diff --git a/docs/cli.md b/docs/cli.md
index b90b04e..348c771 100644
--- a/docs/cli.md
+++ b/docs/cli.md
@@ -98,6 +98,8 @@ a session nor create a workspace, manifest, run, lock, adapter, or remote
 connection. Like every pipeline-loading command, they bootstrap the selected or
 conventional secrets directory before resolving configuration; `config show`
 never includes bootstrap reports or secret values in its YAML output.
+Typed credential references, including `notarius.llm_api_key`, must therefore
+resolve even though these inspection commands never construct an adapter.
 
 Campaign selection is optional for a pipeline without party-driven artifact
 families. A pipeline with `scriptorium.artifact_families` needs a selected or
@@ -175,6 +177,9 @@ Behavior:
 - rejects unknown endpoints and a `--from` endpoint after `--through`;
 - runs `render` before `extract`; an omitted or disabled Notarius
   configuration records an explicit `notarius_disabled` self-skip;
+- resolves every selected typed credential during the initial configuration
+  load, including a Notarius credential when extract is disabled, outside the
+  selected range, or later skipped as resumable;
 - skips already-succeeded stages unless `--force` is set or a stage-specific
   resume check finds its durable result obsolete;
 - applies `--force` only to stages in the selected range;
diff --git a/docs/config.md b/docs/config.md
index 715af0f..408c073 100644
--- a/docs/config.md
+++ b/docs/config.md
@@ -227,8 +227,12 @@ inputs:
 - Do not place raw secrets in YAML.
 - Credential fields contain environment-variable names, represented internally
   as ConfigKit typed secret references (for example
-  `pipeline.audita.llm_api_key: AUDITA_LLM_API_KEY`). A configured reference
+  `pipeline.notarius.llm_api_key: NOTARIUS_LLM_API_KEY`). A configured reference
   must resolve to a nonempty environment value during load.
+- Every surviving reference is resolved during ordinary pipeline loading,
+  regardless of whether its integration is disabled, outside the selected
+  stage range, or eligible for resume. Omit the field or set it to `null` when
+  that deployment should not require the credential.
 - Every command that loads a pipeline accepts `--secrets-dir <path>`. When the
   flag is omitted, Narratio uses a present `secrets/` directory beside the
   resolved root `pipeline.yml`; an absent conventional directory is ignored.
@@ -353,6 +357,7 @@ Rules:
 | `pipeline.trim.seriatim.report` | bool | No | `false` |
 | `pipeline.notarius.enabled` | bool | No | `false` |
 | `pipeline.notarius.binary` | string | No | `notarius` |
+| `pipeline.notarius.llm_api_key` | secret reference | No | unset; exact environment-variable name forwarded to Notarius |
 | `pipeline.notarius.config_path` | string | Conditional | required when enabled; relative paths resolve from the pipeline file directory |
 | `pipeline.notarius.pipeline_id` | string | Conditional | required when enabled |
 | `pipeline.notarius.timeout` | duration | No | `3h`; must be positive |
@@ -373,6 +378,34 @@ Rules:
 | `pipeline.scriptorium.artifact_families` | map | No | empty; expands one ordinary artifact per canonical party character |
 | `pipeline.notification.mode` | string | No | `noop`; the only supported notification mode until a provider is implemented |
 
+### Notarius Credential
+
+`pipeline.notarius.llm_api_key` optionally names the one environment variable
+to forward to the Notarius child process:
+
+```yaml
+notarius:
+  llm_api_key: OPENROUTER_API_KEY
+```
+
+The field contains the variable name, not a credential value. That name must
+match `api_key_env` in the Notarius/PromptKit profile selected by the deployed
+Notarius pipeline; Narratio does not infer or remap provider names. Omission or
+`null` forwards nothing. A non-null selected reference must resolve at pipeline
+load time through the process environment or existing secrets-directory
+bootstrap, even when Notarius is disabled, extract is outside the requested
+range, or a completed extraction can be reused.
+
+The Notarius child receives only Narratio's minimal execution environment plus
+this exact selected name and loaded value. Other credentials are not forwarded.
+Changing the value, name, presence, or absence does not invalidate extract's
+semantic resume evidence. The public name remains part of safe effective
+inspection, so renaming it may appear in `config diff` and change the effective
+configuration digest; rotating only its value does neither.
+
+See the [Notarius integration contract](./integrations/notarius.md) for the
+delivery and redaction boundary.
+
 ### Notarius Reference Bindings
 
 `pipeline.notarius.references` maps a Notarius CLI selector to a prepared
diff --git a/docs/integrations/notarius.md b/docs/integrations/notarius.md
index d7b28eb..1a4bb06 100644
--- a/docs/integrations/notarius.md
+++ b/docs/integrations/notarius.md
@@ -75,6 +75,27 @@ It does not pass a Narratio session ID or run `notarius config validate`
 automatically; the configured working directory and Narratio's minimal child
 environment apply to the subprocess.
 
