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+# VERSION
+
+**SYSTEM:** AUCTORISEAL  
+**VERSIONING MODEL:** EXPLICIT / FORWARD-ONLY / NON-RETROACTIVE
+
+---
+
+## CURRENT VERSION POSTURE
+
+AUCTORISEAL currently exposes canonical published authority surfaces and recorded release boundaries.
+
+Current declared posture:
+
+- **Current published release version:** `v0.1.2`
+- **State:** `NON-FINAL`
+- **Authority posture:** `PUBLISHED`
+- **Seal posture:** `GENESIS PRESENT`
+- **Compatibility:** `NOT GUARANTEED`
+- **Repository release boundary directory:** `.verifrax/tags/`
+
+That means AUCTORISEAL has published release declarations, but repository publication alone must not be confused with protocol finality, downstream activation, or irreversible seal legitimacy.
+
+---
+
+## VERSION PRINCIPLES
+
+AUCTORISEAL versioning is governed by the following rules:
+
+- versions must be explicit
+- versions are forward-only
+- published release declarations are immutable once recorded
+- prior release boundaries remain historical record
+- repository visibility alone does not redefine the last recorded release boundary
+- no consumer may infer a new version from repository drift alone
+
+If a repository state is newer than the last recorded boundary, that newer state is not a new declared release until an explicit new release boundary is published.
+
+---
+
+## RELEASE BOUNDARY RELATION
+
+Canonical release declarations are recorded under:
+
+- `.verifrax/tags/`
+
+Those files define the published release boundary states of AUCTORISEAL.
+
+They are release declarations, not implicit claims that every later repository commit is a new published version.
+
+A repository commit may exist after the latest recorded release boundary.
+That does not automatically create a new version.
+
+---
+
+## CURRENT ASSERTION
+
+At the currently published posture:
+
+- AUCTORISEAL has explicit published release boundaries
+- the latest recorded published release boundary is `v0.1.2`
+- AUCTORISEAL remains **NON-FINAL**
+- compatibility is **NOT GUARANTEED**
+- downstream systems must consume explicit release and authority surfaces rather than infer version truth from repository visibility alone
+
+---
+
+## VERSION CHANGE RULE
+
+AUCTORISEAL version may change only when all of the following occur together:
+
+1. an explicit new release boundary is recorded
+2. the new version identifier is declared on canonical published surfaces
+3. the change is committed and published through governed review
+4. downstream consumers can inspect the new boundary explicitly
+
+No silent version transition is valid.
+
+---
+
+## NON-CLAIMS
+
+AUCTORISEAL versioning does not claim:
+
+- downstream finality
+- downstream seal activation
+- automatic compatibility
+- legal or regulatory certification
+- implicit version transition by repository publication alone
+
+---
+
+## FINAL RULE
+
+> **If a version is not explicitly declared on canonical published surfaces, it must not be treated as published.**
+
+There are no implicit version transitions.
+
+---
+
+## DECLARATION
+
+This file defines the canonical published version posture of AUCTORISEAL.
+
+If this file is missing, altered, or ambiguous,  
+**AUCTORISEAL MUST BE TREATED AS VERSION-AMBIGUOUS UNTIL LEGIBILITY IS RESTORED.**