diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 568f168d..afdcaaf5 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,19 +6,19 @@ Follows [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/); versioning is [SemVer](
 
 ### Added
 
+- Versioning policy SSOT + CHANGELOG tagged-section SelfCheck (C11 L119).
 - ADR 0005: explicit no Workers/Vercel/edge deploy target (C11 L114) + `edge-deploy-scope` SelfCheck.
-
 - Blocking `sandbox-boundary` SelfCheck job in `security.yml` (C04 L40; hard no-net/rootless still unpaid).
 
-- `GET /readyz` readiness probe + process-compose probe switch; SLO stubs in observability docs.
+## [0.2.0] - 2026-07-04
+
+Initial public release tag (`v0.2.0`).
 
-- Security pack (audit-v38 C04/C06 P0): `SECURITY.md`, `CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md`, `deny.toml`, `.github/workflows/security.yml` (cargo-deny + gitleaks), `.github/dependabot.yml`, `.pre-commit-config.yaml`.
-- Agent-readiness docs: `docs/functional_requirements.md` (FR catalog), `PLAN.md`, `WORK_DAG.md`, `llms.txt`.
-- Ops stubs: `docs/ops/runbook.md` (`make dev` / healthz :8080) and `docs/ops/observability.md` (metrics + OTel soft goal).
-- `AGENTS.md` ΓÇö agent entrypoint (build/test/lint/worktree/forbidden-ops); Key files links to FR/PLAN/llms/runbook.
-- `rust-toolchain.toml` ΓÇö reproducible toolchain (MSRV 1.85 via Cargo).
-- `.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md` and `user-friction` issue template + `docs/friction-log.md`.
-- proc-compose deploy stack with sl-viewer + Makefile + quickstart (#39).
+### Added
 
-<!-- Prior history predates this changelog; reconstruct from git tags as versions are cut. -->
+- Desktop viewer release workflow + launch instructions.
+- Packaging scaffolds for macOS `.app` and Linux portable binaries.
+- Session list / search selection in the viewer.
+- Domain mutation-targeted state machine and boundary tests.
 
+<!-- Earlier history was Unreleased-aggregated; tag sections start at 0.2.0. -->
diff --git a/docs/ops/distribution.md b/docs/ops/distribution.md
index d95397f5..87c0f461 100644
--- a/docs/ops/distribution.md
+++ b/docs/ops/distribution.md
@@ -535,7 +535,7 @@ SessionLedger release and data-surface versioning follow distinct rules:
 
