diff --git a/prisma/migrations/0256_step_up_elevation/migration.sql b/prisma/migrations/0256_step_up_elevation/migration.sql
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c16c4f3da
--- /dev/null
+++ b/prisma/migrations/0256_step_up_elevation/migration.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+-- v1.30.34 — token-bound step-up elevations.
+--
+-- The Bearer-transport equivalent of `sessions.mfa_verified_at`. A row is
+-- minted only after a password or primary-passkey re-proof, is bound to the
+-- exact API token that re-proved, is single-use (`consumed_at`), and expires
+-- within minutes. Only the HMAC of the opaque secret is stored.
+
+CREATE TABLE "step_up_elevations" (
+    "id" TEXT NOT NULL,
+    "user_id" TEXT NOT NULL,
+    "api_token_id" TEXT NOT NULL,
+    "token_hash" TEXT NOT NULL,
+    "method" TEXT NOT NULL,
+    "expires_at" TIMESTAMP(3) NOT NULL,
+    "consumed_at" TIMESTAMP(3),
+    "created_at" TIMESTAMP(3) NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
+
+    CONSTRAINT "step_up_elevations_pkey" PRIMARY KEY ("id")
+);
+
+CREATE UNIQUE INDEX "step_up_elevations_token_hash_key" ON "step_up_elevations"("token_hash");
+CREATE INDEX "step_up_elevations_user_id_idx" ON "step_up_elevations"("user_id");
+CREATE INDEX "step_up_elevations_api_token_id_idx" ON "step_up_elevations"("api_token_id");
+CREATE INDEX "step_up_elevations_expires_at_idx" ON "step_up_elevations"("expires_at");
+
+ALTER TABLE "step_up_elevations" ADD CONSTRAINT "step_up_elevations_user_id_fkey"
+    FOREIGN KEY ("user_id") REFERENCES "users"("id") ON DELETE CASCADE ON UPDATE CASCADE;
+
+-- Cascade on the token binding: revoking or deleting a token must never leave a
+-- redeemable elevation behind.
+ALTER TABLE "step_up_elevations" ADD CONSTRAINT "step_up_elevations_api_token_id_fkey"
+    FOREIGN KEY ("api_token_id") REFERENCES "api_tokens"("id") ON DELETE CASCADE ON UPDATE CASCADE;
diff --git a/prisma/schema.prisma b/prisma/schema.prisma
index ffaaff10a..9a645a2c4 100644
--- a/prisma/schema.prisma
+++ b/prisma/schema.prisma
@@ -658,6 +658,10 @@ model User {
   // skips the second factor (factor 2 only) within the window; the password
   // is still required. Revoked when the second factor is removed.
   trustedDevices              TrustedDevice[]
+  // v1.30.34 — short-lived, token-bound step-up elevations. The Bearer-transport
+  // equivalent of `Session.mfaVerifiedAt`: a token client re-proves a factor and
+  // receives one single-use elevation good for one MFA-management call.
+  stepUpElevations            StepUpElevation[]
   measurements                Measurement[]
   medications                 Medication[]
   intakeEvents                MedicationIntakeEvent[]
@@ -3103,12 +3107,61 @@ model ApiToken {
 
   user          User                @relation(fields: [userId], references: [id], onDelete: Cascade)
   mcpConnection McpOAuthConnection? @relation(fields: [mcpConnectionId], references: [id], onDelete: SetNull)
+  // v1.30.34 — step-up elevations bound to this token. Cascade-deleted with it.
+  stepUpElevations StepUpElevation[]
 
   @@index([userId])
   @@index([mcpConnectionId])
   @@map("api_tokens")
 }
 
+// v1.30.34 — a step-up elevation: the Bearer-transport answer to
+// `Session.mfaVerifiedAt`.
+//
+// The web gates second-factor management on a freshness stamp written onto a
+// session row. A token client has no session row, so it had no way to express
+// "the human holding this device just re-proved a factor" and the whole
+// MFA-management surface was unreachable from a native client.
+//
+// A row here is that proof, and it is deliberately the weakest credential in
+// the tree:
+//   - it is minted ONLY after a password or primary-passkey re-proof, so
+//     presenting a stolen token gains nothing;
+//   - `apiTokenId` binds it to the exact token that re-proved, so a second
+//     token — the same user's included — cannot redeem it;
+//   - `consumedAt` makes it single-use, claimed by a conditional UPDATE so two
+//     concurrent redemptions cannot both win;
+//   - `expiresAt` caps it at minutes, matching the cookie path's step-up window.
+//
+// Only the hash of the opaque `hle_` secret is stored, so a table dump yields
+// nothing redeemable — the same posture as ApiToken, RefreshToken, and Session.
+// Revoking the token strands every elevation bound to it by construction:
+// redemption runs behind Bearer resolution, which refuses a revoked token.
+model StepUpElevation {
+  id         String    @id @default(cuid())
+  userId     String    @map("user_id")
+  // The `ApiToken` row this elevation is bound to. Cascade so a deleted token
+  // cannot leave a redeemable elevation behind.
+  apiTokenId String    @map("api_token_id")
+  // HMAC-SHA256 (`hashToken`) of the raw `hle_<64 hex>` secret. Unique so a
+  // redemption is a single indexed lookup and a collision cannot alias two rows.
+  tokenHash  String    @unique @map("token_hash")
+  // Which factor was re-proved: "password" or "passkey". Audit/telemetry only —
+  // never an authorisation input.
+  method     String
+  expiresAt  DateTime  @map("expires_at")
+  consumedAt DateTime? @map("consumed_at")
+  createdAt  DateTime  @default(now()) @map("created_at")
+
+  user     User     @relation(fields: [userId], references: [id], onDelete: Cascade)
+  apiToken ApiToken @relation(fields: [apiTokenId], references: [id], onDelete: Cascade)
+
+  @@index([userId])
+  @@index([apiTokenId])
+  @@index([expiresAt])
+  @@map("step_up_elevations")
+}
+
 // MCP OAuth connection — the revocable, theft-detectable anchor for a remote
 // connector's refresh-token chain (Phase 3 security fix, H2).
 //
diff --git a/src/app/api/admin/users/[id]/reset-password/route.ts b/src/app/api/admin/users/[id]/reset-password/route.ts
index 2da8adf47..024ccb29a 100644
--- a/src/app/api/admin/users/[id]/reset-password/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/admin/users/[id]/reset-password/route.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import {
 import { annotate } from "@/lib/logging/context";
 import { checkRateLimit, rateLimitHeaders } from "@/lib/rate-limit";
 import { destroyAllSessions } from "@/lib/auth/session";
+import { revokeStepUpElevations } from "@/lib/auth/step-up";
 import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from "next/server";
 import { resolveServerLocale } from "@/lib/i18n/server-locale";
 import { checkPasswordBreach } from "@/lib/auth/hibp";
@@ -83,6 +84,11 @@ export const POST = apiHandler(
       data: { passwordHash },
     });
 
