diff --git a/.github/workflows/initiative-planner.yml b/.github/workflows/initiative-planner.yml
index 1ce56d140..14a91fde3 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/initiative-planner.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/initiative-planner.yml
@@ -36,6 +36,11 @@ on:
         required: false
         default: false
         type: boolean
+      plan_artifact_run_id:
+        description: 'Apply a REVIEWED plan from a prior dry-run: the run ID whose initiative-plan-dry-run artifact (plan.json) to download and apply WITHOUT re-planning. Empty => the default plan-then-apply flow (Bob plans).'
+        required: false
+        default: ''
+        type: string
       model:
         description: 'Anthropic model id for the planner'
         required: false
@@ -95,6 +100,7 @@ jobs:
     timeout-minutes: 30
     permissions:
       contents: read       # checkout, read AGENTS.md/scripts/docs
+      actions: read        # gh run download — fetch a prior run's reviewed plan.json artifact
       issues: write        # create epic + story sub-issues, link DAG, set blocked_by
       discussions: write   # post the plan summary back to the idea
       id-token: write       # claude-code-action OIDC
@@ -105,6 +111,9 @@ jobs:
       DISCUSSION_NUMBER: ${{ github.event.inputs.discussion }}
       DRY_RUN: ${{ inputs.dry_run == true && '1' || '0' }}
       FORCE_REPLAN: ${{ inputs.force_replan == true && '1' || '0' }}
+      # When set, the apply run loads this prior run's reviewed plan.json instead
+      # of re-planning (the plan/apply split, #604). Empty => Bob plans as before.
+      PLAN_ARTIFACT_RUN_ID: ${{ github.event.inputs.plan_artifact_run_id }}
       TOOLING_DIR: ${{ github.workspace }}/scripts/initiative-planner
     steps:
       - name: Checkout agent repo
@@ -121,6 +130,30 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install Python jsonschema
         run: pip install --quiet 'jsonschema>=4'
 
+      # ── reviewed-plan handoff (#604) ────────────────────────────────────────
+      # When a maintainer supplies a prior dry-run's run ID, load THAT run's
+      # authoritative plan.json (the one they reviewed) into $PLAN_PATH. The
+      # dry-run uploads it as the `initiative-plan-dry-run` artifact below. This
+      # is what lets the apply run skip the LLM re-plan (the Bob step is gated
+      # off when PLAN_ARTIFACT_RUN_ID is set).
+      - name: Download reviewed plan artifact
+        if: ${{ env.PLAN_ARTIFACT_RUN_ID != '' }}
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          dest="${{ runner.temp }}/reviewed-plan"
+          mkdir -p "$dest"
+          gh run download "$PLAN_ARTIFACT_RUN_ID" \
+            --repo "$REPO" \
+            --name initiative-plan-dry-run \
+            --dir "$dest"
+          if [ ! -s "$dest/plan.json" ]; then
+            echo "::error::run $PLAN_ARTIFACT_RUN_ID has no plan.json in its initiative-plan-dry-run artifact" >&2
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          cp "$dest/plan.json" "$PLAN_PATH"
+          echo "loaded reviewed plan from run $PLAN_ARTIFACT_RUN_ID -> $PLAN_PATH"
+
       - name: Gather planning context
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
@@ -128,6 +161,9 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Plan the initiative (BMAD Scrum Master)
         id: bob
+        # Skipped on the reviewed-plan handoff (#604): when a prior plan.json is
+        # supplied, we apply it verbatim and never re-plan.
+        if: ${{ env.PLAN_ARTIFACT_RUN_ID == '' }}
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
         uses: anthropics/claude-code-action@d5726de019ec4498aa667642bc3a80fca83aa102 # v1.0.148
@@ -284,6 +320,25 @@ jobs:
             Finish with a 3–5 line summary: the epic, the story count, the
             dependency shape, and any open questions.
