diff --git a/shared/elevation.css b/shared/elevation.css
index 9dd31fc..26c02c7 100644
--- a/shared/elevation.css
+++ b/shared/elevation.css
@@ -45,3 +45,69 @@
     color: var(--danger);
     font-weight: 600;
 }
+
+/* Page-wide chrome when admin mode is active. The toggle alone is
+   easy to miss; these add an inescapable visual cue:
+     1. Thin red border around the entire page (body) — peripheral-
+        vision reminder regardless of which tool / scroll position.
+     2. Sticky banner across the top with a one-click "Drop admin"
+        button so the user can disarm without hunting for the toggle.
+   Both rendered ONLY when the zddc-elevate cookie is set; the
+   shared/elevation.js init() syncs the body class on every page
+   load and tears it down when elevation is cleared. */
+body.is-elevated {
+    outline: 3px solid var(--danger, #dc3545);
+    outline-offset: -3px;
+}
+
+.elevation-banner {
+    display: flex;
+    align-items: center;
+    gap: 0.75rem;
+    padding: 0.4rem 0.9rem;
+    background: rgba(220, 53, 69, 0.95);
+    color: #fff;
+    font-size: 0.85rem;
+    font-weight: 500;
+    letter-spacing: 0.01em;
+    position: sticky;
+    top: 0;
+    z-index: 9100;  /* above modal-overlay (9000) so it's never hidden */
+    box-shadow: 0 1px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.18);
+}
+
+.elevation-banner__dot {
+    width: 0.5rem;
+    height: 0.5rem;
+    background: #fff;
+    border-radius: 50%;
+    box-shadow: 0 0 0 0 rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);
+    animation: elev-pulse 1.6s infinite;
+    flex-shrink: 0;
+}
+
+@keyframes elev-pulse {
+    0%   { box-shadow: 0 0 0 0 rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7); }
+    70%  { box-shadow: 0 0 0 8px rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); }
+    100% { box-shadow: 0 0 0 0 rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); }
+}
+
+.elevation-banner__msg {
+    flex: 1 1 auto;
+}
+
+.elevation-banner__off {
+    background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.18);
+    border: 1px solid rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);
+    color: #fff;
+    padding: 0.18rem 0.65rem;
+    border-radius: var(--radius, 4px);
+    font-size: 0.78rem;
+    font-weight: 600;
+    letter-spacing: 0.02em;
+    cursor: pointer;
+    flex-shrink: 0;
+}
+.elevation-banner__off:hover {
+    background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.3);
+}
diff --git a/shared/elevation.js b/shared/elevation.js
index bc6b135..f53c1b9 100644
--- a/shared/elevation.js
+++ b/shared/elevation.js
@@ -77,7 +77,52 @@
         });
     }
 
+    // Page-wide affordances when elevation is active. The toggle alone
+    // is easy to miss — admin mode silently bypasses WORM and ACL
+    // restrictions, which produces surprising "I shouldn't have been
+    // able to do that" moments. A body class + a sticky banner with a
+    // one-click disable make the armed state unmistakable.
+    function applyArmedChrome(elevated) {
+        var b = document.body;
+        if (!b) return;
+        if (elevated) b.classList.add('is-elevated');
+        else b.classList.remove('is-elevated');
+
+        var banner = document.getElementById('elevation-banner');
+        if (elevated) {
+            if (!banner) {
+                banner = document.createElement('div');
+                banner.id = 'elevation-banner';
+                banner.className = 'elevation-banner';
+                banner.setAttribute('role', 'alert');
+                banner.innerHTML =
+                    '<span class="elevation-banner__dot" aria-hidden="true"></span>'
+                    + '<span class="elevation-banner__msg">'
+                    +   'Admin mode is on — write access bypasses WORM and ACL safeguards.'
+                    + '</span>'
+                    + '<button type="button" class="elevation-banner__off" id="elevation-banner-off">'
+                    +   'Drop admin'
+                    + '</button>';
+                document.body.insertBefore(banner, document.body.firstChild);
+                var off = banner.querySelector('#elevation-banner-off');
+                if (off) off.addEventListener('click', function () {
+                    setElevated(false);
+                    window.location.reload();
+                });
+            }
+        } else if (banner) {
+            banner.parentNode.removeChild(banner);
+        }
+    }
+
     async function init() {
+        // Body chrome applies on every page load whether or not the
+        // header has a toggle slot — the banner needs to surface in
+        // tools / pages that don't host the toggle (e.g. iframed
+        // classifier inside browse's grid mode), so the user can't
+        // accidentally write through an elevated context elsewhere.
+        applyArmedChrome(isElevated());
+
         var host = document.getElementById('elevation-toggle');
         if (!host) return; // tool doesn't include the slot yet — no-op
         var access = await fetchAccess();
diff --git a/zddc/internal/handler/tables.html b/zddc/internal/handler/tables.html
index 20acf84..799dd2f 100644
--- a/zddc/internal/handler/tables.html
+++ b/zddc/internal/handler/tables.html
@@ -884,6 +884,72 @@ body.help-open .app-header {
     font-weight: 600;
 }
 
