diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index ab0a403..64d7347 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -1,9 +1,20 @@
 name: release
 
 on:
-  push:
-    tags:
-      - "v*"
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      tag:
+        description: "Existing signed release tag to publish (for example, v1.2.0)."
+        required: true
+        type: string
+      immutable_releases_preflight:
+        description: "Repository owner confirmed immutable releases through the administration API immediately before dispatch."
+        required: true
+        type: boolean
+
+env:
+  RELEASE_TAG: ${{ inputs.tag }}
+  DEFAULT_BRANCH: ${{ github.event.repository.default_branch }}
 
 permissions:
   contents: read
@@ -20,6 +31,7 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7.0.1
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
+          ref: ${{ env.RELEASE_TAG }}
       - uses: actions/setup-python@5fda3b95a4ea91299a34e894583c3862153e4b97 # v7.0.0
         with:
           python-version: "3.12"
@@ -31,25 +43,25 @@ jobs:
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
         run: |
-          git fetch origin main
-          git merge-base --is-ancestor "$GITHUB_SHA" origin/main
-          test "$(git rev-parse "${GITHUB_REF}^{commit}")" = "$GITHUB_SHA"
-          VERSION="${GITHUB_REF_NAME#v}"
+          test "$GITHUB_REF" = "refs/heads/$DEFAULT_BRANCH"
+          SOURCE_COMMIT="$(git rev-parse "refs/tags/${RELEASE_TAG}^{commit}")"
+          git fetch origin "$DEFAULT_BRANCH"
+          git merge-base --is-ancestor "$SOURCE_COMMIT" "origin/$DEFAULT_BRANCH"
+          test "$(git rev-parse HEAD)" = "$SOURCE_COMMIT"
+          VERSION="${RELEASE_TAG#v}"
           PACKAGE_VERSION="$(python -c 'import tomllib; print(tomllib.load(open("pyproject.toml", "rb"))["project"]["version"])')"
           test "$VERSION" = "$PACKAGE_VERSION"
-          test "$(gh api "repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/commits/$GITHUB_SHA/check-runs" --jq '[.check_runs[] | select(.name == "conformance-gate" and .conclusion == "success")] | length')" -ge 1
+          test "$(gh api "repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/commits/$SOURCE_COMMIT/check-runs" --jq '[.check_runs[] | select(.name == "conformance-gate" and .conclusion == "success")] | length')" -ge 1
 
-      - name: Require immutable GitHub releases before publication
+      - name: Require owner-admin immutable-release preflight
         env:
-          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+          IMMUTABLE_RELEASES_PREFLIGHT: ${{ inputs.immutable_releases_preflight }}
         run: |
-          test "$(gh api \
-            -H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2026-03-10" \
-            "repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/immutable-releases" \
-            --jq '.enabled')" = true
+          test "$GITHUB_ACTOR" = "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY_OWNER"
+          test "$IMMUTABLE_RELEASES_PREFLIGHT" = "true"
 
       - name: Require finalized release metadata in the exact tagged checkout
-        run: python scripts/check_release_metadata.py --version "${GITHUB_REF_NAME#v}"
+        run: python scripts/check_release_metadata.py --version "${RELEASE_TAG#v}"
 
       - name: Re-run conformance on the tagged checkout
         run: |
@@ -60,8 +72,8 @@ jobs:
       - name: Build exact source, reproducible wheel, and external manifest
         run: |
           python scripts/release_artifacts.py build \
-            --ref "$GITHUB_REF" \
-            --release "${GITHUB_REF_NAME#v}" \
+            --ref "refs/tags/$RELEASE_TAG" \
+            --release "${RELEASE_TAG#v}" \
             --output-dir dist
 
