
+/// `Indeterminate`, which scope is legitimately active is itself indeterminate,
+/// so agent egress must fail closed there — the exact cross-scope leak this arc
+/// exists to prevent.
+#[derive(Debug)]
+#[must_use = "a managed-agent egress capability authorizes exactly one \
+              agent-key sign/auth/transmit window"]
+pub struct ManagedAgentEgressLease {
+    /// The owner identity-persistence generation current at admission. Held so
+    /// the coordinator's drain awaits agent sends in flight at the barrier,
+    /// exactly as it awaits owner leases.
+    // Consumed by C5 (P25/P28 coordinator); remove allow when C5 lands.
+    #[allow(dead_code)]
+    generation: u64,
+}
+
+impl ManagedAgentEgressLease {
+    /// The owner identity-persistence generation this capability was admitted
+    /// under.
+    // Consumed by C5 (P25/P28 coordinator); remove allow when C5 lands.
+    #[allow(dead_code)]
+    pub fn generation(&self) -> u64 {
+        self.generation
+    }
+}
+
+impl Drop for ManagedAgentEgressLease {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        let mut inner = lock_inner();
+        inner.in_flight = inner.in_flight.saturating_sub(1);
+        let drained = inner.in_flight == 0;
+        drop(inner);
+        if drained {
+            REGISTRY.drained.notify_waiters();
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Admit a managed-agent keyed-egress send — the interim P29 seam (see
+/// [`ManagedAgentEgressLease`] for the Phase-4 contract).
+///
+/// Waits out the relay rate-limit gate FIRST, then admits, so the interim
+/// capability shares the wait-in-admission shape of
+/// [`try_admit_owner_identity_egress`]: the lease never spans the wait and no
+/// agent call site can forget it.
+///
+/// Refuses whenever owner-identity persistence is not [`Live`] (latched
+/// `Indeterminate`, or a transition draining), matching the "already refuse
+/// under the latch" requirement. Phase 4's `admit_keyed_egress` replaces this
+/// and adds the deferred scope-generation gate.
+pub async fn admit_managed_agent_egress() -> Result<ManagedAgentEgressLease, String> {
+    crate::relay_admission::wait_for_rate_limit().await;
+    admit_managed_agent_after_wait()
+}
+
+/// The post-wait managed-agent admission check + in-flight bump, under one
+/// lock. Split from the wait so the state-machine invariants are unit-testable
+/// without driving the async rate-limit gate.
+fn admit_managed_agent_after_wait() -> Result<ManagedAgentEgressLease, String> {
+    let mut inner = lock_inner();
+    match inner.state {
+        IdentityPersistenceState::Live => {
+            inner.in_flight += 1;
+            Ok(ManagedAgentEgressLease {
+                generation: REGISTRY.generation.load(Ordering::Acquire),
+            })
+        }
+        IdentityPersistenceState::Draining => Err(
+            "owner-identity egress is draining for an identity transition; \
+             managed-agent publishing is paused until it resolves"
+                .to_string(),
+        ),
+        IdentityPersistenceState::Indeterminate => Err(
+            "owner identity is in an indeterminate recovery state; the active \
+             agent scope is unresolved, so managed-agent egress is disabled \
+             until the identity is reconciled and Buzz is relaunched"
+                .to_string(),
+        ),
+    }
+}
+
+/// Process-global mutex serializing tests that mutate the registry's
+/// process-global state. Any test that admits a lease, drives a drain, or
+/// latches must hold this guard for its whole duration and reset via
+/// [`reset_registry_for_test`] on entry, because all tests share one registry.
+#[cfg(test)]
+pub(crate) static EGRESS_REGISTRY_TEST_LOCK: Mutex<()> = Mutex::new(());
+
+/// Reset the registry to its baseline (`Live`, zero in-flight) for a test.
+/// The generation is monotonic and never resets, so tests assert relative
+/// generation movement, never absolute values.
+#[cfg(test)]
+pub(crate) fn reset_registry_for_test() {
+    let mut inner = lock_inner();
+    inner.state = IdentityPersistenceState::Live;
+    inner.in_flight = 0;
+}
+
+/// Mint an owner-identity [`EgressLease`] for tests that exercise a funnel's
+/// non-admission behavior (e.g. the NIP-49 egress-guard boundary or NIP-98
+/// freshness) and only need a witness value. Admits directly through the
+/// post-wait core so no rate-limit gate is driven.
+#[cfg(test)]
+pub(crate) fn test_owner_egress_lease() -> EgressLease {
+    EgressLease::OwnerIdentity(
+        admit_owner_identity_after_wait().expect("test lease admits when live"),
+    )
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    fn guard() -> std::sync::MutexGuard<'static, ()> {
+        let g = EGRESS_REGISTRY_TEST_LOCK
+            .lock()
+            .unwrap_or_else(|e| e.into_inner());
+        reset_registry_for_test();
+        g
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn admits_when_live() {
+        let _g = guard();
+        let lease = admit_owner_identity_after_wait().expect("live admits");
+        assert_eq!(
+            lease.generation(),
+            current_identity_persistence_generation()
+        );
+        assert_eq!(identity_persistence_state(), IdentityPersistenceState::Live);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn lease_drop_decrements_in_flight() {
+        let _g = guard();
+        {
+            let _lease = admit_owner_identity_after_wait().unwrap();
+            assert_eq!(lock_inner().in_flight, 1);
+        }
+        assert_eq!(lock_inner().in_flight, 0, "drop must decrement");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn begin_drain_bumps_generation_and_refuses_new_admission() {
+        let _g = guard();
+        let before = current_identity_persistence_generation();
+        let new_gen = begin_egress_drain().expect("live drains");
+        assert_eq!(new_gen, before + 1, "drain bumps the generation by one");
+        assert_eq!(
+            identity_persistence_state(),
+            IdentityPersistenceState::Draining
+        );
+        assert!(
+            admit_owner_identity_after_wait().is_err(),
+            "no new admission while draining"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn begin_drain_refuses_when_not_live() {
+        let _g = guard();
+        begin_egress_drain().unwrap();
+        assert!(
+            begin_egress_drain().is_err(),
+            "cannot begin a second drain while one is in flight"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn resume_live_reopens_admission() {
+        let _g = guard();
+        begin_egress_drain().unwrap();
+        assert!(admit_owner_identity_after_wait().is_err());
+        resume_egress_live();
+        assert!(
+            admit_owner_identity_after_wait().is_ok(),
+            "a proven exit reopens admission"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn latch_indeterminate_refuses_egress_and_reports_state() {
+        let _g = guard();
+        begin_egress_drain().unwrap();
+        latch_identity_indeterminate();
+        assert!(is_identity_indeterminate());
+        assert_eq!(
+            identity_persistence_state(),
+            IdentityPersistenceState::Indeterminate
+        );
+        assert!(
+            admit_owner_identity_after_wait().is_err(),
+            "the indeterminate latch refuses all owner-identity egress"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn draining_does_not_report_indeterminate() {
+        // The checked key accessors refuse on `Indeterminate` only; a
