diff --git a/.changeset/rapid-pumas-parade.md b/.changeset/rapid-pumas-parade.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..110caa7e8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/rapid-pumas-parade.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+type: Fixed
+pr: 4510
+---
+**STATE.md field reads now target declared field lines** — prose lookalikes are ignored while indented bold fields remain readable, keeping CLI output, sync diagnostics, and writers aligned.
diff --git a/src/state-document.cts b/src/state-document.cts
index 15f6bb7cf..28e2d6d35 100644
--- a/src/state-document.cts
+++ b/src/state-document.cts
@@ -371,7 +371,7 @@ export function stateFieldContinuation(content: string, fieldName: string): stri
   // is deliberately absent: a `| Field | value |` row is bounded by its closing
   // pipe and cannot wrap.
   const match =
-    new RegExp(`\\*\\*${escaped}:\\*\\*[ \\t]*(.+)`, 'i').exec(content) ??
+    new RegExp(`^[ \\t]*\\*\\*${escaped}:\\*\\*[ \\t]*(.+)`, 'im').exec(content) ??
     new RegExp(`^${escaped}:[ \\t]*(.+)`, 'im').exec(content);
   if (!match) return null;
 
@@ -400,8 +400,9 @@ export function stateFieldContinuation(content: string, fieldName: string): stri
 
 export function stateExtractField(content: string, fieldName: string): string | null {
   const escaped = escapeRegex(fieldName);
-  // Bold inline format: **FieldName:** value
-  const boldPattern = new RegExp(`\\*\\*${escaped}:\\*\\*[ \\t]*(.+)`, 'i');
+  // Bold line-start format: **FieldName:** value. Leading same-line whitespace
+  // matches the writer's established indented-field tolerance.
+  const boldPattern = new RegExp(`^[ \\t]*\\*\\*${escaped}:\\*\\*[ \\t]*(.+)`, 'im');
   const boldMatch = content.match(boldPattern);
   if (boldMatch)
     return boldMatch[1].trim();
diff --git a/src/state.cts b/src/state.cts
index 521cd1461..c294aee79 100644
--- a/src/state.cts
+++ b/src/state.cts
@@ -588,7 +588,7 @@ function cmdStateGet(cwd: string, section: string | undefined, raw: boolean): vo
     const fieldEscaped = escapeRegex(section);
 
     // Check for **field:** value (bold format)
-    const boldPattern = new RegExp(`\\*\\*${fieldEscaped}:\\*\\*\\s*(.*)`, 'i');
+    const boldPattern = new RegExp(`^[ \\t]*\\*\\*${fieldEscaped}:\\*\\*[ \\t]*(.*)`, 'im');
     const boldMatch = content.match(boldPattern);
     if (boldMatch) {
       output({ [section]: boldMatch[1].trim() }, raw, boldMatch[1].trim());
diff --git a/tests/state.test.cjs b/tests/state.test.cjs
index 9a9ff3790..ec2a1173b 100644
--- a/tests/state.test.cjs
+++ b/tests/state.test.cjs
@@ -1590,6 +1590,18 @@ describe('cmdStateGet (state get)', () => {
     assert.strictEqual(output['Status'], 'Active', 'should extract Status field value');
   });
 
+  test('bold field lookup ignores prose lookalikes and accepts indentation (#4481)', () => {
+    fs.writeFileSync(
+      path.join(tmpDir, '.planning', 'STATE.md'),
+      '# Project State\n\nA note cites **Status:** stale prose.\n  **Status:** Active\n'
+    );
+
+    const result = runGsdTools('state get Status', tmpDir);
+    assert.ok(result.success, `Command failed: ${result.error}`);
+    const output = JSON.parse(result.output);
+    assert.strictEqual(output['Status'], 'Active');
+  });
+
   test('extracts markdown section content', () => {
     fs.writeFileSync(
       path.join(tmpDir, '.planning', 'STATE.md'),
@@ -3892,6 +3904,46 @@ Progress: [..........] 0%
   });
 });
 
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// #4481 — field reads agree with line-anchored field writes
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+describe('#4481: stateExtractField ignores mid-sentence bold lookalikes', () => {
+  const documentWithLookalikes = [
+    '# Project State',
+    '',
+    'A note cites **Progress:** dashboards, **Total Plans in Phase:** aggregation, and **Last Activity:** retention.',
+    '',
+    '  **Progress:** [█░░░░░░░░░] 10%',
+    '\t**Total Plans in Phase:** 2',
+    '  **Last Activity:** 2026-01-01',
+    '',
+  ].join('\n');
+
+  test('returns the real line-start value for every sync field', () => {
+    assert.strictEqual(stateDocument.stateExtractField(documentWithLookalikes, 'Progress'), '[█░░░░░░░░░] 10%');
+    assert.strictEqual(stateDocument.stateExtractField(documentWithLookalikes, 'Total Plans in Phase'), '2');
+    assert.strictEqual(stateDocument.stateExtractField(documentWithLookalikes, 'Last Activity'), '2026-01-01');
+  });
+
+  test('sync change advisories name the same old values the writer replaces', () => {
+    const result = stateTransitionMod.transitionCore(
+      documentWithLookalikes,
+      { kind: 'sync', totalPlansInPhase: 3, percent: 20 },
+      { clock: { localToday: () => '2026-09-07' } },
+    );
+    const changes = result.data.changes;
+
+    assert.ok(changes.includes('Total Plans in Phase: 2 -> 3'));
+    assert.ok(changes.some((change) => change.startsWith('Progress: [█░░░░░░░░░] 10% -> ')));
+    assert.ok(changes.includes('Last Activity: 2026-01-01 -> 2026-09-07'));
+    assert.ok(result.content.includes('A note cites **Progress:** dashboards, **Total Plans in Phase:** aggregation, and **Last Activity:** retention.'));
+    assert.ok(result.content.includes('\t**Total Plans in Phase:** 3'));
+    assert.ok(result.content.includes('  **Progress:** [██░░░░░░░░] 20%'));
+    assert.ok(result.content.includes('  **Last Activity:** 2026-09-07'));
+  });
+});
+
 // ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 // #4243 — begin-phase: prose bold-lookalikes stay untouched (anchored bold
 // form in stateReplaceField) and frontmatter round-trips unknown keys