diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 03e1fd3..7e57996 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -90,9 +90,11 @@ Latency target came from the SLO review; keep the existing client API.
 --no-session --no-extensions`, tools `read,bash,grep,find,ls`, edit/write excluded) with the whole
 plan file and the claimed goal. The judge finds the goal, re-derives from the cited artifacts rather
 than trusting claims, runs `verify` if the goal names one, and returns `VERDICT: accept | reject`
-plus what's missing.
+plus what's missing. It inspects the live working tree, not HEAD: uncommitted work counts, and
+committing before sign-off is for durable evidence, not for the judge's visibility.
 
-- accept: a sign-off line is appended to `## Log` and the agent ticks the goal `[x]` itself. The
+- accept: a sign-off line is appended to `## Log` and the goal is ticked `[x]` in the same write
+  (exact goal-line match only; on wording drift the result asks the agent to tick it). The
   tool-written log line is the audit trail; a hand-tick without one shows in the diff.
 - reject: the goal stays open and the agent gets the missing list.
 - judge ran but failed/errored/timed out, or returned no VERDICT line: accepted inconclusive,
diff --git a/src/index.ts b/src/index.ts
index d35f61f..a7425ef 100644
--- a/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/index.ts
@@ -15,8 +15,9 @@
  *
  * The judge subsumes what v1 did in code: goal matching (no findGoal), evidence validation (a
  * placeholder gets rejected in words), verify execution, and format reading. The extension's only
- * write is appending a sign-off line to ## Log — the audit trail. The agent ticks [x] itself; a
- * hand-tick without a matching tool-written log line is visible in the diff.
+ * writes are the sign-off: append a log line to ## Log (the audit trail) and tick the goal [x] when
+ * an exact goal line matches (on drift the agent ticks, and the result says so). A hand-tick
+ * without a matching tool-written log line is visible in the diff either way.
  *
  * Judge ran but failed/errored/timed out, or returned no VERDICT line => accepted_inconclusive: the
  * working agent is never blocked on judge infra; the log line says the judge ran but failed. There
@@ -233,8 +234,21 @@ export default function piGoalsExtension(pi: ExtensionAPI): void {
 				(task) => runJudge(task, judgeModel, ctx.cwd, signal),
 			);
 			if (outcome.logEntry) {
-				writePlan(ctx, appendLog(readPlan(ctx), `${stamp()} ${outcome.logEntry}`));
+				// Sign-off write: tick the goal [x] (exact-subject match; dogfood showed agent bookkeeping
+				// is the drift point) and append the audit log line, one write. On wording drift the tick
+				// falls to the agent and the result says so -- both paths are explicit, never silent.
+				let updated = readPlan(ctx);
+				let tickNote = "";
+				if (outcome.logEntry.startsWith("signed off")) {
+					const ticked = tickGoal(updated, params.goal);
+					updated = ticked ?? updated;
+					tickNote = ticked
+						? `\n\nGoal ticked [x] in ${PLAN_REL}.`
+						: `\n\nNo exact goal line matched your wording -- tick it [x] in ${PLAN_REL} yourself.`;
+				}
+				writePlan(ctx, appendLog(updated, `${stamp()} ${outcome.logEntry}`));
 				updateWidget(ctx);
+				return result(outcome.resultText + tickNote, outcome.isError);
 			}
 			return result(outcome.resultText, outcome.isError);
 		},
@@ -300,7 +314,7 @@ export async function decideSignOff(
 	if (judge.error) {
 		const partial = judge.output ? `\n\npartial judge output:\n${judge.output}` : "";
 		return {
-			resultText: `Judge ran but failed (${judge.error}). Accepted inconclusive — logged. Tick the goal [x] in ${PLAN_REL} yourself.${partial}`,
+			resultText: `Judge ran but failed (${judge.error}). Accepted inconclusive — logged.${partial}`,
 			isError: false,
 			logEntry: `signed off "${input.goal}" (judge inconclusive: ran but failed: ${oneLine(judge.error)})`,
 		};
@@ -312,7 +326,7 @@ export async function decideSignOff(
 
