diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 4cf8f80..2f1cd60 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,15 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Added
+
+- `/new-repo` offers an **early-licence opt-in** to promotion-planned private repos (#32,
+  ADR-0011): answer yes to "is a public release already planned?" and `LICENSE` is stamped at
+  Core from the Public-tier template — plus a minimal `NOTICE` when third-party licensed
+  material is expected while still private. Recorded in ADR-0001, no variance row needed: the
+  standard's *Promotion path* now states an early licence is the promotion path, not a
+  deviation. Default stays no; forever-private repos keep zero ceremony.
+
 ### Fixed
 
 - `repokit-check.ps1` no longer fails START-HERE rows that declare planned-but-not-yet-created
diff --git a/docs/adr/0011-early-licence-for-promotion-planned-repos.md b/docs/adr/0011-early-licence-for-promotion-planned-repos.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..de680da
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/adr/0011-early-licence-for-promotion-planned-repos.md
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+# ADR-0011: Early licence — LICENSE (+ NOTICE) at Core when promotion is planned
+
+- **Status:** accepted
+- **Date:** 2026-08-13
+
+## Context
+
+Field report #32: the promotion path (private now → public later, "nothing to scrub") is core
+RepoKit philosophy, but `LICENSE` ships only at the +Public tier. Two cases want it at commit
+one: the public release is already planned, so the licence choice is made and stamping it later
+adds a promotion step without adding safety; and third-party licensed material incorporated
+while still private, whose attribution belongs in `NOTICE` from the moment the material arrives,
+not from the go-public commit. Doing this before required a declared variance (START-HERE row +
+ADR) — following the standard's own promotion philosophy required declaring an exception to the
+standard.
+
+## Decision
+
+An opt-in interview question in `/new-repo`, offered to private repos only: "Is a public release
+already planned?" — yes stamps `LICENSE` from the existing Public-tier template, and a follow-up
+("third-party material expected?") additionally stamps a minimal `NOTICE` (name, copyright,
+placeholder for attributions; content specified inline in `references/file-set-resolution.md`
+rather than as a template, so the Public tier's default file set is unchanged). The choice is
+recorded in ADR-0001 automatically. **No variance row**: the standard's *Promotion path* now
+states that an early licence on a promotion-planned repo is the promotion path itself, not a
+deviation from the Core file set. The default stays **no**, so forever-private repos keep zero
+ceremony.
+
+## Consequences
+
+Promotion-planned repos carry their licence from commit #1 and third-party attribution from the
+moment it is owed, with one less step (and nothing to scrub) at flip time. The tier model gains
+one named, documented exception — a Public-tier template shipping at Core — alongside the
+existing living-docs `docs.yml` exception (ADR-0006), both stated in
+`references/file-set-resolution.md`. Repos that opt in and then never go public carry a harmless
+LICENSE; nothing else changes for them.
diff --git a/plugins/repokit/skills/new-repo/SKILL.md b/plugins/repokit/skills/new-repo/SKILL.md
index afb1e37..c930077 100644
--- a/plugins/repokit/skills/new-repo/SKILL.md
+++ b/plugins/repokit/skills/new-repo/SKILL.md
@@ -41,6 +41,12 @@ Gather these from the user's arguments / message, else ask — keep it to load-b
   operational state (deployed resources, scheduled jobs, long-running migrations)?"* If yes, the
   add-on stamps `docs/RUNBOOK.md`, `docs/STATE.json`, `scripts/check-docs.ps1`, and a `docs.yml`
   check workflow (see `references/living-docs-rules.md`).
+- **early licence** — *private repos only*, default **no**. Ask: *"Is a public release already
+  planned?"* If yes, stamp `LICENSE` now from the Public-tier template, and ask one follow-up:
+  *"Will third-party licensed material be incorporated while still private?"* — if so, also
+  stamp `NOTICE` (see `references/file-set-resolution.md`, *Early licence*). Record both answers
+  in ADR-0001. No START-HERE variance row — an early licence on a promotion-planned repo follows
+  the standard's *Promotion path*, it doesn't deviate from it.
 - For `powershell-module` only: **ModuleName** (PascalCase, e.g. `MyModule`).
 
 If the chosen type is a **stub** (anything other than `powershell-module`, `docker-compose`, or `power-platform-connectors`), tell the user so: the
diff --git a/plugins/repokit/skills/new-repo/references/file-set-resolution.md b/plugins/repokit/skills/new-repo/references/file-set-resolution.md
index 6f80dbb..028081d 100644
--- a/plugins/repokit/skills/new-repo/references/file-set-resolution.md
+++ b/plugins/repokit/skills/new-repo/references/file-set-resolution.md
@@ -35,6 +35,33 @@ Deliberate exception to "CI ships at the Public tier": the `living-docs` add-on
 `docs.yml` check workflow at **core**, because deterministic doc-consistency enforcement is the
 add-on's entire point — including, especially, in a private repo (see ADR-0006).
 
+## Early licence — promotion-planned private repos (opt-in)
+
+A `private` repo whose public release is already planned may opt in during the interview
+(ADR-0011):
+
+```
+file_set ∪= templates/public/LICENSE.tmpl    (on "public release already planned?" = yes)
+file_set ∪= NOTICE                           (additionally, when third-party licensed
+                                              material is expected while still private)
+```
+
+This is the one deliberate case where a Public-tier template ships at Core: once the licence
+choice is made, stamping it later adds a promotion step without adding safety, and third-party
+attributions belong in `NOTICE` from the moment the material arrives — not from the go-public
+commit. `NOTICE` has no template file; write it as:
+
+```
+{{name}}
+Copyright {{year}} {{author}}
+
+Third-party attributions are added below as licensed material is incorporated.
+```
+
+Record the opt-in in ADR-0001. No START-HERE variance row is needed: an early licence on a
+promotion-planned repo is the standard's promotion path, not a deviation from the tier's file
+set (see the standard, *Promotion path*).
+
 ## Precedence — higher tier wins, then type overlay wins
 
 If the same target path is produced by more than one template, pick a single winner (you never
diff --git a/plugins/repokit/skills/repo-standard/standard/the-standard.md b/plugins/repokit/skills/repo-standard/standard/the-standard.md
index 1c0ac26..c2dd98a 100644
--- a/plugins/repokit/skills/repo-standard/standard/the-standard.md
+++ b/plugins/repokit/skills/repo-standard/standard/the-standard.md
@@ -191,6 +191,13 @@ and rely on the identity check plus review.
 Private → public → published just **switches on the next layer** over the *same* structure. Moving
 a script from a private collection into a public collection repo is a **copy, not a rewrite**.
 
+**Early licence (opt-in).** When the public release is already planned at scaffold time,
+`/new-repo` offers to stamp `LICENSE` at Core — and `NOTICE` too, when third-party licensed
+material will be incorporated while still private, since its attribution belongs there from the
+moment the material arrives. The choice is recorded in ADR-0001; no START-HERE variance row is
+needed, because a licence stamped early on a promotion-planned repo *is* the promotion path
+("nothing to scrub at flip time"), not a deviation from the Core file set (ADR-0011).
+
 ## Variance declarations
 
 The standard tolerates variants by design — ceremony scales by tier, and a README-status