+    // v1.30.34 — an operator-forced rotation invalidates the target's step-up
+    // elevations for the same reason a self-service change does: they attest to
+    // a credential that no longer exists.
+    await revokeStepUpElevations(id);
+
     // Invalidate all sessions of the target user
     await destroyAllSessions(id);
 
diff --git a/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/disable/route.ts b/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/disable/route.ts
index d5ab54a18..144eb4c1b 100644
--- a/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/disable/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/disable/route.ts
@@ -2,8 +2,9 @@
  * POST /api/auth/me/mfa/disable
  *
  * Tear down the second factor. Double-gated:
- *  1. `requireFreshMfa` — a cookie session that completed a second factor
- *     within the step-up window (Bearer can never satisfy this).
+ *  1. `requireMfaManagementAuth({ freshFactor: true })` — a cookie session that
+ *     completed a second factor within the step-up window, OR a Bearer token
+ *     presenting a single-use elevation it minted by re-proving a factor.
  *  2. A current TOTP or recovery code in the body — proves live possession at
  *     the moment of the destructive action, not just a stale fresh-session.
  *
@@ -12,9 +13,8 @@
  */
 import {
   apiHandler,
-  requireFreshMfa,
+  requireMfaManagementAuth,
   HttpError,
-  MFA_STEP_UP_MAX_AGE_SECONDS,
 } from "@/lib/api-handler";
 import {
   apiError,
@@ -38,7 +38,9 @@ const DISABLE_WINDOW_MS = 15 * 60 * 1000;
 export const POST = apiHandler(async (req: Request) => {
   // Step-up gate first — throws StepUpRequiredError (401 + errorCode) if the
   // session is not freshly second-factor-verified.
-  const { user, session } = await requireFreshMfa(MFA_STEP_UP_MAX_AGE_SECONDS);
+  const { user, session } = await requireMfaManagementAuth({
+    freshFactor: true,
+  });
 
   const rl = await checkRateLimit(
     `mfa:disable:${user.id}`,
diff --git a/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/recovery-codes/regenerate/route.ts b/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/recovery-codes/regenerate/route.ts
index a82e3d87d..e6c97c3d5 100644
--- a/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/recovery-codes/regenerate/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/recovery-codes/regenerate/route.ts
@@ -2,15 +2,15 @@
  * POST /api/auth/me/mfa/recovery-codes/regenerate
  *
  * Issue a fresh recovery-code batch, invalidating the entire prior set in one
- * transaction. Step-up gated (`requireFreshMfa`) — a recovery-code rotation is
- * a sensitive action; Bearer can never satisfy the gate. The new codes are
- * returned **once**.
+ * transaction. Step-up gated (`requireMfaManagementAuth({ freshFactor: true })`)
+ * — a recovery-code rotation is sensitive, so it takes either a freshly
+ * second-factor-verified cookie session or a single-use step-up elevation minted
+ * by the calling token. The new codes are returned **once**.
  */
 import {
   apiHandler,
-  requireFreshMfa,
+  requireMfaManagementAuth,
   HttpError,
-  MFA_STEP_UP_MAX_AGE_SECONDS,
 } from "@/lib/api-handler";
 import { apiError, apiSuccess, getClientIp } from "@/lib/api-response";
 import { annotate } from "@/lib/logging/context";
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ const REGEN_RATE_LIMIT = 5;
 const REGEN_WINDOW_MS = 15 * 60 * 1000;
 
 export const POST = apiHandler(async (req: Request) => {
-  const { user } = await requireFreshMfa(MFA_STEP_UP_MAX_AGE_SECONDS);
+  const { user } = await requireMfaManagementAuth({ freshFactor: true });
 
   // Defence in depth — regeneration only makes sense for an active factor.
   if (!user.totpConfirmedAt) {
diff --git a/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/route.ts b/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/route.ts
index 2498f5e62..df6c775f4 100644
--- a/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/route.ts
@@ -3,11 +3,12 @@
  *
  * Second-factor status for the security settings hub: whether TOTP is active,
  * how many recovery codes remain, and the registered WebAuthn security keys.
- * Cookie-only (`requireCookieAuth`) — managing MFA is never a Bearer surface.
+ * Gated by `requireMfaManagementAuth`: a cookie session, or a Bearer token
+ * presenting a single-use step-up elevation. A token alone is not enough.
  *
  * Returns only metadata: no secret, no recovery-code plaintext, no public key.
  */
-import { apiHandler, requireCookieAuth } from "@/lib/api-handler";
+import { apiHandler, requireMfaManagementAuth } from "@/lib/api-handler";
 import { apiSuccess } from "@/lib/api-response";
 import { annotate } from "@/lib/logging/context";
 import { prisma } from "@/lib/db";
@@ -16,7 +17,7 @@ import { countRemainingRecoveryCodes } from "@/lib/auth/mfa/recovery-codes";
 export const dynamic = "force-dynamic";
 
 export const GET = apiHandler(async () => {
-  const { user } = await requireCookieAuth();
+  const { user } = await requireMfaManagementAuth();
 
   const [recoveryCodesRemaining, webauthn] = await Promise.all([
     countRemainingRecoveryCodes(user.id),
diff --git a/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/totp/confirm/route.ts b/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/totp/confirm/route.ts
index 12bf3b78e..8bad88724 100644
--- a/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/totp/confirm/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/totp/confirm/route.ts
@@ -6,13 +6,21 @@
  * the accepted time-step (replay guard), generates + persists the Argon2id-
  * hashed recovery codes, and returns the codes **once** for the user to save.
  *
- * The completing session is also stamped `mfaVerifiedAt = now()` so the user
- * can immediately manage the freshly-enabled factor (disable / regenerate
- * codes) without an extra step-up round-trip.
+ * On the cookie path the completing session is stamped `mfaVerifiedAt = now()`
+ * so the user can immediately manage the freshly-enabled factor (disable /
+ * regenerate codes) without an extra step-up round-trip. A Bearer caller has no
+ * session row to stamp — the stamping `updateMany` simply matches nothing — and
+ * mints a fresh elevation per action instead.
  *
- * Cookie-only (`requireCookieAuth`): an API token can never enrol MFA.
+ * Gated by `requireMfaManagementAuth`: a cookie session, or a Bearer token
+ * presenting a single-use step-up elevation. A token on its own can still never
+ * enrol MFA.
  */
-import { apiHandler, requireCookieAuth, HttpError } from "@/lib/api-handler";
+import {
+  apiHandler,
+  requireMfaManagementAuth,
+  HttpError,
+} from "@/lib/api-handler";
 import {
   apiError,
   apiSuccess,
@@ -38,7 +46,7 @@ const CONFIRM_RATE_LIMIT = 10;
 const CONFIRM_WINDOW_MS = 15 * 60 * 1000;
 