 	if (verdict === "accept") {
 		return {
-			resultText: `Sign-off ACCEPTED. Tick the goal [x] in ${PLAN_REL} (the log line is already appended).\n\n--- judge ---\n${reasoning}`,
+			resultText: `Sign-off ACCEPTED (log line appended).\n\n--- judge ---\n${reasoning}`,
 			isError: false,
 			logEntry: `signed off "${input.goal}" (judge accept)`,
 		};
@@ -327,13 +341,25 @@ export async function decideSignOff(
 	}
 	// No VERDICT line: same fail-forward as a judge error -- the judge ran but didn't answer.
 	return {
-		resultText: `Judge returned no VERDICT line. Accepted inconclusive — logged. Tick the goal [x] in ${PLAN_REL} yourself.\n\n--- judge ---\n${reasoning || "(no output)"}`,
+		resultText: `Judge returned no VERDICT line. Accepted inconclusive — logged.\n\n--- judge ---\n${reasoning || "(no output)"}`,
 		isError: false,
 		logEntry: `signed off "${input.goal}" (judge inconclusive: no VERDICT line)`,
 	};
 }
 
-/** Append one line under ## Log (creating the section at EOF if absent). The extension's only write. */
+/** Tick the goal line whose subject exactly matches `goal` (trimmed, case-insensitive) to [x].
+ *  Null when there is no unique exact match (wording drift / duplicates) -- the caller then asks the
+ *  agent to tick it itself. Reuses GOAL_LINE; deliberately NOT fuzzy, that's the judge's job. */
+export function tickGoal(plan: string, goal: string): string | null {
+	const lines = plan.split("\n");
+	const want = goal.trim().toLowerCase();
+	const hits = lines.flatMap((l, i) => (GOAL_LINE.exec(l)?.[2].trim().toLowerCase() === want ? [i] : []));
+	if (hits.length !== 1) return null;
+	lines[hits[0]] = lines[hits[0]].replace(/\[[ xX/-]\]/, "[x]");
+	return lines.join("\n");
+}
+
+/** Append one line under ## Log (creating the section at EOF if absent). */
 export function appendLog(text: string, entry: string): string {
 	const lines = text.split("\n");
 	const line = `- ${entry}`;
diff --git a/src/prompts.ts b/src/prompts.ts
index bf93a1c..6906ccc 100644
--- a/src/prompts.ts
+++ b/src/prompts.ts
@@ -96,9 +96,11 @@ export const completeGoalDescription =
 	"table plus how to read it, a metric plus what it shows -- not a bare claim). The read must show " +
 	"success POSITIVELY happened, not just that failures were avoided. Then call this with the goal's " +
 	"text (the line after 'goal:'; small wording drift is fine). A fresh read-only judge inspects the " +
-	"repo, runs the goal's verify command if it names one, and returns accept or reject with what's " +
-	"missing. On accept (or if the judge itself is unavailable), a sign-off line is appended to ## Log " +
-	"and YOU tick the goal [x]. On reject the goal stays open.";
+	"LIVE WORKING TREE (uncommitted changes included; committing first is for durability, not " +
+	"visibility), runs the goal's verify command if it names one, and returns accept or reject with " +
+	"what's missing. On accept (or if the judge itself failed), a sign-off line is appended to ## Log " +
+	"and the goal is ticked [x] for you; the result says if you must tick it yourself. On reject the " +
+	"goal stays open.";
 
 export const completeGoalParamDescription = "The goal's text: the line after 'goal:' in the plan file.";
 
diff --git a/test/tick-goal.test.ts b/test/tick-goal.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f5655c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/tick-goal.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { tickGoal } from "../src/index.js";
+
+const plan = `# Plan
+
+## Goals
+
+1. [/] goal: Implement the cache layer
+  - tasks:
+    1. [x] wire client
+2. [ ] goal: Ship the docs
+
+## Log
+`;
+
+describe("tickGoal (sign-off ticks the goal; agent only ticks on wording drift)", () => {
+	it("ticks the exact-matching goal line, case-insensitive, leaving subtasks alone", () => {
+		const out = tickGoal(plan, "implement the CACHE layer");
+		expect(out).toContain("1. [x] goal: Implement the cache layer");
+		expect(out).toContain("1. [x] wire client"); // subtask untouched (was already x)
+		expect(out).toContain("2. [ ] goal: Ship the docs"); // other goal untouched
+	});
+
+	it("returns null on wording drift (fuzzy matching is the judge's job, not TypeScript's)", () => {
+		expect(tickGoal(plan, "Implement caching")).toBeNull();
+	});
+
+	it("returns null when the subject matches more than one goal line", () => {
+		const dup = `${plan}3. [ ] goal: Ship the docs\n`;
+		expect(tickGoal(dup, "Ship the docs")).toBeNull();
+	});
+});