diff --git a/internal/ai/findings_backup_verification.go b/internal/ai/findings_backup_verification.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5e8d1f4dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/ai/findings_backup_verification.go
@@ -0,0 +1,193 @@
+// findings_backup_verification.go emits the "this protected resource hasn't
+// had its backup verified recently" signal. The detector reads a
+// recovery.ProtectionRollup, decides whether the subject is stale relative
+// to its verification window, and builds a backup-category Finding suitable
+// for the existing patrol-finding intake path (FindingsStore.Add or
+// PatrolService.recordFinding).
+//
+// Severity is Watch by default and escalates to Warning once the last
+// successful backup is itself older than one stale window — that's the
+// MVP's "multiple consecutive stale windows" heuristic without depending on
+// a separate historical counter.
+package ai
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/rcourtman/pulse-go-rewrite/internal/recovery"
+)
+
+// BackupVerificationStaleFindingKey is the stable, deduped key for the
+// backup_verification_stale signal. The finding store keys the dedup set
+// on (resourceID, category, key), so this constant must not drift.
+const BackupVerificationStaleFindingKey = "backup_verification_stale"
+
+// backupVerificationStaleWarningMultiplier marks how many staleness windows
+// the last successful backup must be older than before the finding escalates
+// to Warning severity.
+const backupVerificationStaleWarningMultiplier = 2
+
+// BuildBackupVerificationStaleFinding inspects a rollup and returns a Finding
+// representing the stale-verification signal, or nil if the rollup is not
+// stale. The caller is expected to feed the result into the standard patrol
+// finding intake (FindingsStore.Add). Returns nil for nil rollups.
+func BuildBackupVerificationStaleFinding(rollup *recovery.ProtectionRollup, now time.Time) *Finding {
+	if rollup == nil || rollup.VerifyIntent != recovery.VerifyIntentStale {
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	resourceID := strings.TrimSpace(rollup.SubjectResourceID)
+	if resourceID == "" {
+		// Fall back to the rollup key for external refs; the dedup key must
+		// be stable across patrol runs so the same subject keeps the same ID.
+		resourceID = strings.TrimSpace(rollup.RollupID)
+	}
+	if resourceID == "" {
+		// Without a stable identifier we cannot dedup; refuse to emit rather
+		// than risk surfacing duplicate findings.
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	resourceName := backupVerificationDisplayLabel(rollup, resourceID)
+	resourceType := backupVerificationResourceType(rollup)
+
+	severity := FindingSeverityWatch
+	consecutiveWindows := backupVerificationConsecutiveStaleWindows(rollup, now)
+	if consecutiveWindows >= backupVerificationStaleWarningMultiplier {
+		severity = FindingSeverityWarning
+	}
+
+	id := generateFindingID(resourceID, string(FindingCategoryBackup), BackupVerificationStaleFindingKey)
+
+	finding := &Finding{
+		ID:           id,
+		Key:          BackupVerificationStaleFindingKey,
+		Severity:     severity,
+		Category:     FindingCategoryBackup,
+		ResourceID:   resourceID,
+		ResourceName: resourceName,
+		ResourceType: resourceType,
+		Title:        fmt.Sprintf("Backup not verified recently on %s", resourceName),
+		Description: fmt.Sprintf(
+			"A successful backup exists for %s but no verification has landed in the last %s. Restore confidence drops the longer this goes unchecked.",
+			resourceName, backupVerificationWindowDescription(),
+		),
+		Impact:         "If the most recent backup is corrupt or otherwise unrestorable, you will not learn until a real restore is attempted.",
+		Recommendation: "Run a verification job against the latest backup, or schedule a recurring verify so the staleness window does not lapse again.",
+		Evidence:       backupVerificationEvidence(rollup, now),
+		Source:         "patrol-rule",
+	}
+
+	return finding
+}
+
+func backupVerificationDisplayLabel(rollup *recovery.ProtectionRollup, fallback string) string {
+	if rollup.Display != nil {
+		if label := strings.TrimSpace(rollup.Display.SubjectLabel); label != "" {
+			return label
+		}
+	}
+	if rollup.SubjectRef != nil {
+		if name := strings.TrimSpace(rollup.SubjectRef.Name); name != "" {
+			return name
+		}
+	}
+	return fallback
+}
+
+func backupVerificationResourceType(rollup *recovery.ProtectionRollup) string {
+	if rollup.Display != nil {
+		if t := strings.TrimSpace(rollup.Display.SubjectType); t != "" {
+			return t
+		}
+	}
+	if rollup.SubjectRef != nil {
+		if t := strings.TrimSpace(rollup.SubjectRef.Type); t != "" {
+			return t
+		}
+	}
+	return "backup-subject"
+}
+
+// backupVerificationConsecutiveStaleWindows estimates how many staleness
+// windows the last successful backup has aged through. A return value >= 2
+// signals the rollup has been stale across multiple windows and the
+// emitter should escalate to Warning.