       - name: Smoke-test the exact wheel
@@ -93,8 +105,8 @@ jobs:
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
         run: |
-          VERSION="${GITHUB_REF_NAME#v}"
-          TAG_OBJECT="$(git rev-parse "$GITHUB_REF_NAME")"
+          VERSION="${RELEASE_TAG#v}"
+          TAG_OBJECT="$(git rev-parse "$RELEASE_TAG")"
           TAG_VERIFIED="$(gh api "repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/git/tags/$TAG_OBJECT" --jq '.verification.verified')"
           TAG_REASON="$(gh api "repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/git/tags/$TAG_OBJECT" --jq '.verification.reason')"
           if test "$TAG_VERIFIED" = true; then
@@ -122,23 +134,29 @@ jobs:
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
         run: |
-          gh release create "$GITHUB_REF_NAME" \
+          gh release create "$RELEASE_TAG" \
             dist/*.zip dist/*.whl dist/*.tar.gz dist/*.cdx.json dist/*.manifest.json \
             --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" \
             --verify-tag \
             --draft \
-            --title "VSTD ${GITHUB_REF_NAME}" \
+            --title "VSTD $RELEASE_TAG" \
             --notes-file release-notes.md
 
       - name: Publish the complete draft atomically
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
-        run: gh release edit "$GITHUB_REF_NAME" --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --draft=false
+        run: gh release edit "$RELEASE_TAG" --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --draft=false
+
+      - name: Require the published release to be immutable
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+        run: |
+          test "$(gh api "repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/releases/tags/$RELEASE_TAG" --jq '.immutable')" = true
 
       - name: Stage only the Python distributions for PyPI
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a # v7.0.1
         with:
-          name: verifier-standard-${{ github.ref_name }}
+          name: verifier-standard-${{ env.RELEASE_TAG }}
           path: |
             dist/*.whl
             dist/*.tar.gz
@@ -158,7 +176,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Download the exact tested Python distributions
         uses: actions/download-artifact@3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c # v8.0.1
         with:
-          name: verifier-standard-${{ github.ref_name }}
+          name: verifier-standard-${{ env.RELEASE_TAG }}
           path: dist
 
       - name: Publish through PyPI Trusted Publishing
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 8f7111e..0c87dda 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ Use TIME for disagreements among normative documents, schemas, runtime behavior,
 conformance tests, or public implementation claims. Do not use it for an honestly represented
 `UNKNOWN`, a receipt or Graph `CONFLICTED` state, ordinary design work, or a roadmap item.
 `TIME == CLEAR` is a release invariant for version 1.2.0. Development branches and normal
-pull-request checks may retain exact unresolved entries, but the tag-triggered publication
+pull-request checks may retain exact unresolved entries, but the owner-dispatched publication
 workflow must reject the exact tagged checkout unless its status is `CLEAR`.
 
 ## 2. Prime directive
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 22d6f71..44753b2 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -298,9 +298,11 @@
   subprocess.
 - Test the advertised Python 3.10 through 3.13 range, add release-integrity and
   installed-wheel jobs, and expose one required conformance gate for branch protection.
-- Add a tag-triggered release workflow that refuses non-main or unconformed commits,
-  rebuilds and smoke-tests exact artifacts, records tag signature status without
-  relabeling it, and creates GitHub/Sigstore attestations for every uploaded asset.
+- Add an owner-dispatched release workflow for an existing tag that refuses a
+  non-default-branch dispatch or a tag outside protected history, requires the protected
+  conformance check and an owner-confirmed immutable-release preflight, rebuilds and
+  smoke-tests exact artifacts, records tag signature status without relabeling it, and
+  creates GitHub/Sigstore attestations for every uploaded asset.
 - Add structured ambiguity, counterexample, and implementation feedback surfaces plus
   public conduct and pull-request consequence checks.
 
diff --git a/HUMANS.md b/HUMANS.md
index 394ac8a..e5dcd3c 100644
--- a/HUMANS.md
+++ b/HUMANS.md
@@ -140,6 +140,6 @@ coordinates; resolve only from evidence.
 