+        // transient `Draining` must NOT trip the accessor refusal, so
+        // already-admitted in-flight leases can still obtain keys per send.
+        let _g = guard();
+        begin_egress_drain().unwrap();
+        assert!(
+            !is_identity_indeterminate(),
+            "draining is not the indeterminate latch"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    #[allow(clippy::await_holding_lock)] // EGRESS_REGISTRY_TEST_LOCK serialises parallel tests
+    async fn drain_returns_immediately_with_no_in_flight_leases() {
+        let _g = guard();
+        begin_egress_drain().unwrap();
+        // No leases outstanding — the drain completes without blocking.
+        await_egress_drain().await;
+        assert_eq!(lock_inner().in_flight, 0);
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    #[allow(clippy::await_holding_lock)] // EGRESS_REGISTRY_TEST_LOCK serialises parallel tests
+    async fn drain_awaits_an_in_flight_lease_then_completes() {
+        let _g = guard();
+        let lease = admit_owner_identity_after_wait().unwrap();
+        begin_egress_drain().unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(lock_inner().in_flight, 1);
+
+        // The drain must not complete while the lease is held; drop it from a
+        // spawned task after the drain has begun awaiting.
+        let handle = tokio::spawn(async move {
+            tokio::task::yield_now().await;
+            drop(lease);
+        });
+
+        await_egress_drain().await;
+        assert_eq!(lock_inner().in_flight, 0, "drain awaited the lease drop");
+        handle.await.unwrap();
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn lease_admitted_before_drain_carries_pre_bump_generation() {
+        let _g = guard();
+        let lease = admit_owner_identity_after_wait().unwrap();
+        let admitted_gen = lease.generation();
+        let new_gen = begin_egress_drain().unwrap();
+        assert!(
+            admitted_gen < new_gen,
+            "a lease admitted under A is stale once the drain bumps to B"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn managed_agent_admits_when_live() {
+        let _g = guard();
+        let lease = admit_managed_agent_after_wait().expect("live admits agent egress");
+        assert_eq!(
+            lease.generation(),
+            current_identity_persistence_generation()
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn managed_agent_refuses_under_the_latch() {
+        // Condition (2): the interim managed-agent variant refuses under the
+        // P28-C1 latch, matching the spec's "already refuse under the latch".
+        let _g = guard();
+        begin_egress_drain().unwrap();
+        latch_identity_indeterminate();
+        assert!(
+            admit_managed_agent_after_wait().is_err(),
+            "the indeterminate latch refuses managed-agent egress"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn managed_agent_refuses_while_draining() {
+        let _g = guard();
+        begin_egress_drain().unwrap();
+        assert!(
+            admit_managed_agent_after_wait().is_err(),
+            "no new agent admission while a transition drains"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn managed_agent_lease_participates_in_the_drain() {
+        // The coordinator's drain must await agent sends in flight at the
+        // barrier exactly as it awaits owner leases.
+        let _g = guard();
+        {
+            let _lease = admit_managed_agent_after_wait().unwrap();
+            assert_eq!(lock_inner().in_flight, 1);
+        }
+        assert_eq!(lock_inner().in_flight, 0, "agent lease drop decrements");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn egress_lease_enum_wraps_both_variants() {
+        let _g = guard();
+        let owner = EgressLease::OwnerIdentity(admit_owner_identity_after_wait().unwrap());
+        let agent = EgressLease::ManagedAgentKeyed(admit_managed_agent_after_wait().unwrap());
+        assert!(matches!(owner, EgressLease::OwnerIdentity(_)));
+        assert!(matches!(agent, EgressLease::ManagedAgentKeyed(_)));
+        assert_eq!(lock_inner().in_flight, 2, "both variants hold a lease");
+    }
+
+    /// Wait-in-admission: an armed rate-limit gate holds admission until the
+    /// window clears, and the lease is only born afterward. This is the
+    /// structural guarantee that a leased send can never span the wait and no
+    /// call site can forget it — the wait lives inside the sole lease
+    /// constructor.
+    #[tokio::test(start_paused = true)]
+    #[allow(clippy::await_holding_lock)] // EGRESS_REGISTRY_TEST_LOCK serialises parallel tests
+    async fn admission_waits_out_the_rate_limit_gate_before_leasing() {
+        // Hold BOTH the registry guard and the gate serial: this test drives
+        // the shared process-wide rate-limit static.
+        let _serial = crate::relay_admission::TEST_SERIAL.lock().await;
+        let _g = guard();
+        crate::relay_admission::reset_rate_limit_gate();
+
+        crate::relay_admission::activate_rate_limit(Some(30));
+        let start = tokio::time::Instant::now();
+        let lease = try_admit_owner_identity_egress()
+            .await
+            .expect("admits once the window clears");
+        assert_eq!(
+            tokio::time::Instant::now() - start,
+            std::time::Duration::from_secs(30),
+            "admission must wait out the full armed window before leasing"
+        );
+        // The lease exists only post-wait, so it is in-flight now, not during.
+        assert_eq!(lock_inner().in_flight, 1);
+        drop(lease);
+        crate::relay_admission::reset_rate_limit_gate();
+    }
+
+    /// A gate armed while the state is latched still refuses AFTER the wait —
+    /// the wait does not admit a send the coordinator has fenced off. Proves
+    /// the check happens post-wait, closing the drain-during-wait window.
+    #[tokio::test(start_paused = true)]
+    #[allow(clippy::await_holding_lock)] // EGRESS_REGISTRY_TEST_LOCK serialises parallel tests
+    async fn admission_refuses_after_wait_when_draining() {
+        let _serial = crate::relay_admission::TEST_SERIAL.lock().await;
+        let _g = guard();
+        crate::relay_admission::reset_rate_limit_gate();
+
+        crate::relay_admission::activate_rate_limit(Some(5));
+        begin_egress_drain().unwrap();
+        assert!(
+            try_admit_owner_identity_egress().await.is_err(),
+            "a drain begun before/during the wait refuses admission on wake"
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            lock_inner().in_flight,
+            0,
+            "a refused admission leases nothing"
+        );
+        crate::relay_admission::reset_rate_limit_gate();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/relay.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/relay.rs
index 71aa21c41..af203532c 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/relay.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/relay.rs
@@ -103,16 +103,26 @@ pub fn build_nip98_auth_header(
     url: &str,
     body: &[u8],
     state: &AppState,
+    lease: &crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease,
 ) -> Result<String, String> {
-    let keys = state.keys.lock().map_err(|error| error.to_string())?;
-    build_nip98_auth_header_for_keys(&keys, method, url, body)
+    let keys = state.signing_keys()?;
+    build_nip98_auth_header_for_keys(&keys, method, url, body, lease)
 }
 
