diff --git a/scripts/decoy_coverage_gate.py b/scripts/decoy_coverage_gate.py
index 65860343..7fcfd3e5 100644
--- a/scripts/decoy_coverage_gate.py
+++ b/scripts/decoy_coverage_gate.py
@@ -36,9 +36,6 @@ EXEMPT = {
     ("felhom.eu", "one-register"):
         "R-424 — a real defect parked under state `idea` is invisible. Declared in the gate's own "
         "docstring as residual hole 1; the decoy passes today.",
-    ("felhom.eu", "due-checks"):
-        "R-426 — no legitimate decoy constructed; the attempt in the sweep was a no-op and its "
-        "verdict was withdrawn rather than reported.",
     # felhom-controller
     ("felhom-controller", "docker-v"):
         "COVERED IN THE SWEEP, not yet in a suite: an unallowlisted `-v` host path in a new Go file "
diff --git a/scripts/test_gate_decoys.py b/scripts/test_gate_decoys.py
index be243bb5..c069de55 100644
--- a/scripts/test_gate_decoys.py
+++ b/scripts/test_gate_decoys.py
@@ -74,6 +74,8 @@ COVERS = {
                         "controller clone must be INCONCLUSIVE, never a pass"),
     "hostinstall":     ("R-426: R-185's regression with only its dry-run echo left, the age install commented "
                         "out, and a version const in a new hub sub-package; a comment naming the identifier passes"),
+    "due-checks":      ("R-426: a dated check whose id survives only in prose (orphan), the due-TODAY boundary "
+                        "(and due-tomorrow, which must pass), and the block's marker named in prose (exit 2)"),
     "hub-copy":        ("R-558: an English retrieval promise in the NEW bundle (the sentences moved "
                         "out of templates.go, so the surface list had to move with them), the same "
                         "in Hungarian, and an INNOCENT control using the identical verbs without the "
@@ -437,6 +439,61 @@ decoy("hostinstall/comment-names-identifier", "hostinstall_gates.py",
                  u'package zzr426decoy\n\n// hostInstallVersion was deleted on purpose (R-94).\n'),
       expect="accept")
 
+# ── due-checks (R-426, 2026-10-06) ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+#
+# The 2026-09-01 sweep's attempt was a no-op and was withdrawn. These are the shapes a session really
+# produces in the DUE-CHECKS block of OPEN-ITEMS.md:
+#   * the label without the row: a dated check whose R-number appears in the register only in PROSE
+#     ("merged into …") — its row is gone, so the check is orphaned and must convict;
+#   * the boundary: a check due TODAY is due (the docstring's `<=` rule), and one due TOMORROW is not —
+#     both directions, with "today" pinned through the gate's own FELHOM_GATE_TODAY seam;
+#   * the block's marker named in prose elsewhere in the register: two markers are two sources of
+#     truth, and the gate must refuse to guess (exit 2) rather than read one of them.
+# "Today" is pinned to 2026-01-01 — BEFORE every real dated check — so the real rows stay pending and only
+# the planted row decides the verdict. The id of an EXISTING row is read from the register at run time, so the boundary decoys cannot turn
+# into orphan decoys when a row closes.
+_DC_END = u"<!-- DUE-CHECKS-END -->"
+
+
+def _dc_live_id():
+    for line in io.open(_OPEN_REG, encoding="utf-8"):
+        m = re.match(r"^\| \*\*(R-\d+[a-z]?)\*\* \|", line)
+        if m:
+            return m.group(1)
+
+
+def _dc_plant(row, today=None, prose=u""):
+    inner = replace_in(_OPEN_REG, _DC_END, row + u"\n" + _DC_END)
+
+    def _plant():
+        undo = inner()
+        if prose:
+            io.open(_OPEN_REG, "a", encoding="utf-8").write(prose)
+        old = os.environ.get("FELHOM_GATE_TODAY")
+        if today:
+            os.environ["FELHOM_GATE_TODAY"] = today
+
+        def _clean():
+            undo()
+            if old is None:
+                os.environ.pop("FELHOM_GATE_TODAY", None)
+            else:
+                os.environ["FELHOM_GATE_TODAY"] = old
+        return _clean
+    return _plant
+
+
+decoy("due-checks/orphan-named-in-prose", "due_checks_gate.py",
+      _dc_plant(u"| R-99426 | 2099-01-01 | a far-future check whose row was merged away |",
+                prose=u"\nNote: R-99426 was merged into another row on 2026-10-06.\n"))
+decoy("due-checks/due-today", "due_checks_gate.py",
+      _dc_plant(u"| %s | 2026-01-01 | the boundary decoy |" % _dc_live_id(), today="2026-01-01"))
+decoy("due-checks/due-tomorrow", "due_checks_gate.py",
+      _dc_plant(u"| %s | 2026-01-02 | the boundary genuine article |" % _dc_live_id(), today="2026-01-01"),
+      expect="accept")
+decoy("due-checks/marker-named-in-prose", "due_checks_gate.py",
+      _dc_plant(u"", prose=u"\nThe dated checks sit between the DUE-CHECKS-BEGIN and DUE-CHECKS-END markers.\n"))
+
 # ── script-tests (R-885) ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 #
 # Its decoys are whole fake repos, so they live in their own file and are RUN from here (guide-quote's shape).