 Do **not** escalate a receipt's `CONFLICTED` evidence, an honest `UNKNOWN`, a roadmap item,
 or speculative research to TIME. Development branches may keep precise open contradictions.
-For publication, the tag-triggered workflow checks the exact tagged `TIME.md` and fails
+For publication, the owner-dispatched release workflow checks the exact tagged `TIME.md` and fails
 unless it contains exactly one `Status: CLEAR` line; maintainer judgment cannot override
 that release invariant.
diff --git a/RELEASING.md b/RELEASING.md
index 0fa1384..75012bf 100644
--- a/RELEASING.md
+++ b/RELEASING.md
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ exact, publicly resolvable commit.
 
 Development branches may record precise contradictions with [`TIME.md`](TIME.md) set to
 `Status: OPEN`; normal pull-request checks do not prohibit that state. Publication is
-different: the tag-triggered workflow runs `python scripts/check_time_status.py` against
+different: the owner-dispatched release workflow runs `python scripts/check_time_status.py` against
 the exact tagged checkout and fails unless it contains exactly one `Status: CLEAR` line.
 There is no subjective override.
 
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ period, `CHANGELOG.md` says `UNRELEASED`, `CITATION.cff` identifies a release ca
 has no `date-released`, and install instructions distinguish a source checkout from the
 latest published package. Before tagging, land an explicit release-finalization change that
 uses the actual publication date consistently in the changelog and citation metadata; do
-not fabricate or backdate it. The tag workflow enforces this with
+not fabricate or backdate it. The release workflow enforces this with
 `python scripts/check_release_metadata.py --version <version>` and also refuses
 release-candidate Zenodo metadata.
 
@@ -82,8 +82,14 @@ release-candidate Zenodo metadata.
    [repository setting](https://docs.github.com/en/code-security/how-tos/secure-your-supply-chain/establish-provenance-and-integrity/prevent-release-changes)
    and the
    [versioned API](https://docs.github.com/en/rest/repos/repos?apiVersion=2026-03-10#check-if-immutable-releases-are-enabled-for-a-repository).
-   The tag workflow repeats this check and stops before publication when the setting is
-   disabled. Immutability locks the published tag and attached assets and generates a
+   GitHub documents this endpoint as requiring repository Administration read permission.
+   The default Actions token cannot request that permission, so the release workflow must
+   not present its token as an independent administrative recheck. Instead, the repository
+   owner performs this authenticated preflight immediately before dispatching the existing
+   `release.yml` workflow and supplies its required
+   `immutable_releases_preflight=true` control input. The workflow requires the dispatcher
+   to equal the repository owner and verifies the published release's `immutable` field as
+   a postcondition. Immutability locks the published tag and attached assets and generates a
    GitHub release attestation; it does not correct false metadata. Corrections,
    revocations, and superseding releases remain additive. Enable the setting only after
    the draft-first workflow is present on the protected release commit.
@@ -119,11 +125,15 @@ release-candidate Zenodo metadata.
    The manifest's source ref MUST resolve to its recorded public commit. The source ZIP
    file set and every member byte MUST match that commit. CRLF/LF equivalence is not
    accepted as byte identity.
-8. Push the tag only after all preceding checks pass. The tag-triggered release workflow
-   rechecks protected-main ancestry, package version, the successful protected
+8. Push the tag only after all preceding checks pass. Re-run the owner-authenticated
+   immutable-release API preflight, then dispatch `.github/workflows/release.yml` from the
+   protected default branch with the exact existing tag and
+   `immutable_releases_preflight=true`. The owner-dispatched release workflow
+   rechecks signed-tag identity, protected-main ancestry, package version, the successful protected
    repository-check aggregate (the `conformance-gate` status context), the full test
-   suite, immutable-release setting, deterministic build, installed wheel, and artifact
-   manifest.
+   suite, final metadata, deterministic build, installed wheel, and artifact manifest.
+   The administrative preflight is owner-observed rather than Actions-token-observed; the
+   workflow stops unless that fact is explicitly supplied and refuses a non-owner dispatch.
    It then attests the tested source ZIP, wheel, source distribution, SBOM, and external
    release manifest. The workflow creates a draft, attaches the complete set, and only
    then publishes it. A second job can
diff --git a/TIME.md b/TIME.md
index 297804c..601aed0 100644
--- a/TIME.md
+++ b/TIME.md
@@ -19,5 +19,5 @@ When a contradiction is open, change the status to `Status: OPEN` and record the
 coordinates, both incompatible claims, evidence for each side, and affected behavior. An
 evidence-backed repair removes the resolved live entry and returns this file to
 `Status: CLEAR`; Git history preserves the prior state. Development branches may remain
-open. The tag-triggered publication workflow checks the exact tagged checkout and fails
+open. The owner-dispatched publication workflow checks the exact tagged checkout and fails
 unless this file contains exactly one `Status: CLEAR` line.
diff --git a/tests/test_release_artifacts.py b/tests/test_release_artifacts.py
index 553acf0..4d01093 100644
--- a/tests/test_release_artifacts.py
+++ b/tests/test_release_artifacts.py
@@ -355,8 +355,8 @@ def test_release_notes_use_the_github_tag_object_verification() -> None:
 