+/// Build a NIP-98 HTTP-auth header signed with an explicit identity.
+///
+/// Requires an [`EgressLease`](crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease)
+/// witness (P29-C1): this is one of the explicit-key egress funnels the
+/// spec names, so no caller can sign NIP-98 auth with a raw `&Keys` without
+/// first proving a lease. The lease is admitted post-rate-limit-wait, so
+/// signing here always follows the wait — freshness (NIP-98 ±60s) holds even
+/// under a ≤300s gate hold.
 pub fn build_nip98_auth_header_for_keys(
     keys: &Keys,
     method: &Method,
     url: &str,
     body: &[u8],
+    _lease: &crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease,
 ) -> Result<String, String> {
     let payload_hash = hex::encode(Sha256::digest(body));
 
@@ -317,11 +327,17 @@ pub async fn query_relay_at(
     api_base_url: &str,
     filters: &[serde_json::Value],
 ) -> Result<Vec<nostr::Event>, String> {
-    crate::relay_admission::wait_for_rate_limit().await;
+    // Owner-default query: admit the owner-identity egress lease (which waits
+    // out the rate-limit gate internally, then validates the latch) and hold
+    // it across sign → auth → transmit. The wrapper self-admits so its many
+    // transitive callers need no witness.
+    let lease = crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease::OwnerIdentity(
+        crate::owner_identity_egress::try_admit_owner_identity_egress().await?,
+    );
     let url = format!("{}/query", api_base_url);
     let body_bytes =
         serde_json::to_vec(filters).map_err(|e| format!("filter serialization failed: {e}"))?;
-    let auth = build_nip98_auth_header(&Method::POST, &url, &body_bytes, state)?;
+    let auth = build_nip98_auth_header(&Method::POST, &url, &body_bytes, state, &lease)?;
 
