diff --git a/.github/scripts/marker-check.sh b/.github/scripts/marker-check.sh
index 65c1be6..b973f8f 100755
--- a/.github/scripts/marker-check.sh
+++ b/.github/scripts/marker-check.sh
@@ -3,7 +3,10 @@
 # outlived the releases that shipped their machinery. A release candidate must
 # therefore reject a marker its assembled changelog makes false, while every
 # tree rejects an untraceable marker. Cross-repo citations are traceable but
-# are not compared with this repository's changelog.
+# are not compared with this repository's changelog; a marker for this repo's
+# own issue uses bare #N, never a self-qualified repository citation (#238 D8).
+# CHANGELOG.md is the release oracle and immutable shipped prose, so it and the
+# fragments that feed it are excluded from the documentation scan (#238 D5).
 #
 # Usage: marker-check.sh [tree-dir]   (default: the repository root)
 set -euo pipefail
@@ -26,25 +29,36 @@ trap 'rm -f "$marker_records"' EXIT
 mapfile -d '' markdown_files < <(git -C "$tree" ls-files -z -- '*.md')
 for relative in "${markdown_files[@]}"; do
   case "$relative" in
-    changelog.d/*) continue ;;
+    CHANGELOG.md|changelog.d/*) continue ;;
   esac
 
   if ! awk -v file="$relative" '
-    { lines[NR] = $0 }
+    function without_inline_code(text,    before, after) {
+      while (match(text, /`[^`]*`/)) {
+        before = substr(text, 1, RSTART - 1)
+        after = substr(text, RSTART + RLENGTH)
+        text = before after
+      }
+      return text
+    }
+    {
+      lines[NR] = $0
+      scan_lines[NR] = without_inline_code($0)
+    }
     END {
       token = "**unreleased**"
       citation_re = "^[[:space:]]*\\((([[:alnum:]_.-]+/)?[[:alnum:]_.-]+)?#[0-9]+\\)"
       bad = 0
 
       for (line_no = 1; line_no <= NR; line_no++) {
-        remaining = lines[line_no]
+        remaining = scan_lines[line_no]
         offset = 0
         while ((at = index(remaining, token)) != 0) {
           rest = substr(remaining, at + length(token))
           candidate = rest
           next_line = line_no + 1
           while (candidate ~ /^[[:space:]]*$/ && next_line <= NR) {
-            candidate = candidate " " lines[next_line]
+            candidate = candidate " " scan_lines[next_line]
             next_line++
           }
 
@@ -60,7 +74,7 @@ for relative in "${markdown_files[@]}"; do
           }
 
           offset += at + length(token) - 1
-          remaining = substr(lines[line_no], offset + 1)
+          remaining = substr(scan_lines[line_no], offset + 1)
         }
       }
       exit bad
diff --git a/docs/CONSUMERS.md b/docs/CONSUMERS.md
index 38c9fc0..cb3f30b 100644
--- a/docs/CONSUMERS.md
+++ b/docs/CONSUMERS.md
@@ -113,14 +113,14 @@ the machinery at all:
    self-hosted runner still wants it: the guard's value is the day
    somebody adds one.
 
-   This guide documents `main`. New machinery is marked with the lowercase
-   word `unreleased` in bold, immediately followed by its issue citation
-   (for example, `(#238)`); whitespace between them may include a line break.
-   A citation is mandatory, because a marker the guard cannot trace is a
-   marker it cannot prove false. Cross-repo citations such as `(crew#293)`
-   satisfy that traceability rule but are not compared with this repository's
-   release section. The ceremony-only `marker-check.sh` guard enforces both
-   rules. The release PR that ships the machinery clears, in that same PR,
+   This guide documents `main`. A marker is the literal token
+   `**unreleased**` immediately followed by its issue citation (for example,
+   `(#238)`); whitespace between them may include a line break. A citation is
+   mandatory, because a marker the guard cannot trace is a marker it cannot
+   prove false. A marker for this repository's own issue uses bare `#N`.
+   Cross-repo citations such as `(crew#293)` satisfy the traceability rule but
+   are not compared with this repository's release section. The ceremony-only
+   `marker-check.sh` guard enforces these rules. The release PR that ships the machinery clears, in that same PR,
    every marker its own assembled section makes false: the section cites its
    issues, each marker cites the same issue, and the release PR's diff is the
    one place both halves are visible at once (#221). If an action does not exist at the
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ the machinery at all:
          - uses: heavy-duty/ceremony/actions/refs-not-closing@<pinned-tag>
    ```
 
-   `refs-not-closing` is **unreleased** until the first tag carrying #218.
+   `refs-not-closing` is **unreleased** (#218) until the first tag carrying it.
    Adopt this caller with that ordinary pin bump; never point only this file
    at a moving or newer ref.
 7. **Labels automation** (optional but recommended): the two callers from
@@ -592,7 +592,7 @@ mirror), `--check` re-diffs it in CI on every PR, so a hand edit or a stale
 pin goes red instead of quietly governing.
 
 `RELEASES.md` joins that mirror with the first tag carrying ceremony#248.
-It is **unreleased** until that tag exists: consumers add
+It is **unreleased** (#248) until that tag exists: consumers add
 `.ceremony/RELEASES.md` only with the ordinary pin bump and re-sync, never by
 copying it ahead of their pinned doctrine set.
 
diff --git a/test/marker-check.test.sh b/test/marker-check.test.sh
index 7017e84..ca373fd 100644
--- a/test/marker-check.test.sh
+++ b/test/marker-check.test.sh
@@ -84,11 +84,37 @@ EOF
 check "a cross-repo citation is valid and ignored by release comparison" 0 \
   "agree with the tree" run_check cross-repo
 
+fixture self-qualified 0.6.0
+printf 'Ceremony work remains **unreleased** (ceremony#248).\n' \
+  >"$TMP/self-qualified/docs/CONSUMERS.md"
+cat >"$TMP/self-qualified/CHANGELOG.md" <<'EOF'
+# Changelog
+
+## 0.6.0 — 2026-08-03
+
+- Ceremony work shipped (#248).
+EOF
+check "a self-qualified citation is ignored; local markers must use bare #N" 0 \
+  "agree with the tree" run_check self-qualified
+
 fixture exclusions 0.6.0-dev
-printf '# Notes\n\n## Unreleased\n' >"$TMP/exclusions/NOTES.md"
+cat >"$TMP/exclusions/NOTES.md" <<'EOF'
+# Notes
+
+## Unreleased
+
+The marker token is `**unreleased**`.
+EOF
 printf -- '- A fragment may say **unreleased** without being documentation.\n' \
   >"$TMP/exclusions/changelog.d/999.md"
-check "headings and changelog fragments do not trip the guard" 0 \
+cat >"$TMP/exclusions/CHANGELOG.md" <<'EOF'
+# Changelog
+
+## 0.5.0 — 2026-08-03
+
+- Shipped prose may discuss **unreleased** markers without becoming one.
+EOF
+check "headings, inline mentions, changelog entries, and fragments are excluded" 0 \
   "agree with the tree" run_check exclusions
 
 summary