 def test_release_is_drafted_with_attested_sbom_before_publication() -> None:
     workflow = RELEASE_WORKFLOW.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
-    create = workflow.index('gh release create "$GITHUB_REF_NAME"')
-    publish = workflow.index('gh release edit "$GITHUB_REF_NAME"')
+    create = workflow.index('gh release create "$RELEASE_TAG"')
+    publish = workflow.index('gh release edit "$RELEASE_TAG"')
 
     assert "dist/*.cdx.json" in workflow
     assert "--draft" in workflow[create:publish]
@@ -482,20 +482,31 @@ def test_release_metadata_gate_accepts_one_final_consistent_coordinate(tmp_path:
     release_metadata.require_finalized(tmp_path, "1.2.0")
 
 
-def test_tag_release_contract_binds_main_version_gate_and_final_metadata() -> None:
+def test_release_contract_binds_tag_owner_preflight_and_final_metadata() -> None:
     workflow = RELEASE_WORKFLOW.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
     required = (
-        'git merge-base --is-ancestor "$GITHUB_SHA" origin/main',
-        'git rev-parse "${GITHUB_REF}^{commit}"',
+        "workflow_dispatch:",
+        "immutable_releases_preflight:",
+        "ref: ${{ env.RELEASE_TAG }}",
+        'test "$GITHUB_REF" = "refs/heads/$DEFAULT_BRANCH"',
+        'git merge-base --is-ancestor "$SOURCE_COMMIT" "origin/$DEFAULT_BRANCH"',
+        'test "$(git rev-parse HEAD)" = "$SOURCE_COMMIT"',
         'test "$VERSION" = "$PACKAGE_VERSION"',
-        'commits/$GITHUB_SHA/check-runs',
+        'commits/$SOURCE_COMMIT/check-runs',
         'select(.name == "conformance-gate" and .conclusion == "success")',
-        'repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/immutable-releases',
-        "--jq '.enabled')\" = true",
-        'python scripts/check_release_metadata.py --version "${GITHUB_REF_NAME#v}"',
+        'test "$GITHUB_ACTOR" = "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY_OWNER"',
+        'test "$IMMUTABLE_RELEASES_PREFLIGHT" = "true"',
+        'python scripts/check_release_metadata.py --version "${RELEASE_TAG#v}"',
+        'gh release create "$RELEASE_TAG"',
+        'releases/tags/$RELEASE_TAG',
+        "--jq '.immutable')\" = true",
     )
     for fragment in required:
         assert fragment in workflow
-    assert workflow.index('repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/immutable-releases') < workflow.index(
-        'gh release create "$GITHUB_REF_NAME"'
+    assert "repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/immutable-releases" not in workflow
+    assert workflow.index('test "$IMMUTABLE_RELEASES_PREFLIGHT" = "true"') < workflow.index(
+        'gh release create "$RELEASE_TAG"'
+    )
+    assert workflow.index('gh release create "$RELEASE_TAG"') < workflow.index(
+        "--jq '.immutable')\" = true"
     )