 
+      # ── reviewed-plan handoff (#604) ────────────────────────────────────────
+      # The mirror of Bob's in-prompt materialization for the supplied-plan path:
+      # validate the reviewed plan.json, then run apply-plan.sh on it. No LLM
+      # ran. FORCE_REPLAN and the blocking-open-questions / idempotency gates are
+      # honored by apply-plan.sh. Require explicit dry_run=false to prevent
+      # unexpected mutations — dry-run mode would create no epic or stories despite
+      # the intent to apply.
+      - name: Guard — reviewed-plan apply requires dry_run=false
+        if: ${{ env.PLAN_ARTIFACT_RUN_ID != '' && env.DRY_RUN == '1' }}
+        run: |
+          echo "::error::plan_artifact_run_id is set, but dry_run=true. Re-dispatch with dry_run=false to materialize the reviewed plan."
+          exit 1
+
+      - name: Apply the reviewed plan (no re-plan)
+        if: ${{ env.PLAN_ARTIFACT_RUN_ID != '' }}
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        run: bash scripts/initiative-planner/apply-reviewed-plan.sh
+
       - name: Upload dry-run plan log
         if: ${{ env.DRY_RUN == '1' }}
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a # v7.0.1
diff --git a/docs/initiatives/idea-to-initiative-pipeline.md b/docs/initiatives/idea-to-initiative-pipeline.md
index 54f143e06..f7dd33497 100644
--- a/docs/initiatives/idea-to-initiative-pipeline.md
+++ b/docs/initiatives/idea-to-initiative-pipeline.md
@@ -15,6 +15,14 @@ idea-triage.yml             (weekly, automated)    ──>  "🧭 Idea Promotion
         ▼
 initiative-planner.yml      (on approval / dispatch, automated)
   BMAD Scrum Master "Bob"   sprint-planning + create-story
+        │                   DRY-RUN: emits an authoritative plan.json artifact
+        │                   (the `initiative-plan-dry-run` upload) — creates NOTHING
+        │
+   ★ HUMAN (optional plan-review gate) — download plan.json and review it
+        │
+        ▼
+initiative-planner.yml      (apply: re-dispatch with `plan_artifact_run_id`)
+  loads the reviewed plan.json — NO re-plan — validates + applies it
         │                   creates an EPIC + sub-issue DAG (blocked_by),
         │                   labelled `initiative` — INERT (no `initiative:auto`)
         │                   posts the plan back to the Discussion
@@ -92,6 +100,16 @@ unit-tested.
   `initiative` only. **It never applies `initiative:auto`** — the epic is created
   inert and a human activates it after review. `hands_off` stories also get
   `dev-lead:hands-off` + `initiative:hold` so the driver never auto-releases them.
+- **Plan → review → apply split (#604).** A dry-run uploads the authoritative
+  `plan.json` (the `initiative-plan-dry-run` artifact) and creates nothing. A
+  maintainer can download and review it, then re-dispatch with
+  `plan_artifact_run_id` set to the dry-run's run ID: the workflow re-downloads
+  that artifact, **skips Bob entirely (no re-plan)**, and validates + applies
+  it via `apply-reviewed-plan.sh` — so *what a maintainer reviewed is what
+  materializes*. With `plan_artifact_run_id` empty, the default plan-then-apply
+  flow is unchanged. The handoff is artifact-download-by-run-ID; the artifact
+  is re-fetched from GitHub Actions and not taken from a local file. This plan-review gate is **distinct** from the `initiative:auto` gate: the
+  former binds the plan *contents*, the latter activates auto-*implementation*.
 - Tooling: `scripts/initiative-planner/` (persona: `prompts/bmad/scrum-master.md`).
