diff --git a/src/queue/processors.ts b/src/queue/processors.ts
index 628173fe6..a5051037e 100644
--- a/src/queue/processors.ts
+++ b/src/queue/processors.ts
@@ -4369,6 +4369,27 @@ export async function reReviewStoredPullRequest(
     ))
   )
     return false;
+  // #10222: back off AFTER the readiness gate, but BEFORE onReachedReadiness and the retrigger consumption
+  // just below. #10204 placed it after the actuation-lock claim, past both -- so a backed-off pass had already
+  // consumed the user's one-shot "Re-run LoopOver review" marker and charged regatePullRequest's repair budget
+  // for work it never did. It must not move EARLIER than readiness either: readiness legitimately defers a
+  // pass (rebase fired, CI still running), and the screenshot-table gate's bounded recapture chain (#10061)
+  // depends on those deferrals continuing to happen, so a pre-readiness guard silently truncates that retry
+  // budget. Between the two is the only correct place.
+  //
+  // `force` is an operator's manual re-gate and `previewPollAttempt` is a visual poll's own next tick -- both
+  // are explicit requests for THIS pass, and backoff must never suppress a pass a human or a bounded retry
+  // chain asked for.
+  if (
+    await stableVerdictBackoffEngaged(env, {
+      repoFullName,
+      prNumber,
+      headSha: pr.headSha,
+      deliveryId,
+      explicitlyRequested: options.force === true || previewPollAttempt !== undefined,
+    })
+  )
+    return false;
   // Fire BEFORE any further (throwable) work below -- this is the one instant readiness is confirmed, so a
   // caller learns it even if this call goes on to THROW instead of returning (see the JSDoc above).
   options.onReachedReadiness?.();
@@ -4448,32 +4469,6 @@ export async function reReviewStoredPullRequest(
     }).catch(() => undefined);
     throw new PrActuationLockContendedError(repoFullName, pr.number, "public-surface-publish");
   }
-  // #10184: a PR whose answer has not changed does not need asking again yet. metagraphed#8886 produced 56
-  // identical `hold | missing_linked_issue` verdicts on ONE head SHA in 47 minutes; four such PRs made 66% of
-  // all decision records in a two-hour window, and that window exhausted the installation's REST quota.
-  //
-  // Placed AFTER the lock claim so the check itself is nearly free (one cache read on a pass that already
-  // owns the PR) and BEFORE the refresh, so a backed-off pass spends nothing. Returns rather than throws:
-  // this is not contention, there is no work to retry, and the state is already published and correct.
-  //
-  // Fails OPEN in every uncertain case -- no state, unreadable state, no cache -- see verdict-stability.ts.
-  // The delay is capped, so a stuck PR is still revisited; it just stops being asked 1.2x/minute.
-  if (pr.headSha) {
-    const stability = await readVerdictStability(env.SELFHOST_TRANSIENT_CACHE, verdictStabilityKey(repoFullName, pr.number, pr.headSha));
-    if (shouldSkipStableVerdict(stability, Date.now())) {
-      await recordAuditEvent(env, {
-        eventType: "github_app.review_skipped_stable_verdict",
-        actor: "loopover",
-        targetKey: `${repoFullName}#${pr.number}`,
-        outcome: "completed",
-        detail: `Verdict unchanged across ${stability?.repeats ?? 0} consecutive evaluations of this commit; backing off instead of re-deriving the same answer.`,
-        metadata: { deliveryId, repoFullName, repeats: stability?.repeats ?? 0 },
-      }).catch(() => undefined);
-      await releasePrActuationLock(env, repoFullName, pr.number, actuationLock.ownerToken).catch(() => undefined);
-      // false = "did not re-review", the same signal this function's other early bail uses.
-      return false;
-    }
-  }
   // #2537 follow-up (gate-flagged): the durable review cache's only invalidation path is markPullRequestReviewsInvalidated
   // on a webhook (processors.ts). A "quiet" PR (no new pushes, slop evidence + manifest gate both off, no
   // pre-merge check paths) never hits any of the three reasons below, so a DROPPED invalidation write could sit
@@ -5142,6 +5137,51 @@ async function consumePendingPrPanelRetrigger(
  * varies by call (#selfhost-ci-deferral-staleness). A missing cache / cache hiccup degrades to `false` (never
  * force-finalize → keeps the safe old defer rather than acting early).