 export const POST = apiHandler(async (req: Request) => {
-  const { user, session } = await requireCookieAuth();
+  const { user, session } = await requireMfaManagementAuth();
 
   const rl = await checkRateLimit(
     `mfa:confirm:${user.id}`,
diff --git a/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/totp/setup/route.ts b/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/totp/setup/route.ts
index 57fa885d5..662aa2206 100644
--- a/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/totp/setup/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/totp/setup/route.ts
@@ -8,11 +8,17 @@
  * not active until `/confirm` verifies a code, so `totpConfirmedAt` stays
  * null here.
  *
- * Cookie-only (`requireCookieAuth`): an API token can never enrol MFA. The
- * recovery-code batch is issued at `/confirm` (after the factor is proven),
- * not here, so an abandoned setup never persists codes.
+ * Gated by `requireMfaManagementAuth`: a cookie session, or a Bearer token
+ * presenting a single-use step-up elevation minted against a re-proved factor.
+ * A token on its own can still never enrol MFA. The recovery-code batch is
+ * issued at `/confirm` (after the factor is proven), not here, so an abandoned
+ * setup never persists codes.
  */
-import { apiHandler, requireCookieAuth, HttpError } from "@/lib/api-handler";
+import {
+  apiHandler,
+  requireMfaManagementAuth,
+  HttpError,
+} from "@/lib/api-handler";
 import { apiError, apiSuccess, getClientIp } from "@/lib/api-response";
 import { annotate } from "@/lib/logging/context";
 import { auditLog } from "@/lib/auth/audit";
@@ -27,7 +33,7 @@ const SETUP_RATE_LIMIT = 5;
 const SETUP_WINDOW_MS = 15 * 60 * 1000;
 
 export const POST = apiHandler(async (req: Request) => {
-  const { user } = await requireCookieAuth();
+  const { user } = await requireMfaManagementAuth();
 
   const rl = await checkRateLimit(
     `mfa:setup:${user.id}`,
diff --git a/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/webauthn/[id]/route.ts b/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/webauthn/[id]/route.ts
index 8c83c7981..6aab56136 100644
--- a/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/webauthn/[id]/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/webauthn/[id]/route.ts
@@ -2,17 +2,14 @@
  * PATCH  /api/auth/me/mfa/webauthn/[id]  — rename a registered security key.
  * DELETE /api/auth/me/mfa/webauthn/[id]  — remove one (step-up gated).
  *
- * Rename is cookie-authenticated (non-destructive). Removal is a sensitive
- * action: it is gated on a fresh second-factor step-up (`requireFreshMfa`,
- * cookie-only — a Bearer token can never satisfy it).
+ * Both go through `requireMfaManagementAuth`: a cookie session, or a Bearer
+ * token presenting a single-use step-up elevation. Removal additionally demands
+ * the fresh-factor arm (`freshFactor: true`) — on the cookie path a session that
+ * completed a second factor inside the step-up window, on the Bearer path an
+ * elevation minted against a re-proved factor.
  */
 import { NextRequest } from "next/server";
-import {
-  apiHandler,
-  requireCookieAuth,
-  requireFreshMfa,
-  MFA_STEP_UP_MAX_AGE_SECONDS,
-} from "@/lib/api-handler";
+import { apiHandler, requireMfaManagementAuth } from "@/lib/api-handler";
 import {
   apiError,
   apiSuccess,
@@ -31,7 +28,7 @@ export const PATCH = apiHandler(
     request: NextRequest,
     { params }: { params: Promise<{ id: string }> },
   ) => {
-    const { user } = await requireCookieAuth();
+    const { user } = await requireMfaManagementAuth();
     const { id } = await params;
 
     const { data: body, error: jsonError } = await safeJson(request, {
@@ -70,7 +67,7 @@ export const DELETE = apiHandler(
   ) => {
     // Step-up gate first — throws StepUpRequiredError (401 + errorCode) if the
     // session is not freshly second-factor-verified.
-    const { user } = await requireFreshMfa(MFA_STEP_UP_MAX_AGE_SECONDS);
+    const { user } = await requireMfaManagementAuth({ freshFactor: true });
     const { id } = await params;
 
     const existing = await prisma.webauthnMfaCredential.findUnique({
diff --git a/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/webauthn/register/options/route.ts b/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/webauthn/register/options/route.ts
index 350cf7f82..109acbbf3 100644
--- a/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/webauthn/register/options/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/webauthn/register/options/route.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,12 @@
 /**
  * POST /api/auth/me/mfa/webauthn/register/options
  *
- * Begin registering a WebAuthn security key as a second factor. Cookie-only —
- * an API token can never enrol MFA. Returns the SimpleWebAuthn creation
- * options + the server-issued challenge id to present back at /register/verify.
+ * Begin registering a WebAuthn security key as a second factor. Takes a cookie
+ * session or a Bearer token presenting a single-use step-up elevation; a token
+ * on its own can never enrol MFA. Returns the SimpleWebAuthn creation options +
+ * the server-issued challenge id to present back at /register/verify.
  */
-import { apiHandler, requireCookieAuth } from "@/lib/api-handler";
+import { apiHandler, requireMfaManagementAuth } from "@/lib/api-handler";
 import { apiError, apiSuccess } from "@/lib/api-response";
 import { annotate } from "@/lib/logging/context";
 import { checkRateLimit, rateLimitHeaders } from "@/lib/rate-limit";
@@ -14,7 +15,7 @@ import { createMfaRegistrationOptions } from "@/lib/auth/mfa/webauthn";
 export const dynamic = "force-dynamic";
 
 export const POST = apiHandler(async () => {
-  const { user } = await requireCookieAuth();
+  const { user } = await requireMfaManagementAuth();
 
