diff --git a/rules/patterns/go-database/contract.md b/rules/patterns/go-database/contract.md
index 54ab940..2caed9b 100644
--- a/rules/patterns/go-database/contract.md
+++ b/rules/patterns/go-database/contract.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Contract: Database Patterns (Go / MySQL / MariaDB)
 
-Version: 1.8
+Version: 1.9
 
 ## MySQL Transaction Cursor Safety (CRITICAL)
 
@@ -146,3 +146,81 @@ Rules:
 - Each migration must be reversible where possible (document rollback in a comment).
 - Never rename a column in one migration step — add new, backfill, drop old across separate deploys.
 - Auto-apply migrations on startup is acceptable for internal tools; document if used.
+
+## SQL Migration File Format
+
+Every `.sql` migration file must begin with a structured header block:
+
+```sql
+-- Tables affected: supplier, lot_log
+-- recovery.not-started: No action required.
+-- recovery.partial:     DELETE FROM parts_log WHERE created_by = 'migration';
+-- recovery.completed:   Same as partial.
+-- verify: No orphaned supplier_code | SELECT supplier_code FROM parts_log pl LEFT JOIN supplier s ON s.supplier_code = pl.supplier_code WHERE s.supplier_code IS NULL LIMIT 1
+-- verify: No empty supplier_code   | SELECT supplier_name FROM supplier WHERE supplier_code = '' LIMIT 1
+```
+
+**`-- Tables affected:`** — comma-separated list of tables the migration touches. Used by the backup engine to take a targeted pre-migration backup. Omit only if no table can be identified; the engine falls back to full DB backup.
+
+**`-- recovery.*:`** — human-readable rollback SQL for each migration state (`not-started`, `partial`, `completed`). Executed manually by an operator if automatic restore fails. Must be correct, copy-pasteable SQL.
+
+**`-- verify:`** — post-migration assertion query. Format: `-- verify: <description> | <SQL>`. The engine runs the query after all statements in the file succeed. If the query returns **any row**, the migration is considered failed and is rolled back. Write the query so it returns a row only when something is **wrong**:
+
+```sql
+-- verify: Orphaned FK refs | SELECT id FROM child c LEFT JOIN parent p ON p.id = c.parent_id WHERE p.id IS NULL LIMIT 1
+--                            ^ returns a row = bad  ^ returns nothing = good
+```
+
+- Verify queries must filter out NULL/empty values that would cause false positives: add `AND col IS NOT NULL AND col != ''`.
+- A migration is only recorded as applied after all verify checks pass.
+- Verify checks are not a substitute for testing; they are a last-resort safety net on production.
+
+## Pre-Production Migration Testing in Docker
+
+Before applying a set of new migrations to production, always validate them against a copy of the production database in a local MariaDB Docker container that matches the production version and collation.
+
+```bash
+# Start container matching production (MariaDB 11.8, utf8mb4_uca1400_ai_ci)
+docker run -d --name pf_test \
+  -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=test -e MYSQL_DATABASE=RFQ_LOG \
+  mariadb:11.8 --character-set-server=utf8mb4 --collation-server=utf8mb4_uca1400_ai_ci
+
+# Load production dump
+docker exec -i pf_test mariadb -uroot -ptest RFQ_LOG < prod_dump.sql
+
+# Run migrations via pfs (uses real migration engine + verify checks, no backup)
+./pfs -migrate-dsn "root:test@tcp(127.0.0.1:3306)/RFQ_LOG?parseTime=true&charset=utf8mb4&multiStatements=true" \
+      -no-backup -verbose
+```
+
+The `-migrate-dsn` flag connects to the given DSN, runs all pending migrations, runs verify checks, and exits. No config file, no server, no browser.
+
+**Rules:**
+- Always test on a dump of the **current production database**, not a fixture — schema drift and real data distributions expose bugs that fixtures miss.
+- The Docker container must use the same MariaDB version and `--collation-server` as production.
+- Each migration file is executed as a **single session** so `SET FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS = 0` applies to all its statements. Never test by running statements from a migration file individually across separate sessions — the session variable will reset between them.
+- If any migration fails in Docker, fix the SQL before touching production. Do not rely on "it will be different in production."
+
+## SQL Migration Authoring — Common Pitfalls
+
+**Semicolons inside string literals break naive splitters.**
+The migration engine uses a quote-aware statement splitter. Do not rely on external tools that split on bare `;`. When writing supplier/product names with punctuation, use commas — not semicolons — as separators in string literals. A semicolon inside `'COMPANY; LTD'` will break any naive `split(";")` approach.
+
+**`SET FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS = 0` only applies to the current session.**
+This is a session variable. If statements run in separate connections (e.g. via individual subprocess calls), FK checks are re-enabled for each new connection. Always run an entire migration file as one session. The pfs migration engine runs all statements in a file on the same GORM db handle, which reuses the same connection.
+
+**Verify queries must exclude NULL values.**
+A query like `SELECT c.col FROM child c LEFT JOIN parent p ON p.id = c.id WHERE p.id IS NULL` will return rows with `c.col = NULL` if the child table has rows with a NULL FK value. Add `AND c.col IS NOT NULL AND c.col != ''` to avoid false failures.
+
+**Catch-all INSERT for referential integrity before adding FK constraints.**
+When adding a FK constraint to a table that previously had no FK (legacy data may have orphaned references), add a catch-all step before the constraint:
+
+```sql
+-- Ensure every value referenced in child table exists in parent before adding FK.
+INSERT IGNORE INTO parent (name)
+SELECT DISTINCT c.fk_col FROM child c
+LEFT JOIN parent p ON p.name = c.fk_col
+WHERE p.name IS NULL AND c.fk_col IS NOT NULL AND c.fk_col != '';
+```
+
+This is not a hack — it repairs data that was valid before the constraint existed. Never delete orphaned child rows unless data loss is acceptable.