+When `pipeline.notarius.llm_api_key` is absent or null, Narratio adds no
+credential to that environment. When configured, the field names an environment
+variable whose already-loaded nonempty value is forwarded under that exact
+name. Operators must use the same name as the `api_key_env` in the selected
+Notarius/PromptKit profile. Narratio does not inspect the Notarius configuration
+to infer a provider or destination name, and it does not forward unrelated
+credentials from its parent environment or secrets directory.
+
+The selected name is registered with Narratio's shared streaming redactor.
+Credential bytes written by the child to captured stdout, captured stderr, or
+stderr-derived failure diagnostics are replaced with `<redacted>`, including
+custom names not known to the built-in sensitive-name list. Narratio does not
+serialize the credential into arguments, stage metadata, manifests, or
+generated configuration.
+
+This captured-stream protection is not a filesystem sandbox. Notarius remains
+responsible for keeping credentials out of files it writes directly, including
+bundle artifacts and its own diagnostics. Narratio does not scan or rewrite
+arbitrary downstream files and cannot promise redaction of transformed or
+encoded credentials.
+
 ## Accepted Result
 
 Narratio's supported invocation baseline is Notarius v0.6.0. The accepted
diff --git a/docs/internal/adapters.md b/docs/internal/adapters.md
index f0b9cdd..2d69462 100644
--- a/docs/internal/adapters.md
+++ b/docs/internal/adapters.md
@@ -65,6 +65,11 @@ Notarius is composed only when extraction is enabled; the extract stage owns
 prepared reference resolution, receipt, bundle, and configured-lane policy.
 The adapter validates the ordered selector/absolute-path pairs and is the sole
 owner of serializing them as repeated `--reference` arguments before `--json`.
+Its request may also carry one already-resolved opaque ConfigKit secret
+reference. Only the Notarius adapter reads that value, rejects an unresolved or
+empty programmatic reference, and maps the exact configured name/value into the
+shared subprocess override and sensitive-name fields. It never rereads the
+parent environment. A nil reference preserves the previous invocation.
 
 Application-owned object-store construction loads configured filesystem
 secrets before invoking the invocation's storage factory. Production commands
diff --git a/docs/internal/configuration.md b/docs/internal/configuration.md
index 98ae142..27d74d8 100644
--- a/docs/internal/configuration.md
+++ b/docs/internal/configuration.md
@@ -168,6 +168,10 @@ Configuration stores credentials as ConfigKit typed references. A successful
 load resolves their values inside the opaque typed boundary, while this safe
 projection serializes only `EnvName()` identities. Credential-value changes are
 therefore never hashed; reference-name changes remain ordinary provenance.
+The optional Notarius credential follows the same path even for disabled or
+resumable extraction; normalization copies the opaque reference without reading
+or resolving it again. Direct YAML serialization has a configuration-owned safe
+projection so only the reference name can leave this boundary.
 `recomputePipelineEffectiveDigest` is the single package-owned refresh point
 for later runtime expansion.
 
diff --git a/docs/internal/stage-extract.md b/docs/internal/stage-extract.md
index 6a7e12f..2b42622 100644
--- a/docs/internal/stage-extract.md
+++ b/docs/internal/stage-extract.md
@@ -24,7 +24,8 @@ procedures belong in [Operations](../operations.md).
 4. fingerprints the byte- and provenance-bearing Notarius invocation evidence,
    including sorted reference identities;
 5. creates a run-local staging directory and invokes the injected
-   `notarius.Runner`;
+   `notarius.Runner`, carrying the optional already-resolved credential
+   reference without exposing its value;
 6. revalidates the reference snapshots, then validates the v2 successful
    receipt, confined index, management documents, configured required lane
    descriptors, validation summaries, and regular payload files;
@@ -61,6 +62,10 @@ semantic fingerprint. It covers enablement, Notarius pipeline identity, sorted
 reference selector/source mappings, sorted declared output contracts, and each
 canonical `narratio.extraction.<key>` output identity. It excludes executable,
 timeout, working directory, config path, and private Notarius config contents.
+Credential presence, reference name, and resolved value are likewise
+operational-only and excluded. Ordinary command loading still resolves a
+selected reference before resume evaluation, but a credential-only change does
+not rerun a valid completed extraction or stale its dependents.
 