   const rl = await checkRateLimit(
     `mfa:webauthn:register:${user.id}`,
diff --git a/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/webauthn/register/verify/route.ts b/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/webauthn/register/verify/route.ts
index 8a9e0c5d7..b3b651ca3 100644
--- a/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/webauthn/register/verify/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/auth/me/mfa/webauthn/register/verify/route.ts
@@ -1,12 +1,13 @@
 /**
  * POST /api/auth/me/mfa/webauthn/register/verify
  *
- * Finish registering a WebAuthn security key as a second factor. Cookie-only.
- * Verifies the attestation against the user-bound challenge and stores the
- * credential in `WebauthnMfaCredential` (kept separate from primary passkeys).
+ * Finish registering a WebAuthn security key as a second factor. Takes a cookie
+ * session or a Bearer token presenting a single-use step-up elevation. Verifies
+ * the attestation against the user-bound challenge and stores the credential in
+ * `WebauthnMfaCredential` (kept separate from primary passkeys).
  */
 import { NextRequest } from "next/server";
-import { apiHandler, requireCookieAuth } from "@/lib/api-handler";
+import { apiHandler, requireMfaManagementAuth } from "@/lib/api-handler";
 import {
   apiError,
   apiSuccess,
@@ -23,7 +24,7 @@ import { setMfaEnrollCookie } from "@/lib/auth/mfa-enrollment";
 export const dynamic = "force-dynamic";
 
 export const POST = apiHandler(async (request: NextRequest) => {
-  const { user } = await requireCookieAuth();
+  const { user } = await requireMfaManagementAuth();
 
   const { data: body, error: jsonError } = await safeJson(request, {
     maxBytes: 64 * 1024,
diff --git a/src/app/api/auth/password/route.ts b/src/app/api/auth/password/route.ts
index 3371b0a0c..ae97c2792 100644
--- a/src/app/api/auth/password/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/auth/password/route.ts
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import {
 } from "@/lib/api-handler";
 import { annotate } from "@/lib/logging/context";
 import { destroyAllSessions, createSession } from "@/lib/auth/session";
+import { revokeStepUpElevations } from "@/lib/auth/step-up";
 import { resolveServerLocale } from "@/lib/i18n/server-locale";
 import { checkPasswordBreach } from "@/lib/auth/hibp";
 import { getServerTranslator } from "@/lib/i18n/server-translator";
@@ -102,6 +103,11 @@ export const POST = apiHandler(async (request: NextRequest) => {
     data: { passwordHash: newHash },
   });
 