  */
+/**
+ * #10222: should this publish-and-maintain pass back off, because this PR's verdict has not changed (#10184)?
+ *
+ * Shared by BOTH sites that run the unit -- `reReviewStoredPullRequest` (sweep / CI completion) and
+ * `handlePullRequestWebhookEvent` (the `pull_request` webhook). #10204 guarded only the first, which left the
+ * DOMINANT source unthrottled: over 24h on the Orb, 293 of 344 repeat evaluations carried
+ * `upstream_state_change` -- `deriveReevaluationReason`'s mapping for a RAW GitHub delivery, i.e. the webhook
+ * path. A label write the engine itself caused arrives there, not on the sweep.
+ *
+ * Call this BEFORE the readiness gate at either site. Readiness fires `onReachedReadiness` (which charges
+ * regatePullRequest's repair budget) and consumes the one-shot panel-retrigger marker, and a pass that backs
+ * off after those has silently eaten a user's "Re-run LoopOver review" click with nothing left to re-trigger
+ * it. Before the lock claim, too: there is no lock to take or release on a pass that is not going to run.
+ *
+ * `explicitlyRequested` is the escape hatch and the reason this takes a flag at all -- backoff exists to stop
+ * the machine asking itself the same question, and must NEVER suppress a pass a human asked for.
+ *
+ * Fails OPEN everywhere: no head SHA, no state, unreadable state, no cache, or a throwing read all return
+ * false and evaluate normally (see verdict-stability.ts). The delay is capped, so even a stuck PR is still
+ * revisited -- it just stops being asked 1.2x/minute.
+ */
+async function stableVerdictBackoffEngaged(
+  env: Env,
+  args: { repoFullName: string; prNumber: number; headSha: string | null | undefined; deliveryId: string; explicitlyRequested: boolean },
+): Promise<boolean> {
+  const { repoFullName, prNumber, headSha, deliveryId, explicitlyRequested } = args;
+  // The `!headSha` half is enforced by TSC, not by a test: verdictStabilityKey takes a `string`, so removing
+  // it does not compile. Mutation testing confirms no RUNTIME test can distinguish its absence -- with no head
+  // SHA the lookup would miss and shouldSkipStableVerdict would return false anyway -- so it is an early-out
+  // that saves a pointless cache round-trip, not a safety guard. Recorded here so nobody later mistakes it for
+  // one (same reasoning as verdict-stability.ts's removed exponent clamp).
+  if (explicitlyRequested || !headSha) return false;
+  const stability = await readVerdictStability(env.SELFHOST_TRANSIENT_CACHE, verdictStabilityKey(repoFullName, prNumber, headSha)).catch(() => null);
+  if (!shouldSkipStableVerdict(stability, Date.now())) return false;
+  await recordAuditEvent(env, {
+    eventType: "github_app.review_skipped_stable_verdict",
+    actor: "loopover",
+    targetKey: `${repoFullName}#${prNumber}`,
+    outcome: "completed",
+    detail: `Verdict unchanged across ${stability?.repeats ?? 0} consecutive evaluations of this commit; backing off instead of re-deriving the same answer.`,
+    metadata: { deliveryId, repoFullName, repeats: stability?.repeats ?? 0 },
+  }).catch(() => undefined);
+  return true;
+}
+
 async function ciPendingDeferStuck(
   env: Env,
   repoFullName: string,
diff --git a/test/unit/verdict-stability-wire.test.ts b/test/unit/verdict-stability-wire.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f89630270
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/unit/verdict-stability-wire.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,154 @@
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { listAuditEventsByType, upsertInstallation, upsertPullRequestFromGitHub, upsertRepositoryFromGitHub, upsertRepositorySettings } from "../../src/db/repositories";
+import { reReviewStoredPullRequest } from "../../src/queue/processors";
+import { verdictStabilityKey, writeVerdictStability } from "../../src/review/verdict-stability";
+import { normalizeRegistryPayload } from "../../src/registry/normalize";
+import { persistRegistrySnapshot } from "../../src/registry/sync";
+import { asCloudEnv, createTestEnv } from "../helpers/d1";
+import { generatePrivateKeyPem } from "../helpers/github-app-key";
+
+// #10222: the wiring #10204 shipped without a test. The backoff logic itself is covered by
+// verdict-stability.test.ts; what was never covered is WHERE the guard sits, and #10204 put it after the
+// readiness gate -- which fires onReachedReadiness and consumes the one-shot panel-retrigger marker. These
+// tests pin the three properties that placement got wrong.
