diff --git a/scripts/check-phase19.7.sh b/scripts/check-phase19.7.sh
index f1f0c668..90d746c3 100755
--- a/scripts/check-phase19.7.sh
+++ b/scripts/check-phase19.7.sh
@@ -64,6 +64,14 @@
 # canonical checkout (USER_PLUGIN, OAUTHSERVER_PLUGIN or JOURNAL_PLUGIN),
 # and is reported as unreleased commits; anything else fails.
 #
+# Accepted unreleased drift is not a release: the consumers stage then ends
+# with "phase19.7 consumers passed WITH UNRELEASED PINS", and --all ends with
+# "Phase 19.7 gate passed WITH UNRELEASED PINS: the release pins are not yet
+# proven" instead of "Phase 19.7 gate passed" (the exit status stays 0, so
+# the pre-release verification can run). A GOWORK=off release build of the
+# demo compiles the older pinned code until the plugins are tagged and the
+# pins bumped; only a PHASE197_RELEASED=1 run proves the release pins.
+#
 # Environment overrides (default: the sibling checkouts next to this
 # repository): PHASE197_ROOT (this repository), USER_PLUGIN,
 # OAUTHSERVER_PLUGIN, JOURNAL_PLUGIN, DEMO_APP, FONOTEKA, BM_APP, the
@@ -568,6 +576,8 @@ removed_exports() {
 
 run_self_test() {
 	bash -n "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}"
+	# The planted pin checks below must not reach run_all's verdict.
+	unset PHASE197_PINS_FILE
 
 	expect_detector detect_go pass 0 '{"Action":"pass","Package":"p","Test":"TestToolsList"}'
 	expect_detector detect_go fail 1 '{"Action":"pass","Package":"p","Test":"TestA"}
@@ -775,14 +785,24 @@ run_self_test() {
 			"$(git -C "$sub" rev-parse --short=12 HEAD)" "${pin:0:12}" >"$demo/scripts/check-pins.sh"
 	}
 	planted_pins
-	expect_mode pins-test-only 0 "by test-only commits" --demo-pins "DEMO_APP=$demo" "USER_PLUGIN=$sub" PHASE197_RELEASED=0
+	expect_mode pins-test-only 0 "by test-only commits" --demo-pins "DEMO_APP=$demo" "USER_PLUGIN=$sub" PHASE197_RELEASED=0 "PHASE197_PINS_FILE=$demo/pins.txt"
+	if [[ -s "$demo/pins.txt" ]]; then
+		echo "refuse: self-test pins-test-only-unrecorded: test-only drift was recorded as unreleased" >&2
+		return 1
+	fi
+	echo "PASS self-test pins-test-only-unrecorded"
 	expect_mode pins-released-test-only 1 "refuse: PHASE197_RELEASED=1" --demo-pins "DEMO_APP=$demo" "USER_PLUGIN=$sub" PHASE197_RELEASED=1
 	printf 'package user\n\nfunc Added() {}\n' >"$sub/user.go"
 	git -C "$sub" -c user.name=t -c user.email=t@example.test commit -q -am feature
 	planted_pins
 	canon="$demo/canonical"
 	git clone -q "$sub" "$canon"
-	expect_mode pins-unreleased-accepted 0 "is ahead of its pin by unreleased commits" --demo-pins "DEMO_APP=$demo" "USER_PLUGIN=$canon" PHASE197_RELEASED=0
+	expect_mode pins-unreleased-accepted 0 "is ahead of its pin by unreleased commits" --demo-pins "DEMO_APP=$demo" "USER_PLUGIN=$canon" PHASE197_RELEASED=0 "PHASE197_PINS_FILE=$demo/pins.txt"
+	if ! grep -qx "plugins/golem15/user" "$demo/pins.txt" 2>/dev/null; then
+		echo "refuse: self-test pins-unreleased-recorded: accepted unreleased drift was not recorded for the verdict" >&2
+		return 1
+	fi
+	echo "PASS self-test pins-unreleased-recorded"
 	git -C "$canon" checkout -q "$pin"
 	expect_mode pins-unreleased-refused 1 "does not hold" --demo-pins "DEMO_APP=$demo" "USER_PLUGIN=$canon" PHASE197_RELEASED=0
 	git -C "$canon" checkout -q -
@@ -790,6 +810,24 @@ run_self_test() {
 	unset -f planted_pins
 	rm -rf "$demo"
 