+  // v1.30.34 — a step-up elevation is a statement about a credential that no
+  // longer exists. Drop every one the account holds before the sessions go, so
+  // an elevation minted moments before the rotation cannot outlive it.
+  await revokeStepUpElevations(user.id);
+
   // Invalidate all existing sessions and create a fresh one.
   // v1.4.22 W5 reconcile (Sr-H1) — `createSession` re-anchors the
   // `hl_onboarding` cookie itself.
diff --git a/src/app/api/auth/step-up/options/route.ts b/src/app/api/auth/step-up/options/route.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f9caae99d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/api/auth/step-up/options/route.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+/**
+ * POST /api/auth/step-up/options
+ *
+ * Begin a primary-passkey assertion for the step-up mint below. Returns
+ * SimpleWebAuthn assertion options scoped to the calling account's registered
+ * passkeys, plus the server-issued challenge id to present back at
+ * `POST /api/auth/step-up`.
+ *
+ * Bearer-only (`requireBearerAuth`) — a browser has no use for this surface; it
+ * re-proves a factor at login and carries the result on its session row. The
+ * allow-list is never empty by construction: an account with no passkey gets a
+ * 409 telling the client to use the password arm instead.
+ */
+import { NextRequest } from "next/server";
+import { apiHandler, requireBearerAuth } from "@/lib/api-handler";
+import { apiError, apiSuccess } from "@/lib/api-response";
+import { annotate } from "@/lib/logging/context";
+import { prisma } from "@/lib/db";
+import { checkAuthSurfaceRateLimit, rateLimitHeaders } from "@/lib/rate-limit";
+import { createAuthenticationOptions } from "@/lib/auth/passkey";
+
+export const dynamic = "force-dynamic";
+
+export const POST = apiHandler(async (request: NextRequest) => {
+  const { user } = await requireBearerAuth();
+
+  const rl = await checkAuthSurfaceRateLimit(
+    request,
+    "auth:step-up",
+    20,
+    15 * 60 * 1000,
+  );
+  if (!rl.allowed) {
+    return apiError("Too many attempts. Please try again later.", 429, {
+      headers: rateLimitHeaders(rl),
+    });
+  }
+
+  const passkeyCount = await prisma.passkey.count({
+    where: { userId: user.id },
+  });
+  if (passkeyCount === 0) {
+    annotate({ action: { name: "auth.stepup.passkey.none" } });
+    return apiError("No passkey registered", 409);
+  }
+
+  const { options, challengeId } = await createAuthenticationOptions(user.id);
+
+  annotate({ action: { name: "auth.stepup.passkey.options" } });
+  return apiSuccess({ options, challengeId });
+});
diff --git a/src/app/api/auth/step-up/route.ts b/src/app/api/auth/step-up/route.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ec1e6e228
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/api/auth/step-up/route.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,188 @@
+/**
+ * POST /api/auth/step-up
+ *
+ * Re-prove a factor and receive a single-use, token-bound step-up elevation for
+ * one second-factor-management call.
+ *
+ * This is the whole point of the mechanism, so it is worth being blunt about
+ * what it is not: it is NOT a way to turn a token into a stronger credential.
+ * Presenting the token gets you as far as this endpoint and no further — the
+ * body must carry a fresh proof of the account password or of a primary passkey
+ * the device holds. A stolen token can call this all day and mint nothing.
+ *
+ * Bearer-only (`requireBearerAuth`). A browser cannot reach it even with a valid
+ * session, which keeps an ambient cookie credential out of the mint path
+ * entirely.
+ *
+ * Failures are deliberately indistinguishable. A wrong password, an account with
+ * no password set, a passkey belonging to someone else, a stale challenge — all
+ * return the same 401 with the same prose. The audit row carries the real reason;
+ * the wire carries none of it.
+ */
+import { NextRequest } from "next/server";
+import { apiHandler, requireBearerAuth } from "@/lib/api-handler";
+import {
+  apiError,
+  apiSuccess,
+  getClientIp,
+  safeJson,
+} from "@/lib/api-response";
+import { annotate } from "@/lib/logging/context";
+import { auditLog } from "@/lib/auth/audit";
+import { prisma } from "@/lib/db";
+import {
+  checkAuthSurfaceRateLimit,
+  checkRateLimit,
+  rateLimitHeaders,
+} from "@/lib/rate-limit";
+import { verifyPassword } from "@/lib/auth/password";
+import { verifyAuthentication } from "@/lib/auth/passkey";
+import {
+  mintStepUpElevation,
+  STEP_UP_ELEVATION_TTL_SECONDS,
+  type StepUpMethod,
+} from "@/lib/auth/step-up";
+import { stepUpMintSchema } from "@/lib/validations/step-up";
+
+export const dynamic = "force-dynamic";
+
+/**
+ * Per-account ceiling. Tight because the password arm runs an Argon2id verify
+ * against a user-supplied string — the same 5-per-15-minutes the password-change
+ * route uses, for the same reason.
+ */
+const MINT_LIMIT = 5;
+const MINT_WINDOW_MS = 15 * 60 * 1000;
+
+export const POST = apiHandler(async (request: NextRequest) => {
+  const auth = await requireBearerAuth();
+  const { user } = auth;
+  // `requireAuth`'s contract puts the resolved `ApiToken` row id here. It is the
+  // binding the minted elevation is tied to.
+  const apiTokenId = auth.session.id;
+  const ip = getClientIp(request);
+
+  // Two buckets. The per-IP surface bucket collapses to the tight shared anon
+  // bucket when the proxy trust chain is broken, so a misconfigured deployment
+  // caps a spray rather than opening one.
+  const ipRl = await checkAuthSurfaceRateLimit(
+    request,
+    "auth:step-up",
+    20,
+    MINT_WINDOW_MS,
+  );
+  if (!ipRl.allowed) {
+    return apiError("Too many attempts. Please try again later.", 429, {
+      headers: rateLimitHeaders(ipRl),
+    });
+  }
+
+  const userRl = await checkRateLimit(
+    `auth:step-up:${user.id}`,
+    MINT_LIMIT,
+    MINT_WINDOW_MS,
+  );
+  if (!userRl.allowed) {
+    await auditLog("auth.stepup.mint.rate_limited", {
+      userId: user.id,
+      ipAddress: ip,
+    });
+    annotate({ action: { name: "auth.stepup.mint.rate_limited" } });
+    return apiError("Too many attempts. Please wait 15 minutes.", 429, {
+      headers: rateLimitHeaders(userRl),
+    });
+  }
+
+  const { data: body, error: jsonError } = await safeJson(request, {
+    maxBytes: 64 * 1024,
+  });
+  if (jsonError) return jsonError;
+
+  const parsed = stepUpMintSchema.safeParse(body);
+  if (!parsed.success) {
+    return apiError("Invalid request", 422);
+  }
+
+  let proved = false;
+  let method: StepUpMethod = parsed.data.method;
+  // Audit-only detail. Never reaches the response — see the file header.
+  let failure = "invalid";
+
+  if (parsed.data.method === "password") {
+    if (!user.passwordHash) {
+      // An SSO-provisioned account has no password to re-prove. Same refusal as
+      // a wrong one: the account's credential shape is not a token holder's to
+      // enumerate. `/api/auth/step-up/options` is the honest discovery path —
+      // it 409s when there is no passkey either.
+      failure = "no_password";
+    } else {
+      proved = await verifyPassword(user.passwordHash, parsed.data.password);
+      if (!proved) failure = "bad_password";
+    }
+  } else {
+    method = "passkey";
+    // Bind the challenge to the caller BEFORE verifying. `verifyAuthentication`
+    // resolves a challenge by id alone; pinning ownership here means a challenge
+    // minted for another account cannot be carried into this ceremony.
+    const challenge = await prisma.authChallenge.findUnique({
+      where: { id: parsed.data.challengeId },
+      select: { userId: true },
+    });
+    if (!challenge || challenge.userId !== user.id) {
+      failure = "foreign_challenge";
+    } else {
+      try {
+        const result = await verifyAuthentication(
+          parsed.data.challengeId,
+          parsed.data.credential,
+        );
+        // Both halves matter: a verified assertion against SOMEONE ELSE'S
+        // passkey proves possession of a factor, just not of this account's.
+        proved =
+          result.verification.verified && result.passkey.userId === user.id;
+        if (!proved) failure = "bad_assertion";
+      } catch {
+        // A malformed / expired challenge is a failed attempt, not a 500.
+        failure = "bad_assertion";
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (!proved) {
+    await auditLog("auth.stepup.mint.failed", {
+      userId: user.id,
+      ipAddress: ip,
+      details: { method: parsed.data.method, reason: failure },
+    });
+    annotate({
+      action: { name: "auth.stepup.mint.failed" },
+      meta: { method: parsed.data.method, reason: failure },
+    });
+    return apiError("Verification failed", 401);
+  }
+
+  const { token, expiresAt } = await mintStepUpElevation({
+    userId: user.id,
+    apiTokenId,
+    method,
+  });
+
+  await auditLog("auth.stepup.mint.succeeded", {
+    userId: user.id,
+    ipAddress: ip,
+    details: { method },
+  });
+  annotate({
+    action: { name: "auth.stepup.mint.succeeded" },
+    meta: { method },
+  });
+
+  // `elevation` is the raw secret and is returned exactly once. It is never
+  // persisted in plaintext and never logged — no wide-event field carries a
+  // response body, and `redactSecrets` holds an `hle_` rule regardless.
+  return apiSuccess({
+    elevation: token,
+    expiresAt: expiresAt.toISOString(),
+    expiresInSeconds: STEP_UP_ELEVATION_TTL_SECONDS,
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/lib/api-handler.ts b/src/lib/api-handler.ts
index 850c0dca3..df6d0bdd7 100644
--- a/src/lib/api-handler.ts
+++ b/src/lib/api-handler.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import { headers } from "next/headers";
 import type { User } from "@/generated/prisma/client";
 import { prisma } from "@/lib/db";
 import { WideEventBuilder } from "./logging/event-builder";
-import { eventStorage, getEvent } from "./logging/context";
+import { annotate, eventStorage, getEvent } from "./logging/context";
 import { emitIfSampled } from "./logging/transports";
 import { redactOptional, redactSecrets } from "./logging/redact";
 import { getSession } from "./auth/session";
@@ -13,6 +13,10 @@ import {
   BearerAuthError,
   type ScopeRequirement,
 } from "./auth/bearer";
+import {
+  redeemStepUpElevation,
+  STEP_UP_ELEVATION_TTL_SECONDS,
+} from "./auth/step-up";
 import { AssistantDisabledError } from "./feature-flags";
 import { ConsentRequiredError } from "./ai/consent-guard";
 import { SCOPE_HEALTH_READ, SCOPE_HEALTH_WRITE } from "./mcp/oauth/config";
@@ -620,6 +624,150 @@ export async function requireFreshMfaIfEnrolled(
   return auth;
 }
 