+
+const REPO = "JSONbored/gittensory";
+const HEAD = "sha-settled";
+
+async function seed(env: ReturnType<typeof createTestEnv>) {
+  await persistRegistrySnapshot(
+    asCloudEnv(env),
+    normalizeRegistryPayload({ [REPO]: { emission_share: 0.01, issue_discovery_share: 0 } }, { kind: "raw-github", url: "https://example.test" }, "2026-05-23T00:00:00.000Z"),
+  );
+  await upsertInstallation(env, {
+    action: "created",
+    installation: { id: 123, account: { login: "JSONbored", id: 1, type: "User" }, target_type: "User", repository_selection: "selected", permissions: {}, events: [] },
+  });
+  await upsertRepositoryFromGitHub(env, { name: "gittensory", full_name: REPO, private: false, owner: { login: "JSONbored" } }, 123);
+  await upsertRepositorySettings(env, { repoFullName: REPO, autoLabelEnabled: false, autonomy: { label: "auto" } });
+  await upsertPullRequestFromGitHub(env, REPO, {
+    number: 77, title: "settled", state: "open", user: { login: "contributor" }, author_association: "CONTRIBUTOR",
+    head: { sha: HEAD }, base: { ref: "main" }, labels: [], body: "Closes #1", created_at: "2026-07-31T09:00:00Z",
+  } as never);
+}
+
+/** A verdict that has repeated enough to be settled, evaluated a moment ago -- so the backoff is engaged. */
+async function seedSettledVerdict(env: ReturnType<typeof createTestEnv>) {
+  await writeVerdictStability(env.SELFHOST_TRANSIENT_CACHE, verdictStabilityKey(REPO, 77, HEAD), {
+    fingerprint: "hold|missing_linked_issue|",
+    repeats: 8,
+    lastEvaluatedMs: Date.now(),
+  });
+}
+
+function stubGitHub(onReadiness: () => void) {
+  vi.stubGlobal("fetch", async (input: RequestInfo | URL) => {
+    const url = input.toString();
+    if (url.includes("/access_tokens")) return Response.json({ token: "t" });
+    // A files read means the pass got PAST the guard into the publish unit. Readiness itself deliberately
+    // runs before the guard (#10061), so it is not the probe.
+    if (url.includes("/files")) onReadiness();
+    if (url.endsWith("/pulls/77")) return Response.json({ number: 77, title: "settled", state: "open", user: { login: "contributor" }, head: { sha: HEAD }, labels: [], body: "Closes #1", mergeable_state: "clean" });
+    if (url.includes("/check-runs")) return Response.json({ total_count: 1, check_runs: [{ name: "t", status: "completed", conclusion: "success", app: { slug: "github-actions" } }] });
+    if (url.includes("/status")) return Response.json({ state: "success", statuses: [] });
+    if (url.includes("/branches/")) return Response.json({ protected: false, protection: { required_status_checks: { contexts: [] } } });
+    return Response.json({});
+  });
+}
+
+async function skippedEvents(env: ReturnType<typeof createTestEnv>) {
+  return listAuditEventsByType(env, "github_app.review_skipped_stable_verdict", "2000-01-01T00:00:00Z");
+}
+
+/** The same key processors.ts's pendingPrPanelRetriggerKey builds -- written directly because the marker
+ *  writer is module-private to processors.ts. */
+const RETRIGGER_KEY = `pr-panel-retrigger-pending:${REPO.toLowerCase()}#77:${HEAD}`;
+
+describe("verdict-stability backoff wiring (#10222)", () => {
+  afterEach(() => {
+    vi.unstubAllGlobals();
+  });
+
+  it("backs off a settled verdict, and records why", async () => {
+    const env = createTestEnv({ GITHUB_APP_PRIVATE_KEY: await generatePrivateKeyPem() });
+    await seed(env);
+    await seedSettledVerdict(env);
+    let reviewRan = false;
+    stubGitHub(() => { reviewRan = true; });
+
+    expect(await reReviewStoredPullRequest(env, "d1", 123, REPO, 77)).toBe(false);
+    expect(reviewRan, "a backed-off pass must not reach the publish unit").toBe(false);
+    expect(await skippedEvents(env)).toHaveLength(1);
+  });
+
+  it("REGRESSION: an explicit force is NEVER backed off", async () => {
+    // #10204's guard ignored options.force, so an operator's manual re-gate could be silently suppressed.