 | Surface | Policy | Source of truth |
 |---------|--------|-----------------|
-| **Git tags / desktop binaries** | [SemVer](https://semver.org/) on `v*` tags (`v0.1.0` → version `0.1.0`) | Root `Cargo.toml` `version` must match the tag body before tagging; [`CHANGELOG.md`](../../CHANGELOG.md) follows Keep a Changelog |
+| **Git tags / desktop binaries** | [SemVer](https://semver.org/) on `v*` tags (`v0.1.0` → version `0.1.0`) | Root `Cargo.toml` `version` must match the tag body before tagging; [`CHANGELOG.md`](../../CHANGELOG.md) + [`versioning-policy.md`](versioning-policy.md) |
 | **Release asset names** | Tag-derived `VER` in CI (`sl-viewer-v<tag>-<target>`, `SessionLedger-<ver>-x64.msi`, `SessionLedger-<ver>-<arch>.pkg`) | [`.github/workflows/release.yml`](../../.github/workflows/release.yml) `derive version` step |
 | **OKF export documents** | `[major].[minor]` tuple with major-bump rejection rules | [`docs/reference/OKF-SPEC.md`](../reference/OKF-SPEC.md#13-versioning--compatibility) |
 | **SQLite schema** | Forward-only migrations; consumers on older schema revisions upgrade via `sl-daemon` migrate | [`docs/ops/schema-migrations.md`](schema-migrations.md) |
@@ -612,3 +612,4 @@ the production path (deferred).
 - [`observability.md`](observability.md) — `/healthz`, `/readyz`, metrics
 - [`SECURITY.md`](../../SECURITY.md) — supply chain / SBOM
 - Issue [#66](https://github.com/KooshaPari/SessionLedger/issues/66) — signing + installers
+
diff --git a/docs/ops/versioning-policy.md b/docs/ops/versioning-policy.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5d36ef84
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/ops/versioning-policy.md
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+# Versioning & compatibility policy
+
+Status: **C11 L119** — SemVer + Keep a Changelog cadence for desktop releases.
+
+Related: [`CHANGELOG.md`](../../CHANGELOG.md), [`docs/ops/distribution.md`](distribution.md)
+(versioning table), [`docs/reference/OKF-SPEC.md`](../reference/OKF-SPEC.md) §13.
+
+## Rules
+
+| Surface | Policy |
+|---------|--------|
+| Git tags / crates | SemVer `vMAJOR.MINOR.PATCH`; root `Cargo.toml` `version` matches the tag body before tagging |
+| CHANGELOG | Keep a Changelog; every tagged release gets a `## [X.Y.Z] - YYYY-MM-DD` section (not only `[Unreleased]`) |
+| rust-version | Workspace `rust-version` (MSRV) is declared in root `Cargo.toml`; bump with a CHANGELOG note |
+| OKF documents | Separate `[major].[minor]` rules in OKF-SPEC — independent of crate SemVer |
+
+## Cadence
+
+1. Accumulate notes under `[Unreleased]` during the wave.
+2. On tag: move Unreleased bullets into a new `## [X.Y.Z] - <date>` section; leave an empty Unreleased stub.
+3. Do not invent tagged sections for untagged commits.
+
+## Machine verification
+
+```powershell
+pwsh ./scripts/versioning-policy-check.ps1 -SelfCheck
+```
diff --git a/scripts/versioning-policy-check.ps1 b/scripts/versioning-policy-check.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4cf3e55b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/versioning-policy-check.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+<#
+.SYNOPSIS
+  Machine-check C11 L119 versioning / CHANGELOG tagged-section anchors.
+
+.PARAMETER SelfCheck
+  Explicit docs/path smoke.
+
+.EXAMPLE
+  pwsh ./scripts/versioning-policy-check.ps1 -SelfCheck
+#>
+[CmdletBinding()]
+param([switch]$SelfCheck)
+
+Set-StrictMode -Version Latest
+$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
+
+$repoRoot = Split-Path -Parent $PSScriptRoot
+$changelog = Join-Path $repoRoot "CHANGELOG.md"
+$policy = Join-Path $repoRoot "docs/ops/versioning-policy.md"
+$dist = Join-Path $repoRoot "docs/ops/distribution.md"
+$script = Join-Path $repoRoot "scripts/versioning-policy-check.ps1"
+$wrapper = Join-Path $repoRoot "tests/versioning_policy.rs"
+
+function Assert-File([string]$Path,[string]$Label) {
+  if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path -PathType Leaf)) { throw "Missing $Label at '$Path'." }
+}
+function Write-Check([string]$Label,[bool]$Ok) {
+  $mark = if ($Ok) { "PASS" } else { "FAIL" }; Write-Host "  [$mark] $Label"; return $Ok
+}
+function Assert-Contains([string]$Doc,[string]$Needle,[string]$Label,[string]$Context="document") {
+  $ok = $Doc.Contains($Needle); [void](Write-Check -Label $Label -Ok $ok)
+  if (-not $ok) { throw "$Context missing required anchor: '$Needle'" }
+}
+
+Write-Host "Versioning policy check (C11 L119)"
+if ($SelfCheck) { Write-Host "Mode: SelfCheck (CHANGELOG tagged section + policy doc)" }
+
+Assert-File $changelog "CHANGELOG.md"
+Assert-File $policy "versioning-policy.md"
+Assert-File $dist "distribution.md"
+Assert-File $script "versioning-policy-check.ps1"
+Assert-File $wrapper "versioning_policy.rs"
+
+$cl = Get-Content -LiteralPath $changelog -Raw
+$pol = Get-Content -LiteralPath $policy -Raw
+$d = Get-Content -LiteralPath $dist -Raw
+
+Assert-Contains $cl "## [Unreleased]" "Unreleased section" "CHANGELOG.md"
+Assert-Contains $cl "## [0.2.0]" "tagged 0.2.0 section" "CHANGELOG.md"
+Assert-Contains $cl "Keep a Changelog" "Keep a Changelog mention" "CHANGELOG.md"
+Assert-Contains $pol "C11 L119" "policy L119 marker" "versioning-policy.md"
+Assert-Contains $pol "SemVer" "SemVer" "versioning-policy.md"
+Assert-Contains $pol "Keep a Changelog" "Keep a Changelog" "versioning-policy.md"
+Assert-Contains $pol "rust-version" "rust-version" "versioning-policy.md"
+Assert-Contains $pol "scripts/versioning-policy-check.ps1" "SelfCheck script ref" "versioning-policy.md"
+Assert-Contains $d "CHANGELOG.md" "distribution links CHANGELOG" "distribution.md"
+Assert-Contains $d "versioning-policy.md" "distribution links versioning policy" "distribution.md"
+
+Write-Host "Versioning policy SelfCheck passed (C11 L119 tagged CHANGELOG + policy SSOT)."
diff --git a/tests/versioning_policy.rs b/tests/versioning_policy.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c2dd46a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/versioning_policy.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+//! Hermetic `SelfCheck` for C11 L119 versioning policy / tagged CHANGELOG.
+//! Local: `pwsh ./scripts/versioning-policy-check.ps1 -SelfCheck`
+
+use std::path::PathBuf;
+use std::process::Command;
+
+fn repo_root() -> PathBuf {
+    PathBuf::from(env!("CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR"))
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn versioning_policy_self_check_validates_anchors() {
+    let script = repo_root().join("scripts/versioning-policy-check.ps1");
+    assert!(script.is_file(), "expected versioning policy check at {}", script.display());
+    let output = Command::new("pwsh")
+        .args(["-NoProfile", "-File", script.to_str().expect("utf-8"), "-SelfCheck"])
+        .output()
+        .unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("spawn pwsh: {e}"));
+    let stdout = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stdout);
+    let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stderr);
+    assert!(
+        output.status.success(),
+        "versioning-policy-check.ps1 failed\nstdout:\n{stdout}\nstderr:\n{stderr}"
+    );
+    assert!(
+        stdout.contains("Versioning policy SelfCheck passed"),
+        "expected success line, got:\n{stdout}"
+    );
+}