diff --git a/docs/testing.md b/docs/testing.md
index 22b5c0c772..6dddda64b3 100644
--- a/docs/testing.md
+++ b/docs/testing.md
@@ -874,7 +874,10 @@ summary. Representative Git-diff cases live in
 `tests/boundary/filesystem/ciChangeScope.test.ts`.
 
 `CI required` always runs and checks classification and every selected lane,
-rejecting failed, cancelled, or unexpectedly skipped work. Branch protection
+rejecting failed, cancelled, or unexpectedly skipped work. It rejects missing or
+unknown tiers and requires every canonical scope to be explicitly `true` or
+`false`; incomplete classification cannot silently omit verification lanes.
+Branch protection
 should require this aggregate, `Static checks`, `Portable tests`, and
 `Conventional PR title`. Title validation runs separately on PR opening,
 reopening, commits, and edits; correcting a title refreshes only this lightweight
diff --git a/scripts/ci/required.mjs b/scripts/ci/required.mjs
index afe52c2b81..01907de376 100644
--- a/scripts/ci/required.mjs
+++ b/scripts/ci/required.mjs
@@ -2,22 +2,31 @@ import { CI_FLAGS } from "./scopes.mjs";
 import { recordQualification } from "./qualification.mjs";
 
 const jobs = JSON.parse(process.env.CI_JOBS);
-const outputs = jobs.changes.outputs;
+const outputs = jobs?.changes?.outputs;
+if (!["fast", "full", "reused"].includes(outputs?.tier))
+  throw new Error(
+    "CI classification requires a valid tier: fast, full, or reused",
+  );
+const invalidFlags = CI_FLAGS.filter(
+  (flag) => outputs[flag] !== "true" && outputs[flag] !== "false",
+);
+if (invalidFlags.length)
+  throw new Error(
+    `CI classification requires explicit true/false scope outputs: ${invalidFlags.join(", ")}`,
+  );
+const selectedScopes = CI_FLAGS.filter((flag) => outputs[flag] === "true");
 const reused = outputs.tier === "reused";
 if (
   reused &&
   (process.env.GITHUB_EVENT_NAME !== "schedule" ||
     !/^[1-9]\d*$/.test(outputs.qualification_run_id ?? "") ||
     !Number.isSafeInteger(Number(outputs.qualification_run_id)) ||
-    CI_FLAGS.some((flag) => outputs[flag] !== "false"))
+    selectedScopes.length !== 0)
 )
   throw new Error(
     "Reused qualification requires a scheduled admission receipt and no selected lanes",
   );
-if (
-  outputs.tier === "full" &&
-  CI_FLAGS.some((flag) => outputs[flag] !== "true")
-)
+if (outputs.tier === "full" && selectedScopes.length !== CI_FLAGS.length)
   throw new Error("Full qualification requires every canonical CI scope");
 const required = reused ? ["changes"] : ["changes", "static", "test"];
 const lanes = {
@@ -31,9 +40,7 @@ const lanes = {
   docs: ["docs"],
   workflows: ["static"],
 };
-for (const [scope, value] of Object.entries(outputs)) {
-  if (value === "true") required.push(...(lanes[scope] ?? [scope]));
-}
+for (const scope of selectedScopes) required.push(...(lanes[scope] ?? [scope]));
 const failed = [...new Set(required)].filter(
   (name) => jobs[name]?.result !== "success",
 );
diff --git a/tests/boundary/filesystem/ciChangeScope.test.ts b/tests/boundary/filesystem/ciChangeScope.test.ts
index 8ed397e845..759f5c367f 100644
--- a/tests/boundary/filesystem/ciChangeScope.test.ts
+++ b/tests/boundary/filesystem/ciChangeScope.test.ts
@@ -662,8 +662,16 @@ it("rejects skipped selected work while allowing unselected lanes to skip", asyn
   const command = fileURLToPath(
     new URL("../../../scripts/ci/required.mjs", import.meta.url),
   );
+  const { CI_FLAGS } = await loadScopes();
   const jobs = {
-    changes: { result: "success", outputs: { evm: "true" } },
+    changes: {
+      result: "success",
+      outputs: {
+        ...Object.fromEntries(CI_FLAGS.map((flag) => [flag, "false"])),
+        tier: "fast",
+        evm: "true",
+      },
+    },
     static: { result: "success" },
     test: { result: "success" },
     evm: { result: "success" },
diff --git a/tests/boundary/filesystem/ciRequiredLanes.test.ts b/tests/boundary/filesystem/ciRequiredLanes.test.ts
index 1bac771a21..e460bb52b5 100644
--- a/tests/boundary/filesystem/ciRequiredLanes.test.ts
+++ b/tests/boundary/filesystem/ciRequiredLanes.test.ts
@@ -26,6 +26,15 @@ const workflow = async (filename = "ci.yml") =>
       ),
     );
 
