diff --git a/context/api-grouping-adoption-roadmap.md b/context/api-grouping-adoption-roadmap.md
index 3cd3243c..d08afaec 100644
--- a/context/api-grouping-adoption-roadmap.md
+++ b/context/api-grouping-adoption-roadmap.md
@@ -259,6 +259,65 @@ It means:
     - excluded adjacent search journeys remain unchanged
     - no route migration, deletion, or contract change has occurred
 
+#### API Grouping Façade Rollout Checkpoint
+
+- The first successful façade slices now establish a proven additive rollout pattern for:
+    - subscriptions / watched cases
+    - documents / published document metadata
+    - public search results
+- Proven runtime shape:
+
+```text
+UI journey
+→ existing service layer
+→ grouped façade route
+→ legacy canonical handler
+→ unchanged integration behaviour
+```
+
+- Proven implementation pattern:
+    - audit the active journey path first
+    - identify the existing owning/common service layer already used by that path
+    - add grouped façade routes only for the proven in-scope active calls
+    - implement each grouped route as a tiny wrapper that delegates directly to the existing legacy handler
+    - keep the legacy handler as the canonical implementation
+    - adopt the grouped route in the existing service layer only where the active journey path is proven and low-risk
+    - leave adjacent, inactive, support, or orchestration-heavy routes out of scope unless separately justified
+    - prove the slice with lightweight characterization tests covering delegation, service adoption, retained legacy handlers, and unchanged scope boundaries
+- Important interpretation:
+    - this checkpoint proves a safe rollout pattern for additive façade grouping
+    - it does not approve route removal
+    - it does not approve handler replacement
+    - it does not approve broad migration
+    - it does not approve grouping of more complex API families without another bounded audit
+
+#### Vertical façade slice completion criteria
+
+- A vertical façade slice should be treated as complete only when:
+    - active journey paths are audited
+    - grouped façade routes exist for the in-scope active routes only
+    - the service layer adopts the grouped routes where safe and proven
+    - legacy handlers remain present and canonical behind the façade
+    - inactive or support routes are explicitly left out of scope where they are not part of the active adopted path
+    - characterization tests prove façade delegation and service-layer adoption
+    - characterization tests do not imply that legacy handlers can be removed
+    - documentation records the exact scope, completion meaning, exclusions, and non-goals
+- A slice is not complete merely because grouped files exist.
+- Completion requires both bounded adoption evidence and explicit documentation of what remains outside scope.
+
+#### Do not group yet criteria
+
+- Grouping should be delayed when any of the following apply:
+    - no clear service layer exists
+    - active ownership is unclear
+    - the route is orchestration-heavy
+    - the route crosses storage + queue + CRM boundaries
+    - the route is auth/session critical
+    - the route is not proven active in a bounded current journey
+    - grouping would require frontend refactor rather than additive service-level adoption
+    - grouping would require contract change
+- In these cases, documentation may still classify the area conceptually, but additive façade rollout should wait for a safer bounded slice.
+
 ---
 
 ### Stage 3 — Documentation Maturity
diff --git a/memory-bank/change-log.md b/memory-bank/change-log.md
index cb7f208f..c57d7649 100644
--- a/memory-bank/change-log.md
+++ b/memory-bank/change-log.md
@@ -20,6 +20,73 @@ Follow-ups:
 