+/**
+ * v1.30.34 — resolve a caller by Bearer token ONLY, refusing a cookie session.
+ *
+ * The mirror image of `requireCookieAuth`, and it exists for one surface: the
+ * step-up mint endpoints, which are the Bearer transport's own re-authentication
+ * flow and have no meaning for a browser (a browser re-proves a factor at login
+ * and carries the result on its session row). Refusing the cookie keeps the mint
+ * surface entirely outside the cookie's blast radius — no ambient credential can
+ * reach it, so the class of attack where a browser is induced to fire a request
+ * on the user's behalf simply does not apply.
+ *
+ * Scope handling is the standard fail-closed default: no declared scope, so only
+ * a cookie-equivalent (`["*"]`) token is admitted. A narrow token — an MCP grant,
+ * a medication-ingest grant — is refused 403 by the resolver.
+ */
+export async function requireBearerAuth(): Promise<AuthContext> {
+  let authHeader: string | null = null;
+  try {
+    const headerList = await headers();
+    authHeader = headerList.get("authorization");
+  } catch {
+    authHeader = null;
+  }
+  if (!authHeader?.startsWith("Bearer ")) {
+    throw new HttpError(401, "Not authenticated");
+  }
+  return await authenticateBearer(authHeader.slice(7), undefined);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Header carrying a step-up elevation on the Bearer path. Never logged — the
+ * wide event captures no request headers at all, and `redactSecrets` carries an
+ * `hle_` rule as a second line of defence.
+ */
+export const STEP_UP_ELEVATION_HEADER = "x-step-up";
+
+/**
+ * v1.30.34 — the single gate for second-factor management.
+ *
+ * Every MFA-management route goes through here and nothing else does. The set
+ * is frozen by `src/__tests__/step-up-elevation-guard.test.ts`, so a future
+ * route cannot quietly join it: widening the reach of an elevation has to be a
+ * visible edit to that allowlist.
+ *
+ * Two accepted proofs, and they are equals rather than a primary and a fallback:
+ *
+ *   COOKIE — unchanged, byte for byte. A cookie session delegates to
+ *   `requireCookieAuth` / `requireFreshMfa` exactly as before this function
+ *   existed. The web flow cannot regress here because there is no new code on
+ *   its path; the elevation branch is only reached when there is no session at
+ *   all.
+ *
+ *   BEARER + ELEVATION — a token that resolves cleanly AND presents a valid,
+ *   unconsumed elevation minted for that same token against a re-proved factor.
+ *   The token alone is never enough: with no header, or a header that does not
+ *   redeem, the caller gets the same `auth.stepup.required` a stale cookie
+ *   session gets.
+ *
+ * `requireAdmin` is untouched and stays cookie-only. An elevation cannot reach
+ * it — not because a check refuses one, but because `requireAdmin` resolves
+ * through `getSession()` and never consults this function or the header.
+ *
+ * @param options.freshFactor mirrors the cookie path's `requireFreshMfa`: the
+ *   account must actually have a second factor enrolled. Set by the destructive
+ *   routes (disable, recovery-code rotation, security-key removal).
+ */
+export async function requireMfaManagementAuth(
+  options: { freshFactor?: boolean } = {},
+): Promise<AuthContext> {
+  // Cookie first, and via the original helpers — the web path runs the same
+  // code it always did.
+  const sessionData = await getSession();
+  if (sessionData) {
+    return options.freshFactor
+      ? await requireFreshMfa(MFA_STEP_UP_MAX_AGE_SECONDS)
+      : await requireCookieAuth();
+  }
+
+  // Bearer path. Resolution first: an unknown, revoked, expired, or narrow-scope
+  // token is refused here and never gets as far as presenting an elevation.
+  const auth = await requireBearerAuth();
+  const apiTokenId = auth.session.id;
+
+  let raw: string | null = null;
+  try {
+    const headerList = await headers();
+    raw = headerList.get(STEP_UP_ELEVATION_HEADER);
+  } catch {
+    raw = null;
+  }
+
+  if (!raw) {
+    annotate({
+      action: { name: "auth.stepup.elevation.missing" },
+      meta: { maxAgeSeconds: STEP_UP_ELEVATION_TTL_SECONDS },
+    });
+    throw new StepUpRequiredError();
+  }
+
+  const redeemed = await redeemStepUpElevation({
+    rawToken: raw,
+    userId: auth.user.id,
+    apiTokenId,
+  });
+
+  if (!redeemed.ok) {
+    // One audit row with the machine reason, one generic refusal on the wire.
+    // A prober learns only "not accepted" — never whether the elevation was
+    // unknown, already spent, expired, or minted for a different token.
+    auditLog("auth.stepup.elevation.rejected", {
+      userId: auth.user.id,
+      details: { reason: redeemed.reason },
+    }).catch(() => {});
+    annotate({
+      action: { name: "auth.stepup.elevation.rejected" },
+      meta: { reason: redeemed.reason },
+    });
+    throw new StepUpRequiredError();
+  }
+
+  // Parity with the cookie path: `requireFreshMfa` refuses an account with no
+  // second factor enrolled, because a step-up-gated action is meaningless there.
+  // The Bearer path holds the same line rather than becoming the softer route.
+  if (options.freshFactor) {
+    let enrolled = Boolean(auth.user.totpConfirmedAt);
+    if (!enrolled) {
+      const keys = await prisma.webauthnMfaCredential.count({
+        where: { userId: auth.user.id },
+      });
+      enrolled = keys > 0;
+    }
+    if (!enrolled) {
+      throw new StepUpRequiredError("auth.stepup.mfa_not_enrolled");
+    }
+  }
+
+  annotate({
+    action: { name: "auth.stepup.elevation.accepted" },
+    meta: { method: redeemed.method },
+  });
+
+  return auth;
+}
+
 /**
  * Report unhandled errors to GlitchTip (fire-and-forget).
  * Uses dynamic import to avoid circular dependencies and startup cost.
diff --git a/src/lib/auth/step-up.ts b/src/lib/auth/step-up.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..734c214c1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/auth/step-up.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,218 @@
+/**
+ * Token-bound step-up elevations — the Bearer-transport answer to
+ * `Session.mfaVerifiedAt`.
+ *
+ * WHY THIS EXISTS. Second-factor management (enrol TOTP, confirm it, disable