+func backupVerificationConsecutiveStaleWindows(rollup *recovery.ProtectionRollup, now time.Time) int {
+	windowMs := recovery.BackupVerifyStaleWindow.Milliseconds()
+	if windowMs <= 0 {
+		return 0
+	}
+
+	// Prefer the last successful backup timestamp as the anchor: the rollup
+	// is stale relative to that point. If there is no success on file, fall
+	// back to the last verification (which, being outside the window, also
+	// counts as historical evidence).
+	var anchorMs int64
+	if rollup.LastSuccessAt != nil {
+		anchorMs = rollup.LastSuccessAt.UTC().UnixMilli()
+	} else if rollup.LastVerifiedAt != nil {
+		anchorMs = rollup.LastVerifiedAt.UTC().UnixMilli()
+	}
+	if anchorMs <= 0 {
+		return 0
+	}
+
+	ageMs := now.UTC().UnixMilli() - anchorMs
+	if ageMs <= 0 {
+		return 0
+	}
+	return int(ageMs / windowMs)
+}
+
+func backupVerificationWindowDescription() string {
+	days := int(recovery.BackupVerifyStaleWindow / (24 * time.Hour))
+	if days <= 0 {
+		return recovery.BackupVerifyStaleWindow.String()
+	}
+	if days == 1 {
+		return "1 day"
+	}
+	return fmt.Sprintf("%d days", days)
+}
+
+func backupVerificationEvidence(rollup *recovery.ProtectionRollup, now time.Time) string {
+	parts := make([]string, 0, 3)
+	if rollup.LastSuccessAt != nil {
+		parts = append(parts, fmt.Sprintf("last successful backup %s ago", durationCoarse(now.Sub(*rollup.LastSuccessAt))))
+	}
+	if rollup.LastVerifiedAt != nil {
+		parts = append(parts, fmt.Sprintf("last verified %s ago", durationCoarse(now.Sub(*rollup.LastVerifiedAt))))
+	} else {
+		parts = append(parts, "no recorded verification on this rollup")
+	}
+	parts = append(parts, fmt.Sprintf("staleness window %s", backupVerificationWindowDescription()))
+	return strings.Join(parts, "; ")
+}
+
+func durationCoarse(d time.Duration) string {
+	if d < 0 {
+		d = -d
+	}
+	days := int(d / (24 * time.Hour))
+	if days >= 1 {
+		if days == 1 {
+			return "1 day"
+		}
+		return fmt.Sprintf("%d days", days)
+	}
+	hours := int(d / time.Hour)
+	if hours >= 1 {
+		if hours == 1 {
+			return "1 hour"
+		}
+		return fmt.Sprintf("%d hours", hours)
+	}
+	mins := int(d / time.Minute)
+	if mins <= 1 {
+		return "1 minute"
+	}
+	return fmt.Sprintf("%d minutes", mins)
+}
diff --git a/internal/ai/findings_backup_verification_test.go b/internal/ai/findings_backup_verification_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f16e06e79
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/ai/findings_backup_verification_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,209 @@
+package ai
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/rcourtman/pulse-go-rewrite/internal/recovery"
+)
+
+func staleRollup(t *testing.T, now time.Time) *recovery.ProtectionRollup {
+	t.Helper()
+	// Recent successful backup (within one window), no verification at all.