+	# The final verdict: unqualified only without unreleased drift.
+	local verdict_file verdict
+	verdict_file="$(mktemp)"
+	verdict="$(gate_verdict "$verdict_file")"
+	if [[ "$verdict" != "Phase 19.7 gate passed" ]]; then
+		rm -f "$verdict_file"
+		echo "refuse: self-test verdict-released: \"$verdict\"" >&2
+		return 1
+	fi
+	printf 'plugins/golem15/user\n' >"$verdict_file"
+	verdict="$(gate_verdict "$verdict_file" 2>/dev/null)"
+	rm -f "$verdict_file"
+	if [[ "$(tail -n 1 <<<"$verdict")" != "Phase 19.7 gate passed WITH UNRELEASED PINS: the release pins are not yet proven (plugins/golem15/user)" ]]; then
+		echo "refuse: self-test verdict-unreleased: \"$verdict\"" >&2
+		return 1
+	fi
+	echo "PASS self-test verdict (unqualified only without unreleased pins)"
+
 	local mode
 	for mode in self-test go plugins consumers docker admin docs marker all; do
 		grep -q -- "^	--$mode" "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" || {
@@ -922,9 +960,40 @@ run_consumers() {
 	vue_checked
 	# T-19.7-37: the demo's vhost opens exactly the MCP paths, unbuffered.
 	(cd "$DEMO_APP" && bash scripts/check-deploy.sh)
+	if [[ "${#UNRELEASED_PINS[@]}" -gt 0 ]]; then
+		echo "phase19.7 consumers passed WITH UNRELEASED PINS: ${UNRELEASED_PINS[*]} (the release pins are not yet proven)"
+		return 0
+	fi
 	echo "phase19.7 consumers passed"
 }
 
+# UNRELEASED_PINS lists the demo plugin submodules demo_pins accepted ahead
+# of their pins by non-test commits; with PHASE197_PINS_FILE set, demo_pins
+# also appends each name there, so run_all's verdict sees them.
+UNRELEASED_PINS=()
+
+# gate_verdict FILE prints the --all verdict: "Phase 19.7 gate passed" when
+# FILE lists no unreleased pin, else a qualified line naming them.
+gate_verdict() {
+	local file="$1" names
+	names="$(sort -u "$file" 2>/dev/null | paste -sd ' ' -)"
+	if [[ -z "$names" ]]; then
+		echo "Phase 19.7 gate passed"
+		return 0
+	fi
+	cat >&2 <<EOF
+************************************************************************
+UNRELEASED PINS: $names
+are ahead of the demo's go.mod pins by non-test commits. The builds and
+tests ran against that code; a GOWORK=off release build of the demo still
+compiles the older pinned versions. The phase is not releasable until the
+plugins are tagged, the pins bumped and this passes:
+  PHASE197_RELEASED=1 bash scripts/check-phase19.7.sh --consumers
+************************************************************************
+EOF
+	echo "Phase 19.7 gate passed WITH UNRELEASED PINS: the release pins are not yet proven ($names)"
+}
+
 # canonical_checkout NAME maps a demo plugin submodule to the checkout its
 # commits are developed in.
 canonical_checkout() {
@@ -977,7 +1046,11 @@ demo_pins() {
 			canonical="$(canonical_checkout "$name")"
 			full="$(git -C "$DEMO_APP/$name" rev-parse HEAD)"
 			if [[ -n "$canonical" ]] && git -C "$canonical" merge-base --is-ancestor "$full" HEAD 2>/dev/null; then
-				echo "pins: $name is ahead of its pin by unreleased commits (release after verification)"
+				echo "pins: $name is ahead of its pin by unreleased commits (release after verification; the release pins are not yet proven)"
+				UNRELEASED_PINS+=("$name")
+				if [[ -n "${PHASE197_PINS_FILE:-}" ]]; then
+					printf '%s\n' "$name" >>"$PHASE197_PINS_FILE"
+				fi
 				continue
 			fi
 			printf '%s\n' "$changed" >&2
@@ -1156,7 +1229,11 @@ run_docs() {
 }
 
 run_all() {
-	local stage
+	local stage pins_file
+	pins_file="$(mktemp)"
+	# shellcheck disable=SC2064 # expand now: the path is local to run_all
+	trap "rm -f '$pins_file'" EXIT
+	export PHASE197_PINS_FILE="$pins_file"
 	for stage in self-test go plugins consumers admin docs marker; do
 		if bash "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" "--$stage"; then
 			echo "PASS $stage"
@@ -1166,7 +1243,7 @@ run_all() {
 		fi
 	done
 	docker_gate || exit 1
-	echo "Phase 19.7 gate passed"
+	gate_verdict "$pins_file"
 }
 
 case "${1:---all}" in