 
 ## Labels the pipeline relies on
diff --git a/scripts/initiative-planner/README.md b/scripts/initiative-planner/README.md
index 04823aaf3..719175b28 100644
--- a/scripts/initiative-planner/README.md
+++ b/scripts/initiative-planner/README.md
@@ -19,9 +19,36 @@ create-story template, which `plan.schema.json` mirrors field-for-field.
 | `validate-plan.py` | Schema + semantic checks: unique ids, acyclic DAG, an entry point, no dangling edges. |
 | `lib/mutations.sh` | DRY_RUN-aware GitHub helpers (create issue, link sub-issue, add `blocked_by`, comment on Discussion, find/close issues for the idempotency guard). |
 | `apply-plan.sh` | Materialize a validated plan. Creates issues labelled `initiative` only — **never** `initiative:auto`. Idempotent: no-ops if the discussion is already planned, or supersedes the old epic when `FORCE_REPLAN=1`. |
+| `apply-reviewed-plan.sh` | The plan/apply-split handoff (#604): apply a maintainer-**reviewed** plan.json WITHOUT re-planning — re-validates the reviewed artifact, then runs `apply-plan.sh`. The BMAD Scrum Master never runs on this path. |
 
 Tests: `tests/test_initiative_planner.bats`, `tests/test_initiative_planner_redispatch.bats` (run via `lint.yml`).
 
+## Plan → review → apply split (#604)
+
+By default `initiative-planner.yml` plans **and** applies in a single run (Bob
+emits `plan.json`, then `apply-plan.sh` materializes it). But because the preview
+should bind the result — *what a maintainer reviewed is what materializes* — the
+workflow also supports a two-step split:
+
+1. **Plan (dry-run).** Dispatch with `dry_run: true` (the default). Bob plans and
+   the run uploads the authoritative `plan.json` as the `initiative-plan-dry-run`
+   artifact. **No issues are created.**
+2. **Review.** A maintainer downloads `plan.json` from that run and reviews it.
+   *This is the human review gate for the plan contents* — distinct from the later
+   `initiative:auto` gate that activates auto-implementation.
+3. **Apply (no re-plan).** Re-dispatch with `plan_artifact_run_id` set to the
+   dry-run's run ID. The workflow downloads that run's reviewed `plan.json`,
+   **skips the LLM planning step entirely**, then re-validates and applies it via
+   `apply-reviewed-plan.sh`. The reviewed artifact is what materializes.
+
+The handoff is **artifact download by run ID** (`gh run download`), not a
+committed plan file — it keeps reviewed plans out of git and ties each apply to a
+specific, auditable dry-run. Artifact retention is the default 90 days, so apply
+within that window. With `plan_artifact_run_id` empty, behavior is unchanged
+(plan-then-apply in one run). Even a human-reviewed plan still materializes
+**inert** (no `initiative:auto`); `apply-plan.sh` enforces that regardless of
+path.
+
 ## Local dry run
 
 ```bash
diff --git a/scripts/initiative-planner/apply-reviewed-plan.sh b/scripts/initiative-planner/apply-reviewed-plan.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..cbf755272
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/initiative-planner/apply-reviewed-plan.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# apply-reviewed-plan.sh — apply a maintainer-REVIEWED plan.json WITHOUT re-planning.
+#
+# The plan/apply split (#604): a dry-run uploads an authoritative plan.json
+# artifact; a maintainer reviews it; then the apply run is pointed at THAT
+# artifact instead of asking the LLM to plan again. This script is the
+# apply-side handoff — it never invokes the BMAD Scrum Master. What the
+# maintainer reviewed is what materializes.
+#
+# It does exactly two things, in order:
+#   1. Re-validate the supplied plan with validate-plan.py
+#      — we never apply an unvalidated artifact.
+#   2. Hand it to apply-plan.sh, which owns all materialization (incl. the
+#      blocking-open-questions gate, the idempotency/supersede guard, and the
+#      `initiative:auto` invariant). DRY_RUN is honored throughout.
+#
+# Env (PLAN_PATH consumed here; the rest are passed straight through to
+# apply-plan.sh — see its header): PLAN_PATH (required), REPO, DISCUSSION_NUMBER,
+# DISCUSSION_NODE_ID, FORCE_REPLAN, DRY_RUN / DRY_RUN_LOG.