+	successAt := now.Add(-2 * 24 * time.Hour)
+	return &recovery.ProtectionRollup{
+		RollupID:          "res:vm-100",
+		SubjectResourceID: "vm-100",
+		Display: &recovery.RecoveryPointDisplay{
+			SubjectLabel: "web-prod",
+			SubjectType:  "proxmox-vm",
+		},
+		LastSuccessAt: &successAt,
+		LastAttemptAt: &successAt,
+		LastOutcome:   recovery.OutcomeSuccess,
+		VerifyIntent:  recovery.VerifyIntentStale,
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBuildBackupVerificationStaleFinding_EmitsFindingForStaleRollup(t *testing.T) {
+	now := time.Date(2026, 5, 12, 12, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	rollup := staleRollup(t, now)
+
+	f := BuildBackupVerificationStaleFinding(rollup, now)
+	if f == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected a finding for a stale rollup, got nil")
+	}
+	if f.Category != FindingCategoryBackup {
+		t.Fatalf("Category = %q, want %q", f.Category, FindingCategoryBackup)
+	}
+	if f.Key != BackupVerificationStaleFindingKey {
+		t.Fatalf("Key = %q, want %q", f.Key, BackupVerificationStaleFindingKey)
+	}
+	// Default severity is Watch when only a single staleness window has elapsed.
+	if f.Severity != FindingSeverityWatch {
+		t.Fatalf("Severity = %q, want %q", f.Severity, FindingSeverityWatch)
+	}
+	if f.ResourceID != "vm-100" {
+		t.Fatalf("ResourceID = %q, want %q", f.ResourceID, "vm-100")
+	}
+	if f.ResourceName != "web-prod" {
+		t.Fatalf("ResourceName = %q, want preferred display label", f.ResourceName)
+	}
+
+	// ID must be deterministic across two emissions for the same rollup.
+	second := BuildBackupVerificationStaleFinding(rollup, now)
+	if second == nil || second.ID != f.ID {
+		t.Fatalf("expected deterministic finding ID across emissions, got %q vs %q", f.ID, secondID(second))
+	}
+
+	// Different resource → different finding ID.
+	other := staleRollup(t, now)
+	other.SubjectResourceID = "vm-999"
+	otherFinding := BuildBackupVerificationStaleFinding(other, now)
+	if otherFinding == nil || otherFinding.ID == f.ID {
+		t.Fatalf("expected distinct IDs for distinct resources, got %q vs %q", f.ID, secondID(otherFinding))
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBuildBackupVerificationStaleFinding_NilForNonStaleRollup(t *testing.T) {
+	now := time.Date(2026, 5, 12, 12, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	verifiedAt := now.Add(-24 * time.Hour)
+	rollup := &recovery.ProtectionRollup{
+		RollupID:          "res:vm-100",
+		SubjectResourceID: "vm-100",
+		LastSuccessAt:     &verifiedAt,
+		LastVerifiedAt:    &verifiedAt,
+		LastOutcome:       recovery.OutcomeSuccess,
+		VerifyIntent:      recovery.VerifyIntentVerified,
+	}
+
+	if f := BuildBackupVerificationStaleFinding(rollup, now); f != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("expected nil for verified rollup, got %#v", f)
+	}
+
+	rollup.VerifyIntent = recovery.VerifyIntentUnknown
+	if f := BuildBackupVerificationStaleFinding(rollup, now); f != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("expected nil for unknown rollup, got %#v", f)
+	}
+
+	if f := BuildBackupVerificationStaleFinding(nil, now); f != nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected nil for nil rollup")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBuildBackupVerificationStaleFinding_EscalatesAfterMultipleWindows(t *testing.T) {
+	now := time.Date(2026, 5, 12, 12, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	// Last successful backup is 21 days old → 3 staleness windows of 7d.