 `internal/stage/extract_resume.go` then permits a skip only when the existing
 stage record still matches the current byte- and provenance-bearing invocation
diff --git a/docs/roadmap/implementation.md b/docs/roadmap/implementation.md
index 7fbe6cd..b1a5af5 100644
--- a/docs/roadmap/implementation.md
+++ b/docs/roadmap/implementation.md
@@ -1,6 +1,13 @@
 # Notarius Credential Forwarding Implementation Plan
 
-Status: In progress — 2026-09-16
+Status: Complete — 2026-09-16
+
+Release-ready summary: Narratio now accepts an optional typed
+`notarius.llm_api_key` environment reference, resolves it through the existing
+command bootstrap, forwards only that selected credential to Notarius, and
+redacts its value from captured subprocess streams. Existing configurations
+require no migration, and credential-only changes do not invalidate completed
+extraction work. Version selection and release publication remain separate.
 
 Implement the [feature roadmap](notarius-credential-forwarding.md) in the order
 below. Each stage is a bounded assignment for a gpt-5.6-terra coding agent.
@@ -237,7 +244,28 @@ Acceptance:
 
 ## Stage 4 — Document the operator contract and validate the whole feature
 
-Status: Not started
+Status: Complete — 2026-09-16
+
+Completion: Updated the canonical configuration, CLI, Notarius integration,
+internal configuration/adapter/extract, troubleshooting, and example guidance.
+The maintained annotated pipeline demonstrates the optional reference with a
+synthetic-value test fixture, and published release notes remain unchanged.
+The full repository validation and all three maintained asset builds succeeded;
+the macOS arm64 result is cross-compilation evidence only.
+
+Checks:
+
+- `GOWORK=off go mod tidy -diff` — pass with no changes.
+- `GOWORK=off go mod verify` — pass.
+- `GOWORK=off go test -count=1 ./...` — pass.
+- `GOWORK=off go test -race -count=1 ./...` — pass.
+- `GOWORK=off go vet ./...` — pass.
+- `GOWORK=off go build ./...` — pass.
+- `GOWORK=off go test ./internal/doccheck` — pass.
+- `GOWORK=off go test ./internal/config -run '^TestExamplesLoadAndValidate$'` — pass.
+- `git diff --check` and `gofmt -l` on changed Go files — pass.
+- `scripts/build-release-assets.sh v0.0.0-test <empty-mktemp-dir>` — pass for
+  Linux amd64, Linux arm64, and macOS arm64 cross-compilation.
 
 Read: `docs/config.md`, `docs/cli.md`, `docs/integrations/notarius.md`,
 `docs/internal/configuration.md`, `docs/internal/adapters.md`,
diff --git a/docs/roadmap/notarius-credential-forwarding.md b/docs/roadmap/notarius-credential-forwarding.md
index b1175e5..fa33310 100644
--- a/docs/roadmap/notarius-credential-forwarding.md
+++ b/docs/roadmap/notarius-credential-forwarding.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Typed Notarius Credential Forwarding
 
-Status: Accepted — implementation pending
+Status: Complete — 2026-09-16
 
 ## Summary
 
diff --git a/docs/troubleshooting.md b/docs/troubleshooting.md
index 5f09fac..c220578 100644
--- a/docs/troubleshooting.md
+++ b/docs/troubleshooting.md
@@ -213,6 +213,40 @@ input validation.
 
 Relevant reference: [Operations: Stage Execution and Continuation Behavior](./operations.md#stage-execution-and-continuation-behavior).
 
+## Notarius credential reference unavailable
+
+Symptom:
+
+- configuration loading reports `secret.unset`, `secret.empty`, or an invalid
+  name for `pipeline.notarius.llm_api_key`, including during inspection or a
+  run that would not execute extraction.
+
+Likely causes:
+
+- the named environment variable is absent or empty;
+- the selected secrets directory lacks a file with that exact name;
+- a process environment variable exists but is empty, so bootstrap correctly
+  leaves it in place; or
+- the Narratio reference name does not match `api_key_env` in the selected
+  Notarius/PromptKit profile.
+
+Safe fix:
+
+- set the exact nonempty environment variable or provide an equivalently named
+  file through the conventional or explicit secrets directory;
+- remove or set the field to `null` when that deployment needs no credential;
+  and
+- use `config show`, `config sources`, and `config diff` to inspect the public
+  reference name and ownership without exposing its value.
+
+Narratio resolves selected credential references during ordinary pipeline
+loading, before stage selection or resume. Credential changes alone do not
+invalidate a completed extraction, but the current reference must still resolve
+for the command to proceed.
+
+Relevant references: [Secrets](./config.md#secrets-handling) and
+[Notarius credential](./config.md#notarius-credential).
+
 ## Notarius executable missing
 
 Symptom:
@@ -361,10 +395,10 @@ Symptom:
 
 Likely causes:
 
-- the executable/config path, pipeline ID, timeout, working directory, or
-  configured output contracts changed;
+- the pipeline ID or configured output contracts changed;
 - a configured prepared reference selector, source, path, checksum, or byte
   size changed;
+- the direct trimmed transcript identity or bytes changed; or
 - the durable bundle, index, lane set, provenance, regular-file status, or
   checksum no longer validates.
 