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd -- "$(dirname -- "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+
+PLAN_PATH="${PLAN_PATH:?PLAN_PATH required (path to the reviewed plan.json)}"
+[ -f "$PLAN_PATH" ] && [ -s "$PLAN_PATH" ] || { echo "::error::reviewed plan '$PLAN_PATH' missing, empty, or not a regular file" >&2; exit 1; }
+
+# Guard: reviewed plans must have an explicit source_discussion. A reviewed
+# artifact is applied out-of-band, potentially in a different session context;
+# it must definitively reference which discussion it came from, not rely on the
+# current dispatch context. Also reject artifacts that target a different
+# discussion than the one the maintainer declared.
+plan_src="$(jq -r '.source_discussion // empty' "$PLAN_PATH")"
+if [ -z "$plan_src" ]; then
+  echo "::error::plan.json must have a source_discussion field for reviewed-plan applies — the artifact must be self-contained about its origin." >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+if [ -n "${DISCUSSION_NUMBER:-}" ]; then
+  if [ "$plan_src" != "$DISCUSSION_NUMBER" ]; then
+    echo "::error::plan.json source_discussion (${plan_src}) does not match this run's DISCUSSION_NUMBER (${DISCUSSION_NUMBER}) — supply the correct dry-run run ID for discussion #${DISCUSSION_NUMBER}." >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+fi
+
+echo "==> applying reviewed plan (no re-plan): $PLAN_PATH"
+
+# Re-validate before applying.
+python3 "$SCRIPT_DIR/validate-plan.py" "$PLAN_PATH"
+
+# Materialize. apply-plan.sh inherits PLAN_PATH and the rest from the environment.
+exec bash "$SCRIPT_DIR/apply-plan.sh"
diff --git a/tests/test_initiative_planner.bats b/tests/test_initiative_planner.bats
index 9711af605..43869605a 100644
--- a/tests/test_initiative_planner.bats
+++ b/tests/test_initiative_planner.bats
@@ -299,3 +299,85 @@ teardown() { rm -rf "$TMP"; }
   [ "$(grep -c '"op":"create_issue"' "$LOG")" -eq 4 ]
   [ "$(grep -c '"op":"close_issue"' "$LOG")" -eq 0 ]
 }
+
+# ── reviewed-plan apply path (#604) ───────────────────────────────────────────
+# apply-reviewed-plan.sh is the no-re-plan handoff: a maintainer-reviewed plan.json
+# is validated then handed straight to apply-plan.sh — no LLM planning step runs.
+
+@test "apply-reviewed-plan validates then applies the supplied plan (DRY_RUN)" {
+  DRY_RUN=1 DRY_RUN_LOG="$LOG" REPO="petry-projects/.github-private" \
+    DISCUSSION_NUMBER=413 DISCUSSION_NODE_ID="D_test" PLAN_PATH="$PLAN" \
+    run bash "$PLANNER_DIR/apply-reviewed-plan.sh"
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  [[ "$output" == *"plan OK"* ]]
+  [ "$(grep -c '"op":"create_issue"' "$LOG")" -eq 4 ]
+  [ "$(grep -c '"op":"add_sub_issue"' "$LOG")" -eq 3 ]
+  [ "$(grep -c '"op":"add_blocked_by"' "$LOG")" -eq 3 ]
+}
+
+@test "apply-reviewed-plan rejects an invalid supplied plan before applying anything" {
+  jq '.stories[1].blocked_by = [3] | .stories[2].blocked_by = [2]' "$PLAN" >"$TMP/cycle.json"
+  DRY_RUN=1 DRY_RUN_LOG="$LOG" REPO="petry-projects/.github-private" \
+    DISCUSSION_NUMBER=413 DISCUSSION_NODE_ID="D_test" PLAN_PATH="$TMP/cycle.json" \