     let response = state
         .http_client
@@ -346,12 +362,12 @@ pub async fn query_relay_at_with_keys(
     filters: &[serde_json::Value],
     keys: &Keys,
     auth_tag: Option<&str>,
+    lease: &crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease,
 ) -> Result<Vec<nostr::Event>, String> {
-    crate::relay_admission::wait_for_rate_limit().await;
     let url = format!("{}/query", api_base_url);
     let body_bytes =
         serde_json::to_vec(filters).map_err(|e| format!("filter serialization failed: {e}"))?;
-    let auth = build_nip98_auth_header_for_keys(keys, &Method::POST, &url, &body_bytes)?;
+    let auth = build_nip98_auth_header_for_keys(keys, &Method::POST, &url, &body_bytes, lease)?;
     let mut request = state
         .http_client
         .post(&url)
@@ -445,7 +461,13 @@ pub async fn sync_managed_agent_profile(
     avatar_url: Option<&str>,
     auth_tag: Option<&str>, // NIP-OA auth tag JSON
 ) -> Result<(), String> {
-    crate::relay_admission::wait_for_rate_limit().await;
+    // Managed-agent egress construction site (P29-C1 closed-world sink). Admit
+    // the interim keyed-egress lease, which waits out the rate-limit gate then
+    // refuses under the identity-persistence latch/drain, and hold it across
+    // sign → auth → transmit.
+    let lease = crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease::ManagedAgentKeyed(
+        crate::owner_identity_egress::admit_managed_agent_egress().await?,
+    );
     // Build a signed kind:0 profile event (with optional NIP-OA auth tag).
     let event = build_profile_event(agent_keys, display_name, avatar_url, auth_tag)?;
     let event_json = event.as_json();
@@ -453,7 +475,8 @@ pub async fn sync_managed_agent_profile(
     crate::egress_guard::assert_no_key_backup_bytes(&body_bytes, "agent profile sync")?;
 