@@ -374,6 +408,11 @@ Safe fix:
   an unsafe path or bundle symlink error as filesystem corruption or tampering
   and investigate it rather than replacing files manually.
 
+Executable, config path, timeout, working directory, and Notarius credential
+changes are operational and do not by themselves invalidate reusable extraction
+evidence. A newly selected credential must nevertheless resolve during command
+configuration loading.
+
 ## Notarius transitive configuration changed
 
 Symptom:
@@ -726,7 +765,7 @@ Diagnostics:
 
 ```bash
 ls -la /path/to/secrets_dir
-env | sed 's/=.*//' | grep -E 'OBJECT_STORAGE|AWS|AUDITA|SCRIPTORIUM'
+env | sed 's/=.*//' | grep -E 'OBJECT_STORAGE|AWS|AUDITA|NOTARIUS|SCRIPTORIUM'
 ```
 
 Safe fix:
diff --git a/examples/README.md b/examples/README.md
index cea4d70..534e565 100644
--- a/examples/README.md
+++ b/examples/README.md
@@ -67,10 +67,10 @@ with the sample campaign and a compatible local- or S3-audio session.
   FLAC file before running transcription.
 
 The examples contain environment-variable names but no credential values. Set
-`OBJECT_STORAGE_KEY_ID`, `OBJECT_STORAGE_KEY`, and `AUDITA_LLM_API_KEY` to
-nonempty synthetic or real values before loading the production-shaped and full
-annotated pipelines. They use fictional campaign content and reserved example
-domains.
+`OBJECT_STORAGE_KEY_ID`, `OBJECT_STORAGE_KEY`, `AUDITA_LLM_API_KEY`, and
+`NOTARIUS_LLM_API_KEY` to nonempty synthetic or real values before loading the
+examples that reference them. They use fictional campaign content and reserved
+example domains.
 
 For a deployed bundle, keep credential files out of source control in a
 `secrets/` directory beside the root `pipeline.yml`, one file per referenced
diff --git a/examples/pipeline.full.annotated.yml b/examples/pipeline.full.annotated.yml
index 466ce10..ad16add 100644
--- a/examples/pipeline.full.annotated.yml
+++ b/examples/pipeline.full.annotated.yml
@@ -131,6 +131,9 @@ notarius:
   # Optional structured extraction between trim and render.
   enabled: true
   binary: notarius
+  # Optional environment-variable reference. Match this name to api_key_env in
+  # the selected Notarius/PromptKit profile; never put the credential here.
+  llm_api_key: NOTARIUS_LLM_API_KEY
   config_path: /usr/local/etc/notarius/config.yml
   pipeline_id: dnd-session
   timeout: 3h
diff --git a/internal/config/load_validate_test.go b/internal/config/load_validate_test.go
index 82863c9..41b24d1 100644
--- a/internal/config/load_validate_test.go
+++ b/internal/config/load_validate_test.go
@@ -266,6 +266,7 @@ func TestExamplesLoadAndValidate(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Setenv("OBJECT_STORAGE_KEY_ID", "synthetic-example-access-key")
 	t.Setenv("OBJECT_STORAGE_KEY", "synthetic-example-secret-key")
 	t.Setenv("AUDITA_LLM_API_KEY", "synthetic-example-audita-key")
+	t.Setenv("NOTARIUS_LLM_API_KEY", "synthetic-example-notarius-key")
 	examplesDir := filepath.Join("..", "..", "examples")
 	if got, want := maintainedPipelineRoots(t, examplesDir), []string{
 		"pipeline.extraction-subset.yml",
@@ -453,6 +454,7 @@ func TestMaintainedExtractionExamplesPreservePublishedContracts(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Setenv("OBJECT_STORAGE_KEY_ID", "synthetic-example-access-key")
 	t.Setenv("OBJECT_STORAGE_KEY", "synthetic-example-secret-key")
 	t.Setenv("AUDITA_LLM_API_KEY", "synthetic-example-audita-key")
+	t.Setenv("NOTARIUS_LLM_API_KEY", "synthetic-example-notarius-key")
 	examplesDir := filepath.Join("..", "..", "examples")
 	full, err := LoadPipeline(filepath.Join(examplesDir, "pipeline.full.annotated.yml"))
 	if err != nil {