+ * it, rotate recovery codes, add or remove a security key) is gated cookie-only.
+ * That gate is correct and stays: a Bearer token is a credential whose
+ * provenance the server cannot see — it may have come from an interactive login
+ * on the owner's phone, or from a value pasted into a script on a shared
+ * machine. Tearing down someone's second factor must not be reachable from the
+ * weaker of those two.
+ *
+ * What was missing was never Bearer ACCESS to those routes. It was a way to
+ * express, over a transport that has no session row, "the human holding this
+ * device just re-proved a factor". The web writes that as a timestamp on the
+ * session; a token client has no session to stamp. An elevation is that proof,
+ * made explicit and made disposable.
+ *
+ * THE PROPERTIES, and why each one is load-bearing:
+ *
+ *   Minted only against a re-proved factor. Presenting the token alone yields
+ *   nothing — that is the entire point. A stolen token gains no more reach than
+ *   it had before this module existed.
+ *
+ *   Bound to one token (`apiTokenId`). An elevation minted by the phone cannot
+ *   be redeemed by a second token, not even another of the same user's. Theft of
+ *   the elevation in transit is therefore useless without also holding the exact
+ *   token it was minted for.
+ *
+ *   Single-use. Redemption is a conditional UPDATE (see `redeemStepUpElevation`)
+ *   so two concurrent redemptions cannot both succeed. One management action per
+ *   proof, by construction rather than by convention.
+ *
+ *   Short-lived. `STEP_UP_ELEVATION_TTL_SECONDS` mirrors the cookie path's
+ *   `MFA_STEP_UP_MAX_AGE_SECONDS` exactly, so both transports carry the same
+ *   freshness promise and neither is the softer way in.
+ *
+ *   Stored hashed. Only `hashToken(secret)` reaches the database — the same
+ *   posture as ApiToken, RefreshToken, and the session secret. A table dump
+ *   yields nothing redeemable, and the raw value exists only in the mint
+ *   response and the client's memory.
+ *
+ * INVALIDATION comes from two directions. A password change calls
+ * `revokeStepUpElevations` outright. A revoked or deleted token strands its
+ * elevations without any code here running: redemption sits behind Bearer
+ * resolution, which refuses a revoked token, and the FK cascades on delete.
+ */
+import { randomBytes } from "node:crypto";
+import { prisma } from "@/lib/db";
+import { hashToken } from "@/lib/auth/hmac";
+
+/**
+ * Marks a value as a step-up elevation. Distinct from every other credential
+ * prefix in the tree (`hlk_` access, `hlr_` refresh, `hls_` session,
+ * `hlh_` OIDC handoff) so a value can never be mistaken for the wrong kind.
+ */
+const ELEVATION_PREFIX = "hle_";
+const ELEVATION_SECRET_BYTES = 32;
+
+/**
+ * How long an elevation stays redeemable: five minutes.
+ *
+ * Chosen to equal `MFA_STEP_UP_MAX_AGE_SECONDS`, the window the cookie path has
+ * used for step-up since v1.23, rather than picked independently. Two transports
+ * guarding the same actions should not offer two different freshness promises —
+ * if they diverged, the looser one would simply become the way in. Five minutes
+ * also sits at the tight end of the 5–15 minute band OWASP recommends for
+ * re-authentication, which is where destructive actions belong; it is long
+ * enough to type a code from an authenticator app and short enough that an
+ * elevation captured off a screen or a proxy log is stale before it is useful.
+ *
+ * A test pins the two constants together so a future edit to one is caught.
+ */
+export const STEP_UP_ELEVATION_TTL_SECONDS = 5 * 60;
+
+/** Which factor was re-proved. Recorded for audit; never an authorisation input. */
+export type StepUpMethod = "password" | "passkey";
+
+export interface MintedElevation {
+  /** The raw `hle_<64 hex>` value. Returned once; never persisted, never logged. */
+  token: string;
+  expiresAt: Date;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Mint an elevation for `(userId, apiTokenId)` after a factor has been re-proved.
+ *
+ * The caller is responsible for having verified the factor — this function does
+ * not check anything, it records a decision already made. Keep the two adjacent
+ * so that stays obvious.
+ *
+ * Any earlier unconsumed elevation for the same token is deleted first. A fresh
+ * proof supersedes an older one, so there is never more than one redeemable
+ * elevation per token; that both bounds the table and shrinks the window in
+ * which a captured elevation is worth anything.
+ */
+export async function mintStepUpElevation(opts: {
+  userId: string;
+  apiTokenId: string;
+  method: StepUpMethod;
+}): Promise<MintedElevation> {
+  const raw = `${ELEVATION_PREFIX}${randomBytes(ELEVATION_SECRET_BYTES).toString("hex")}`;
+  const expiresAt = new Date(Date.now() + STEP_UP_ELEVATION_TTL_SECONDS * 1000);
+
+  await prisma.stepUpElevation.deleteMany({
+    where: { apiTokenId: opts.apiTokenId, consumedAt: null },
+  });
+
+  await prisma.stepUpElevation.create({
+    data: {
+      userId: opts.userId,
+      apiTokenId: opts.apiTokenId,
+      tokenHash: hashToken(raw),
+      method: opts.method,
+      expiresAt,
+    },
+    select: { id: true },
+  });
+
+  // Opportunistic housekeeping — cheap, indexed, and keeps the table from
+  // accumulating spent rows without needing a scheduled job for a table that
+  // only ever sees a handful of rows per user per year.
+  prisma.stepUpElevation
+    .deleteMany({ where: { expiresAt: { lt: new Date() } } })
+    .catch(() => {});
+
+  return { token: raw, expiresAt };
+}
+
+/** Why a redemption was refused. Audit detail only — never surfaced to a caller. */
+export type StepUpRedeemFailure =
+  "malformed" | "unknown" | "wrong_token" | "consumed" | "expired";
+
+export type StepUpRedeemResult =
+  | { ok: true; method: StepUpMethod }
+  | { ok: false; reason: StepUpRedeemFailure };
+
+/**
+ * Consume an elevation, or refuse.
+ *
+ * SINGLE-USE ATOMICITY. The claim is one conditional `UPDATE ... WHERE
+ * token_hash = $1 AND user_id = $2 AND api_token_id = $3 AND consumed_at IS NULL
+ * AND expires_at > $4` (Prisma's `updateMany`), and the caller proceeds only on
+ * `count === 1`. Postgres under READ COMMITTED serialises the two writers on the