+    const env = createTestEnv({ GITHUB_APP_PRIVATE_KEY: await generatePrivateKeyPem() });
+    await seed(env);
+    await seedSettledVerdict(env);
+    let reviewRan = false;
+    stubGitHub(() => { reviewRan = true; });
+
+    await reReviewStoredPullRequest(env, "d2", 123, REPO, 77, undefined, { force: true });
+    expect(reviewRan, "a forced pass must proceed into the publish unit").toBe(true);
+    expect(await skippedEvents(env)).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  it("REGRESSION: a visual-preview poll tick is NEVER backed off", async () => {
+    const env = createTestEnv({ GITHUB_APP_PRIVATE_KEY: await generatePrivateKeyPem() });
+    await seed(env);
+    await seedSettledVerdict(env);
+    let reviewRan = false;
+    stubGitHub(() => { reviewRan = true; });
+
+    await reReviewStoredPullRequest(env, "d3", 123, REPO, 77, 2);
+    expect(reviewRan).toBe(true);
+    expect(await skippedEvents(env)).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  it("REGRESSION: a backed-off pass does not eat the one-shot panel-retrigger marker (#7626)", async () => {
+    // The failure #10204's placement caused: readiness consumed the marker, THEN the guard returned, so the
+    // user's "Re-run LoopOver review" click vanished with nothing left to re-trigger it.
+    const env = createTestEnv({ GITHUB_APP_PRIVATE_KEY: await generatePrivateKeyPem() });
+    await seed(env);
+    await seedSettledVerdict(env);
+    await env.SELFHOST_TRANSIENT_CACHE?.set(RETRIGGER_KEY, "1", 3600);
+    stubGitHub(() => undefined);
+
+    expect(await reReviewStoredPullRequest(env, "d4", 123, REPO, 77)).toBe(false);
+
+    // The marker must still be there for a later pass to consume.
+    const stillPending = await env.SELFHOST_TRANSIENT_CACHE?.get(RETRIGGER_KEY);
+    expect(stillPending, "the retrigger marker must survive a backed-off pass").toBeTruthy();
+  });
+
+  it("never backs off a PR with no head SHA -- there is no key to have settled under", async () => {
+    const env = createTestEnv({ GITHUB_APP_PRIVATE_KEY: await generatePrivateKeyPem() });
+    await seed(env);
+    await seedSettledVerdict(env);
+    await upsertPullRequestFromGitHub(env, REPO, {
+      number: 78, title: "no head", state: "open", user: { login: "contributor" }, author_association: "CONTRIBUTOR",
+      base: { ref: "main" }, labels: [], body: "Closes #1", created_at: "2026-07-31T09:00:00Z",
+    } as never);
+    stubGitHub(() => undefined);
+
+    await reReviewStoredPullRequest(env, "d6", 123, REPO, 78);
+    expect(await skippedEvents(env)).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  it("does not back off a verdict that has not settled yet", async () => {
+    const env = createTestEnv({ GITHUB_APP_PRIVATE_KEY: await generatePrivateKeyPem() });
+    await seed(env);
+    await writeVerdictStability(env.SELFHOST_TRANSIENT_CACHE, verdictStabilityKey(REPO, 77, HEAD), {
+      fingerprint: "hold|missing_linked_issue|",
+      repeats: 1,
+      lastEvaluatedMs: Date.now(),
+    });
+    let reviewRan = false;
+    stubGitHub(() => { reviewRan = true; });
+
+    await reReviewStoredPullRequest(env, "d5", 123, REPO, 77);
+    expect(reviewRan).toBe(true);
+    expect(await skippedEvents(env)).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+});