     let url = format!("{}/events", relay_http_base_url(relay_url));
-    let auth = build_nip98_auth_header_for_keys(agent_keys, &Method::POST, &url, &body_bytes)?;
+    let auth =
+        build_nip98_auth_header_for_keys(agent_keys, &Method::POST, &url, &body_bytes, &lease)?;
 
     let mut request = state
         .http_client
@@ -547,11 +570,12 @@ pub async fn submit_event_with_keys(
     state: &AppState,
     keys: &Keys,
     auth_tag: Option<&str>,
+    lease: &crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease,
 ) -> Result<SubmitEventResponse, String> {
     let event = builder
         .sign_with_keys(keys)
         .map_err(|e| format!("failed to sign event: {e}"))?;
-    submit_signed_event_with_keys(&event, state, keys, auth_tag).await
+    submit_signed_event_with_keys(&event, state, keys, auth_tag, lease).await
 }
 
 /// POST an already-signed event using the same explicit identity for NIP-98.
@@ -560,15 +584,16 @@ pub async fn submit_signed_event_with_keys(
     state: &AppState,
     keys: &Keys,
     auth_tag: Option<&str>,
+    lease: &crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease,
 ) -> Result<SubmitEventResponse, String> {
     if event.pubkey != keys.public_key() {
         return Err("signed event does not match the publishing identity".to_string());
     }
-    crate::relay_admission::wait_for_rate_limit().await;
     let url = format!("{}/events", relay_api_base_url_with_override(state));
     let body_bytes = event.as_json().into_bytes();
     crate::egress_guard::assert_no_key_backup_bytes(&body_bytes, "signed event submit (keys)")?;
-    let auth_header = build_nip98_auth_header_for_keys(keys, &Method::POST, &url, &body_bytes)?;
+    let auth_header =
+        build_nip98_auth_header_for_keys(keys, &Method::POST, &url, &body_bytes, lease)?;
 
     let mut request = state
         .http_client
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/relay/submit.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/relay/submit.rs
index eaad29d3b..52b07437a 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/relay/submit.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/relay/submit.rs
@@ -18,15 +18,16 @@ pub async fn submit_signed_event_at_with_keys(
     state: &AppState,
     api_base_url: &str,
     keys: &nostr::Keys,
+    lease: &crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease,
 ) -> Result<SubmitEventResponse, String> {
     if event.pubkey != keys.public_key() {
         return Err("signed event does not match the publishing identity".to_string());
     }
-    crate::relay_admission::wait_for_rate_limit().await;
     let url = format!("{}/events", api_base_url.trim_end_matches('/'));
     let body_bytes = event.as_json().into_bytes();
     crate::egress_guard::assert_no_key_backup_bytes(&body_bytes, "relay event submit")?;
-    let auth_header = build_nip98_auth_header_for_keys(keys, &Method::POST, &url, &body_bytes)?;
+    let auth_header =
+        build_nip98_auth_header_for_keys(keys, &Method::POST, &url, &body_bytes, lease)?;
 
     let response = state
         .http_client
@@ -60,11 +61,12 @@ pub async fn submit_event_at_with_keys(
     state: &AppState,
     api_base_url: &str,
     keys: &nostr::Keys,
+    lease: &crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease,
 ) -> Result<SubmitEventResponse, String> {
     let event = builder
         .sign_with_keys(keys)
         .map_err(|e| format!("failed to sign event: {e}"))?;
-    submit_signed_event_at_with_keys(&event, state, api_base_url, keys).await
+    submit_signed_event_at_with_keys(&event, state, api_base_url, keys, lease).await
 }
 
