diff --git a/ingestion/internal/api/update.go b/ingestion/internal/api/update.go
index c8d015c..69f4d25 100644
--- a/ingestion/internal/api/update.go
+++ b/ingestion/internal/api/update.go
@@ -107,17 +107,6 @@ func UpdateNote(brainDir string, opts UpdateNoteOptions) (relPath, contentHash,
 	// unvalidated (hyperguild#111: the same rule that guards note birth in
 	// writeHallNote must guard a change to the same fields).
 	contentFM, contentBody := parseFrontmatter(opts.Content)
-	if len(contentFM.lines) > 0 {
-		envelope := make(map[string]string, len(contentFM.lines))
-		for _, l := range contentFM.lines {
-			if l.key != "" {
-				envelope[l.key] = l.value
-			}
-		}
-		if err := claim.ValidateEnvelope(envelope); err != nil {
-			return "", "", "", fmt.Errorf("claim envelope: %w", err)
-		}
-	}
 
 	fm, _ := parseFrontmatter(string(prior))
 	for _, l := range contentFM.lines {
@@ -131,6 +120,25 @@ func UpdateNote(brainDir string, opts UpdateNoteOptions) (relPath, contentHash,
 		fm.set("supersede_reason", opts.Reason)
 	}
 
+	// Validate the envelope AFTER the merge, against the full field set that
+	// is about to reach disk — not just the caller's fragment. Validating the
+	// fragment alone would miss a caller that supersedes claim_provenance to
+	// empty while half_life/applies survive untouched from the prior note:
+	// each side looks individually fine, but the merged result is an
+	// unprovenanced envelope, which is the exact laundering this check
+	// exists to catch. (Caught in review before merge, not filed after —
+	// worth being honest about in the history: this second pass was the
+	// actual fix; the first one validated the wrong document.)
+	envelope := make(map[string]string, len(fm.lines))
+	for _, l := range fm.lines {
+		if l.key != "" {
+			envelope[l.key] = l.value
+		}
+	}
+	if err := claim.ValidateEnvelope(envelope); err != nil {
+		return "", "", "", fmt.Errorf("claim envelope: %w", err)
+	}
+
 	out := []byte(fm.render() + contentBody)
 	if err := os.WriteFile(abs, out, 0o644); err != nil {
 		return "", "", "", fmt.Errorf("write: %w", err)
diff --git a/ingestion/internal/api/update_test.go b/ingestion/internal/api/update_test.go
index f47dd4b..85707f7 100644
--- a/ingestion/internal/api/update_test.go
+++ b/ingestion/internal/api/update_test.go
@@ -112,6 +112,29 @@ func TestUpdateNoteAcceptsValidEnvelopeAndMergesIntoFrontmatter(t *testing.T) {
 		"exactly one open+close fence pair — the caller's own fence must not leak in as a second, inert block")
 }
 
+func TestUpdateNoteRejectsClearingProvenanceWhileEnvelopeSurvives(t *testing.T) {
+	// Found in review, not written speculatively: validating only the
+	// caller's fragment (rather than the merged result) let a caller blank
+	// out claim_provenance alone while half_life/applies survived from the
+	// prior note untouched — each side looks fine on its own, the merged
+	// envelope on disk is the unprovenanced one the whole check exists to
+	// catch.
+	brainDir := t.TempDir()
+	original := "---\nwing: jepa-fx\nhall: facts\nhalf_life: durable\napplies: universal\nclaim_provenance: asserted\n---\nold\n"
+	rel := seedNote(t, brainDir, "wiki/jepa-fx/facts/val-vol.md", original)
+
+	_, _, _, err := UpdateNote(brainDir, UpdateNoteOptions{
+		Path:    rel,
+		Content: "---\nclaim_provenance: \n---\nnew body\n",
+	})
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "claim envelope")
+
+	got, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(brainDir, filepath.FromSlash(rel)))
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, original, string(got), "rejected update must leave the note byte-identical")
+}
+
 func TestUpdateNoteWithoutEnvelopeFieldsIsUnchangedFromToday(t *testing.T) {
 	// Regression pin: plain fence-less content (the common case) must behave
 	// exactly as it did before the envelope-merge fix.