+	old := now.Add(-21 * 24 * time.Hour)
+	rollup := &recovery.ProtectionRollup{
+		RollupID:          "res:vm-200",
+		SubjectResourceID: "vm-200",
+		Display: &recovery.RecoveryPointDisplay{
+			SubjectLabel: "db-prod",
+			SubjectType:  "proxmox-vm",
+		},
+		LastSuccessAt: &old,
+		LastAttemptAt: &old,
+		LastOutcome:   recovery.OutcomeSuccess,
+		VerifyIntent:  recovery.VerifyIntentStale,
+	}
+
+	f := BuildBackupVerificationStaleFinding(rollup, now)
+	if f == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected finding")
+	}
+	if f.Severity != FindingSeverityWarning {
+		t.Fatalf("Severity = %q, want %q for multi-window stale", f.Severity, FindingSeverityWarning)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBuildBackupVerificationStaleFinding_PatrolIntakeDedupes(t *testing.T) {
+	now := time.Date(2026, 5, 12, 12, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	store := NewFindingsStore()
+	rollup := staleRollup(t, now)
+
+	first := BuildBackupVerificationStaleFinding(rollup, now)
+	if first == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected initial finding")
+	}
+	if !store.Add(first) {
+		t.Fatal("expected first Add to create a new finding")
+	}
+
+	// Same patrol tick, same rollup. Should dedup on (resourceID, category, key).
+	second := BuildBackupVerificationStaleFinding(rollup, now.Add(15*time.Minute))
+	if second == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected second emission for still-stale rollup")
+	}
+	if second.ID != first.ID {
+		t.Fatalf("expected dedup-stable ID, got %q (first) vs %q (second)", first.ID, second.ID)
+	}
+	if store.Add(second) {
+		t.Fatal("expected second Add to update existing (return false), not create new")
+	}
+
+	stored := store.Get(first.ID)
+	if stored == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected stored finding to exist")
+	}
+	if stored.TimesRaised != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("TimesRaised = %d, want 2", stored.TimesRaised)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBuildBackupVerificationStaleFinding_ResolutionPathFiresOnReverify(t *testing.T) {
+	now := time.Date(2026, 5, 12, 12, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	store := NewFindingsStore()
+
+	rollup := staleRollup(t, now)
+	finding := BuildBackupVerificationStaleFinding(rollup, now)
+	if finding == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected stale finding")
+	}
+	if !store.Add(finding) {
+		t.Fatal("expected first Add to create")
+	}
+
+	// Verification reappears on the rollup. The detector returns nil; the
+	// caller is expected to drive the resolution path. Mirror the lifecycle
+	// fixtures: Resolve(auto=true) and confirm the auto_resolved event lands.
+	verifiedAt := now.Add(5 * time.Minute)
+	rollup.VerifyIntent = recovery.VerifyIntentVerified
+	rollup.LastVerifiedAt = &verifiedAt
+
+	if reemitted := BuildBackupVerificationStaleFinding(rollup, now.Add(10*time.Minute)); reemitted != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("expected detector to skip emission once verified, got %#v", reemitted)
+	}
+
+	if !store.Resolve(finding.ID, true) {
+		t.Fatal("expected Resolve to succeed")
+	}
+
+	stored := store.Get(finding.ID)
+	if stored == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected finding to exist after resolve")
+	}
+	if stored.ResolvedAt == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected ResolvedAt to be set after Resolve")
+	}
+	if !stored.AutoResolved {
+		t.Fatal("expected AutoResolved=true after Resolve(true)")
+	}
+	foundAutoResolved := false
+	for _, e := range stored.Lifecycle {
+		if e.Type == "auto_resolved" {
+			foundAutoResolved = true
+			break
+		}
+	}
+	if !foundAutoResolved {
+		t.Fatalf("expected auto_resolved lifecycle event; got: %+v", stored.Lifecycle)
+	}
+}
+
+func secondID(f *Finding) string {
+	if f == nil {
+		return "<nil>"
+	}
+	return f.ID
+}