+const scopeFlags = async () =>
+  z
+    .object({ CI_FLAGS: z.array(z.string()) })
+    .parse(
+      await import(
+        new URL("../../../scripts/ci/scopes.mjs", import.meta.url).href
+      ),
+    ).CI_FLAGS;
+
 it("binds SQLite compatibility jobs to the build's prepared runtime artifact and root layout", async () => {
   expect((await workflow()).jobs["sqlite-runtime"]?.if).toBe(
     "needs.changes.outputs.sqlite == 'true'",
@@ -57,13 +66,7 @@ it("binds SQLite compatibility jobs to the build's prepared runtime artifact and
 
 it("exports every canonical scope with read authority for admission and keeps telemetry outside the gate", async () => {
   const { jobs } = await workflow();
-  const { CI_FLAGS } = z
-    .object({ CI_FLAGS: z.array(z.string()) })
-    .parse(
-      await import(
-        new URL("../../../scripts/ci/scopes.mjs", import.meta.url).href
-      ),
-    );
+  const CI_FLAGS = await scopeFlags();
   const outputs = z.record(z.string(), z.string()).parse(jobs.changes?.outputs);
   expect(jobs.changes?.permissions).toEqual({
     contents: "read",
@@ -294,7 +297,14 @@ it.each([
       );
       needs.changes = {
         result: "success",
-        outputs: { code: "true", [scope]: selected },
+        outputs: {
+          ...Object.fromEntries(
+            (await scopeFlags()).map((flag) => [flag, "false"]),
+          ),
+          tier: "fast",
+          code: "true",
+          [scope]: selected,
+        },
       };
       if (result === "missing") delete needs[lane];
       else needs[lane] = { result };
@@ -319,3 +329,69 @@ it.each([
     }
   },
 );
+
+it("rejects incomplete or malformed classification even when available jobs succeeded", async () => {
+  const flags = await scopeFlags();
+  const valid = {
+    ...Object.fromEntries(flags.map((flag) => [flag, "false"])),
+    tier: "fast",
+  };
+  const run = (outputs: unknown) =>
+    executeWorkflowFixture(
+      process.execPath,
+      [
+        fileURLToPath(
+          new URL("../../../scripts/ci/required.mjs", import.meta.url),
+        ),
+      ],
+      {
+        env: {
+          ...process.env,
+          CI_JOBS: JSON.stringify({
+            changes: { result: "success", outputs },
+            static: { result: "success" },
+            test: { result: "success" },
+          }),
+          CI_QUALIFICATION_DIRECTORY: "",
+        },
+      },
+    );
+  await expect(run(valid)).resolves.toMatchObject({ stderr: "" });
+  // Metadata is not a scope, even when its string happens to be "true".
+  await expect(
+    run({ ...valid, qualification_run_id: "true" }),
+  ).resolves.toMatchObject({ stderr: "" });
+  for (const outputs of [
+    undefined,
+    null,
+    {},
+    { ...valid, tier: undefined },
+    { ...valid, tier: "" },
+    { ...valid, tier: "unknown" },
+  ]) {
+    await expect(run(outputs)).rejects.toMatchObject({
+      code: 1,
+      stderr: expect.stringContaining("valid tier"),
+    });
+  }
+  for (const flag of flags) {
+    await expect(run({ ...valid, [flag]: undefined })).rejects.toMatchObject({
+      code: 1,
+      stderr: expect.stringContaining(`scope outputs: ${flag}`),
+    });
+  }
+  for (const value of ["", "TRUE", "yes", true, false, 0, null, [], {}]) {
+    await expect(run({ ...valid, sqlite: value })).rejects.toMatchObject({
+      code: 1,
+      stderr: expect.stringContaining("scope outputs: sqlite"),
+    });
+  }
+  for (const tier of ["full", "reused"]) {
+    await expect(
+      run({ ...valid, tier, sqlite: undefined }),
+    ).rejects.toMatchObject({
+      code: 1,
+      stderr: expect.stringContaining("scope outputs: sqlite"),
+    });
+  }
+});