 /// Build and submit an event to the currently active workspace relay.
@@ -72,7 +74,14 @@ pub async fn submit_event(
     builder: nostr::EventBuilder,
     state: &AppState,
 ) -> Result<SubmitEventResponse, String> {
+    // Owner-default submit: admit the owner-identity egress lease (waits out the
+    // rate-limit gate internally, then validates the latch) and hold it across
+    // sign → auth → transmit. The wrapper self-admits so its transitive callers
+    // need no witness.
+    let lease = crate::owner_identity_egress::EgressLease::OwnerIdentity(
+        crate::owner_identity_egress::try_admit_owner_identity_egress().await?,
+    );
     let api_base_url = relay_api_base_url_with_override(state);
     let keys = state.signing_keys()?;
-    submit_event_at_with_keys(builder, state, &api_base_url, &keys).await
+    submit_event_at_with_keys(builder, state, &api_base_url, &keys, &lease).await
 }
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/relay_admission.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/relay_admission.rs
index 15222f859..fab0ac63d 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/relay_admission.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/relay_admission.rs
@@ -4,18 +4,25 @@
 //! sends until the quota window clears — matching the TS-side gate in
 //! `relayRateLimitGate.ts` that already governs WebSocket operations.
 //!
-//! **Coverage:** all entry points in `relay.rs` (`query_relay_at`,
-//! `submit_event`, `submit_signed_event`, `submit_signed_event_with_keys`,
-//! `sync_managed_agent_profile`) and the three previously-direct senders
-//! (`submit_engram_event` in snapshot import + team_snapshot, huddle STT)
-//! all call `wait_for_rate_limit()` before `.send()`.
+//! **Coverage:** the wait is centralized in the two owner-identity egress
+//! admission constructors — `try_admit_owner_identity_egress` and
+//! `admit_managed_agent_egress` (`owner_identity_egress`). Each waits out the
+//! gate FIRST, then admits its lease. Because the explicit-key relay funnels
+//! (`submit_signed_event_at_with_keys`, `submit_event_at_with_keys`,
+//! `submit_signed_event_with_keys`, `submit_event_with_keys`,
+//! `query_relay_at_with_keys`, and the NIP-98 builders) require an
+//! `EgressLease` witness whose ONLY constructors are those admission entry
+//! points, no send can reach `.send()` without having waited — the wait can no
+//! longer be forgotten at a call site. The eight owner/managed-agent egress
+//! construction sites this closes over are enumerated in the
+//! `owner_identity_egress` module doc.
 //!
 //! **Media upload/download and `/info`** call `relay_error_message()` on
 //! non-200 responses, so their 429s arm the shared gate as conservative
 //! back-off (any relay overload signal is worth honouring across domains).
-//! They do not call `wait_for_rate_limit()` themselves — their operations
-//! are driven by user-initiated file transfers rather than bridge event flow,
-//! and they have independent retry logic.
+//! They do not wait on the gate themselves — their operations are driven by
+//! user-initiated file transfers rather than bridge event flow, and they have
+//! independent retry logic.
 //!
 //! **Community scope:** the gate is reset on every `apply_workspace` call,
 //! mirroring the TS gate's `resetRateLimitGate()` on community switch in
@@ -100,14 +107,20 @@ pub fn reset_rate_limit_gate() {
     *GATE_EXPIRY.lock().unwrap_or_else(|e| e.into_inner()) = None;
 }
 
+/// Serializes every test that arms the process-wide gate static — including
+/// `owner_identity_egress`'s wait-in-admission test — so armed expiries never
+/// bleed between parallel test threads.
+#[cfg(test)]
+pub(crate) static TEST_SERIAL: tokio::sync::Mutex<()> = tokio::sync::Mutex::const_new(());
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
 
     // The gate is a process-wide static shared by every test in this binary,
-    // so all gate tests serialize on one async lock to keep armed expiries
-    // from bleeding between parallel test threads.
-    pub(crate) static TEST_SERIAL: tokio::sync::Mutex<()> = tokio::sync::Mutex::const_new(());
+    // so all gate tests serialize on the module-level `TEST_SERIAL` (shared
+    // with cross-module gate consumers) to keep armed expiries from bleeding
+    // between parallel test threads.
 
     #[tokio::test(start_paused = true)]
     async fn wait_returns_immediately_when_gate_is_inactive() {
@@ -398,6 +411,7 @@ mod tests {
             &reqwest::Method::POST,
             "https://relay.example.com/events",
             b"{}",
+            &crate::owner_identity_egress::test_owner_egress_lease(),
         )
         .expect("header build must succeed");