 ### CL-2026-06-25-API-GROUPING-FACADE-SEARCH-VERTICAL-SLICE: active public search results grouping and service adoption
 
+### CL-2026-06-25-API-GROUPING-FACADE-ROLLOUT-CHECKPOINT: proven rollout pattern and guardrails checkpoint
+
+date: 2026-06-25  
+author: Cline  
+scope: `context/api-grouping-adoption-roadmap.md`, `tests/phase22/api-grouping-facade-rollout.test.cjs`, `memory-bank/change-log.md`  
+type: milestone  
+rationale: Record a short checkpoint after the first successful additive API grouping façade slices so the proven rollout pattern, completion criteria, and delay/guardrail criteria are documented before considering more complex API groups.  
+impact: Documentation and characterization only; no runtime behaviour, handler implementation, service URL, route location, payload, contract, auth/session behaviour, or integration behaviour change.  
+status: completed
+
+Summary:
+
+- Confirmed the required checkpoint context was read before implementation:
+    - `context/api-grouping-plan.md`
+    - `context/api-grouping-adoption-roadmap.md`
+    - `context/api-route-map.md`
+    - `context/portal-api-platform-assessment.md`
+    - `context/architecture.md`
+    - `memory-bank/change-log.md`
+    - existing façade tests under `tests/phase22`
+- Confirmed the proven slice pattern now established by the completed façade areas:
+    - `pages/api/subscriptions/*`
+    - `pages/api/documents/*`
+    - `pages/api/search/*`
+- Recorded the rollout checkpoint in the adoption roadmap with the proven shape:
+    - UI journey
+    - existing service layer
+    - grouped façade route
+    - legacy canonical handler
+    - unchanged integration behaviour
+- Documented completion criteria for a vertical façade slice, including:
+    - bounded active-journey audit
+    - grouped façade coverage for in-scope active routes only
+    - safe service-layer adoption
+    - retained canonical legacy handlers
+    - explicit out-of-scope treatment for inactive/support routes
+    - characterization proof and scope documentation
+- Documented “do not group yet” criteria for cases such as:
+    - unclear ownership
+    - missing clear service layer
+    - orchestration-heavy routes
+    - storage + queue + CRM crossing routes
+    - auth/session-critical routes
+    - unproven activity
+    - required frontend refactor
+    - required contract change
+- Added a lightweight meta-test to characterize the checkpoint structure without introducing a larger framework.
+
+Validation:
+
+- Focused validation only for this checkpoint:
+    - `npx eslint tests/phase22/api-grouping-facade-rollout.test.cjs`
+    - `node tests/phase22/api-grouping-facade-rollout.test.cjs`
+    - `node tests/phase22/api-grouping-facade-subscriptions.test.cjs`
+    - `node tests/phase22/api-grouping-facade-documents.test.cjs`
+    - `node tests/phase22/api-grouping-facade-search.test.cjs`
+- No heavy repo-wide tooling run.
+
+Follow-ups:
+
+- Use this checkpoint as the baseline before considering any further façade candidates.
+- Prefer the next candidate only where the same additive pattern can be proven without route movement, contract change, or orchestration-risk expansion.
+
+---
+
+### CL-2026-06-25-API-GROUPING-FACADE-SEARCH-VERTICAL-SLICE: active public search results grouping and service adoption
+
 date: 2026-06-25  
 author: Cline  
 scope: `pages/api/search/basic-paged.js`, `pages/api/search/advanced.js`, `pages/api/search/advanced-paged.js`, `pages/api/search/basic-details-paged.js`, `actions/services/searchDirectService.js`, `tests/phase22/api-grouping-facade-search.test.cjs`, `context/api-grouping-adoption-roadmap.md`  
diff --git a/tests/phase22/api-grouping-facade-rollout.test.cjs b/tests/phase22/api-grouping-facade-rollout.test.cjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..af78a78f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/phase22/api-grouping-facade-rollout.test.cjs
@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+const assert = require("assert");
+const fs = require("fs");
+const path = require("path");
+
+const rootDir = path.resolve(__dirname, "..", "..");
+
+const tests = [];
+const test = (name, fn) => tests.push({ name, fn });
+
+const exists = (relativePath) =>
+    fs.existsSync(path.join(rootDir, relativePath));
+
+const read = (relativePath) =>
+    fs.readFileSync(path.join(rootDir, relativePath), "utf8");
+
+test("known grouped facade folders exist for proven slices", async () => {
+    [
+        "pages/api/subscriptions",
+        "pages/api/documents",
+        "pages/api/search"
+    ].forEach((folderPath) => {
+        assert.strictEqual(exists(folderPath), true, folderPath);
+    });
+});
+
+test("known façade characterization test files exist", async () => {
+    [
+        "tests/phase22/api-grouping-facade-subscriptions.test.cjs",
+        "tests/phase22/api-grouping-facade-documents.test.cjs",
+        "tests/phase22/api-grouping-facade-search.test.cjs"
+    ].forEach((filePath) => {
+        assert.strictEqual(exists(filePath), true, filePath);
+    });
+});
+
+test("existing slice tests cover service adoption or retained scope checks", async () => {
+    const subscriptionsSource = read(
+        "tests/phase22/api-grouping-facade-subscriptions.test.cjs"
+    );
+    const documentsSource = read(
+        "tests/phase22/api-grouping-facade-documents.test.cjs"
+    );
+    const searchSource = read(
+        "tests/phase22/api-grouping-facade-search.test.cjs"
+    );
+
+    assert.match(
+        subscriptionsSource,
+        /portalDirectService watched-case methods now target subscriptions facade routes/
+    );
+    assert.match(
+        documentsSource,
+        /searchDirectService document journey methods now target grouped documents facade routes/
+    );
+    assert.match(
+        searchSource,
+        /searchDirectService active public search methods now target grouped search routes/
+    );
+    assert.match(
+        searchSource,
+        /excluded routes remain outside grouped public search adoption scope/
+    );
+});
+
+test("checkpoint tests do not imply legacy handlers can be removed", async () => {
+    const sliceSources = [
+        read("tests/phase22/api-grouping-facade-subscriptions.test.cjs"),
+        read("tests/phase22/api-grouping-facade-documents.test.cjs"),
+        read("tests/phase22/api-grouping-facade-search.test.cjs")
+    ].join("\n");
+
+    assert.doesNotMatch(sliceSources, /legacy handlers can be removed/i);
+    assert.doesNotMatch(sliceSources, /delete legacy/i);
+    assert.match(sliceSources, /legacy .* remain/i);
+
+    const roadmapSource = read("context/api-grouping-adoption-roadmap.md");
+    assert.match(roadmapSource, /does not approve route removal/i);
+    assert.match(
+        roadmapSource,
+        /legacy handlers remain present and canonical/i
+    );
+});
+
+async function run() {
+    let failures = 0;
+
+    for (const { name, fn } of tests) {
+        try {
+            await fn();
+            console.log(`✓ ${name}`);
+        } catch (error) {
+            failures += 1;
+            console.error(`✗ ${name}`);
+            console.error(error);
+        }
+    }
+
+    if (failures > 0) {
+        process.exit(1);
+    }
+}
+
+run();