+ * row lock: the loser re-evaluates the predicate against the winner's committed
+ * version, finds `consumed_at` no longer null, and matches zero rows. There is
+ * no read-then-write window to lose, which is exactly why the check-then-update
+ * shape was not used.
+ *
+ * Both binding fields are in the predicate rather than checked afterwards, so a
+ * mismatched token cannot be claimed and then rejected — it is never claimed at
+ * all, and the legitimate holder's elevation survives someone else's attempt.
+ */
+export async function redeemStepUpElevation(opts: {
+  rawToken: string;
+  userId: string;
+  apiTokenId: string;
+}): Promise<StepUpRedeemResult> {
+  if (!opts.rawToken.startsWith(ELEVATION_PREFIX)) {
+    return { ok: false, reason: "malformed" };
+  }
+
+  const tokenHash = hashToken(opts.rawToken);
+  const now = new Date();
+
+  const claimed = await prisma.stepUpElevation.updateMany({
+    where: {
+      tokenHash,
+      userId: opts.userId,
+      apiTokenId: opts.apiTokenId,
+      consumedAt: null,
+      expiresAt: { gt: now },
+    },
+    data: { consumedAt: now },
+  });
+
+  if (claimed.count === 1) {
+    const row = await prisma.stepUpElevation.findUnique({
+      where: { tokenHash },
+      select: { method: true },
+    });
+    return { ok: true, method: (row?.method as StepUpMethod) ?? "password" };
+  }
+
+  // Classify the refusal for the audit row only. The caller returns one generic
+  // response for every branch below, so this read tells an operator what
+  // happened without telling a prober anything.
+  const existing = await prisma.stepUpElevation.findUnique({
+    where: { tokenHash },
+    select: {
+      apiTokenId: true,
+      userId: true,
+      consumedAt: true,
+      expiresAt: true,
+    },
+  });
+  if (!existing) return { ok: false, reason: "unknown" };
+  if (
+    existing.userId !== opts.userId ||
+    existing.apiTokenId !== opts.apiTokenId
+  ) {
+    return { ok: false, reason: "wrong_token" };
+  }
+  if (existing.consumedAt) return { ok: false, reason: "consumed" };
+  return { ok: false, reason: "expired" };
+}
+
+/**
+ * Drop every elevation for a user.
+ *
+ * Called when the account password changes: an elevation is a statement about a
+ * credential that no longer exists, so it must not outlive it. Deliberately
+ * unconditional over the user's rows — consumed ones go too, since there is no
+ * reason to keep them once the anchor moved.
+ */
+export async function revokeStepUpElevations(userId: string): Promise<void> {
+  await prisma.stepUpElevation.deleteMany({ where: { userId } });
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/logging/redact.ts b/src/lib/logging/redact.ts
index 3f91a101e..8c52e78ac 100644
--- a/src/lib/logging/redact.ts
+++ b/src/lib/logging/redact.ts
@@ -83,12 +83,13 @@ export function redactSecrets(input: string): string {
       // tiny safety margin against `sk-1`-style false-positives in code
       // identifiers. Capture group 1 = the leading separator (preserved).
       .replace(/(^|[^A-Za-z0-9])sk-(?:ant-)?[A-Za-z0-9_-]{8,}/g, "$1[REDACTED]")
-      // HealthLog native API tokens (`hlk_<64hex>` access, `hlr_<64hex>`
-      // refresh). Same boundary-aware shape as the `sk-` rule. The
+      // HealthLog hex-bodied credentials: `hlk_` access token, `hlr_` refresh
+      // token, `hls_` session cookie secret (v1.30.32), `hle_` step-up
+      // elevation (v1.30.34). Same boundary-aware shape as the `sk-` rule. The
       // idempotency replay-cache already rejects bodies containing
       // these prefixes (CLAUDE.md headless-client-API patterns); this
       // is the matching egress guard for log/error surfaces.
-      .replace(/(^|[^A-Za-z0-9])hl[kr]_[A-Fa-f0-9]{32,}/g, "$1[REDACTED]")
+      .replace(/(^|[^A-Za-z0-9])hl[kres]_[A-Fa-f0-9]{32,}/g, "$1[REDACTED]")
       // v1.22.0 — the MCP OAuth bridge artifacts: the authorization code
       // (`hlac_`), refresh token (`hlrt_`), and DCR client id (`hlc_`). All
       // are signed, base64url-bodied, and credential-bearing, so they are
diff --git a/src/lib/validations/mfa.ts b/src/lib/validations/mfa.ts
index ca22284b3..746a1702e 100644
--- a/src/lib/validations/mfa.ts
+++ b/src/lib/validations/mfa.ts
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ export const mfaVerifySchema = z
  * `@simplewebauthn/server`; this just pins the envelope shape for OpenAPI and
  * the runtime `safeParse`.
  */
-const webauthnCredentialSchema = z
+export const webauthnCredentialSchema = z
   .object({
     id: z.string(),
     rawId: z.string(),
diff --git a/src/lib/validations/step-up.ts b/src/lib/validations/step-up.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c167bab42
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/validations/step-up.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+/**
+ * Request schemas for the step-up elevation surface. Single-sourced here so the
+ * runtime `safeParse` and the OpenAPI registry describe the identical wire
+ * contract.
+ */
+import { z } from "zod/v4";
+import { webauthnCredentialSchema } from "@/lib/validations/mfa";
+
+/**
+ * Re-prove a factor to mint an elevation.
+ *
+ * Two accepted proofs, discriminated on `method`:
+ *   - `password` — the account password. Unavailable on an account that signed
+ *     in through OIDC SSO and never set one; such an account uses the passkey
+ *     arm, or manages its second factor on the web.
+ *   - `passkey` — an assertion against a primary passkey the device already
+ *     holds, begun at `/api/auth/step-up/options`.
+ *
+ * The password is length-bounded so a body cap is not the only thing standing
+ * between a caller and an unbounded Argon2id verify.
+ */
+export const stepUpMintSchema = z
+  .discriminatedUnion("method", [
+    z.object({
+      method: z.literal("password"),
+      password: z.string().min(1).max(512),
+    }),
+    z.object({
+      method: z.literal("passkey"),
+      challengeId: z.string().min(1),
+      credential: webauthnCredentialSchema,
+    }),
+  ])
+  .meta({
+    id: "StepUpMintRequest",
+    description:
+      "Re-prove the account password or a primary passkey to mint a single-use, token-bound step-up elevation.",
+  });