+    run bash "$PLANNER_DIR/apply-reviewed-plan.sh"
+  [ "$status" -ne 0 ]
+  [[ "$output" == *"cycle"* ]]
+  [ ! -s "$LOG" ] || [ "$(grep -c '"op":"create_issue"' "$LOG")" -eq 0 ]
+}
+
+@test "apply-reviewed-plan errors on a missing supplied plan file" {
+  DRY_RUN=1 DRY_RUN_LOG="$LOG" REPO="petry-projects/.github-private" \
+    DISCUSSION_NUMBER=413 DISCUSSION_NODE_ID="D_test" PLAN_PATH="$TMP/does-not-exist.json" \
+    run bash "$PLANNER_DIR/apply-reviewed-plan.sh"
+  [ "$status" -ne 0 ]
+  [ ! -s "$LOG" ] || [ "$(grep -c '"op":"create_issue"' "$LOG")" -eq 0 ]
+}
+
+@test "apply-reviewed-plan errors when PLAN_PATH is a directory, not a regular file" {
+  DRY_RUN=1 DRY_RUN_LOG="$LOG" REPO="petry-projects/.github-private" \
+    DISCUSSION_NUMBER=413 DISCUSSION_NODE_ID="D_test" PLAN_PATH="$TMP" \
+    run bash "$PLANNER_DIR/apply-reviewed-plan.sh"
+  [ "$status" -ne 0 ]
+  [[ "$output" == *"not a regular file"* ]]
+  [ ! -s "$LOG" ] || [ "$(grep -c '"op":"create_issue"' "$LOG")" -eq 0 ]
+}
+
+@test "apply-reviewed-plan honors the blocking open-questions gate from apply-plan" {
+  jq '.open_questions = [{"question":"Confirm scope X before planning","blocking":true}]' "$PLAN" >"$TMP/blocking.json"
+  DRY_RUN=1 DRY_RUN_LOG="$LOG" REPO="petry-projects/.github-private" \
+    DISCUSSION_NUMBER=413 DISCUSSION_NODE_ID="D_test" PLAN_PATH="$TMP/blocking.json" \
+    run bash "$PLANNER_DIR/apply-reviewed-plan.sh"
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  [ "$(grep -c '"op":"create_issue"' "$LOG")" -eq 0 ]
+}
+
+@test "apply-reviewed-plan rejects a plan whose source_discussion mismatches DISCUSSION_NUMBER" {
+  # plan.json carries source_discussion:413; dispatcher says 999 — must abort before creating anything.
+  DRY_RUN=1 DRY_RUN_LOG="$LOG" REPO="petry-projects/.github-private" \
+    DISCUSSION_NUMBER=999 DISCUSSION_NODE_ID="D_test" PLAN_PATH="$PLAN" \
+    run bash "$PLANNER_DIR/apply-reviewed-plan.sh"
+  [ "$status" -ne 0 ]
+  [[ "$output" == *"source_discussion"* ]]
+  [[ "$output" == *"413"* ]]
+  [[ "$output" == *"999"* ]]
+  [ ! -s "$LOG" ] || [ "$(grep -c '"op":"create_issue"' "$LOG")" -eq 0 ]
+}
+
+@test "apply-reviewed-plan passes when source_discussion matches DISCUSSION_NUMBER" {
+  DRY_RUN=1 DRY_RUN_LOG="$LOG" REPO="petry-projects/.github-private" \
+    DISCUSSION_NUMBER=413 DISCUSSION_NODE_ID="D_test" PLAN_PATH="$PLAN" \
+    run bash "$PLANNER_DIR/apply-reviewed-plan.sh"
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  [ "$(grep -c '"op":"create_issue"' "$LOG")" -eq 4 ]
+}
+
+@test "apply-reviewed-plan rejects plans without source_discussion field" {
+  # Reviewed plans must have an explicit source_discussion — they are applied
+  # out-of-band and must be self-contained about their origin.
+  jq 'del(.source_discussion)' "$PLAN" >"$TMP/no_src.json"
+  DRY_RUN=1 DRY_RUN_LOG="$LOG" REPO="petry-projects/.github-private" \
+    DISCUSSION_NUMBER=999 DISCUSSION_NODE_ID="D_test" PLAN_PATH="$TMP/no_src.json" \
+    run bash "$PLANNER_DIR/apply-reviewed-plan.sh"
+  [ "$status" -ne 0 ]
+  [ ! -s "$LOG" ] || [ "$(grep -c '"op":"create_issue"' "$LOG")" -eq 0 ]
+}