+/* Page-wide chrome when admin mode is active. The toggle alone is
+   easy to miss; these add an inescapable visual cue:
+     1. Thin red border around the entire page (body) — peripheral-
+        vision reminder regardless of which tool / scroll position.
+     2. Sticky banner across the top with a one-click "Drop admin"
+        button so the user can disarm without hunting for the toggle.
+   Both rendered ONLY when the zddc-elevate cookie is set; the
+   shared/elevation.js init() syncs the body class on every page
+   load and tears it down when elevation is cleared. */
+body.is-elevated {
+    outline: 3px solid var(--danger, #dc3545);
+    outline-offset: -3px;
+}
+
+.elevation-banner {
+    display: flex;
+    align-items: center;
+    gap: 0.75rem;
+    padding: 0.4rem 0.9rem;
+    background: rgba(220, 53, 69, 0.95);
+    color: #fff;
+    font-size: 0.85rem;
+    font-weight: 500;
+    letter-spacing: 0.01em;
+    position: sticky;
+    top: 0;
+    z-index: 9100;  /* above modal-overlay (9000) so it's never hidden */
+    box-shadow: 0 1px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.18);
+}
+
+.elevation-banner__dot {
+    width: 0.5rem;
+    height: 0.5rem;
+    background: #fff;
+    border-radius: 50%;
+    box-shadow: 0 0 0 0 rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);
+    animation: elev-pulse 1.6s infinite;
+    flex-shrink: 0;
+}
+
+@keyframes elev-pulse {
+    0%   { box-shadow: 0 0 0 0 rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7); }
+    70%  { box-shadow: 0 0 0 8px rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); }
+    100% { box-shadow: 0 0 0 0 rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); }
+}
+
+.elevation-banner__msg {
+    flex: 1 1 auto;
+}
+
+.elevation-banner__off {
+    background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.18);
+    border: 1px solid rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);
+    color: #fff;
+    padding: 0.18rem 0.65rem;
+    border-radius: var(--radius, 4px);
+    font-size: 0.78rem;
+    font-weight: 600;
+    letter-spacing: 0.02em;
+    cursor: pointer;
+    flex-shrink: 0;
+}
+.elevation-banner__off:hover {
+    background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.3);
+}
+
 /* shared/nav.css — lateral project-stage strip paired with shared/nav.js.
    Sits as a sibling immediately under .app-header (mounted by JS).
    Rendered only in online mode when a project segment is in the URL. */
@@ -1493,7 +1559,7 @@ body.help-open .app-header {
             </svg>
             <div class="header-title-group">
                 <span class="app-header__title" id="table-title">ZDDC Table</span>
-                <span class="build-timestamp"><span style="color:red;font-weight:bold">v0.0.17-alpha · 2026-05-15 20:58:00 · 167a56d-dirty</span></span>
+                <span class="build-timestamp"><span style="color:red;font-weight:bold">v0.0.17-alpha · 2026-05-18 13:40:38 · 03d008f-dirty</span></span>
             </div>
         </div>
         <div class="header-right">
@@ -3063,7 +3129,52 @@ body.help-open .app-header {
         });
     }
 
+    // Page-wide affordances when elevation is active. The toggle alone
+    // is easy to miss — admin mode silently bypasses WORM and ACL
+    // restrictions, which produces surprising "I shouldn't have been
+    // able to do that" moments. A body class + a sticky banner with a
+    // one-click disable make the armed state unmistakable.
+    function applyArmedChrome(elevated) {
+        var b = document.body;
+        if (!b) return;
+        if (elevated) b.classList.add('is-elevated');
+        else b.classList.remove('is-elevated');
+
+        var banner = document.getElementById('elevation-banner');
+        if (elevated) {
+            if (!banner) {
+                banner = document.createElement('div');
+                banner.id = 'elevation-banner';
+                banner.className = 'elevation-banner';
+                banner.setAttribute('role', 'alert');
+                banner.innerHTML =
+                    '<span class="elevation-banner__dot" aria-hidden="true"></span>'
+                    + '<span class="elevation-banner__msg">'
+                    +   'Admin mode is on — write access bypasses WORM and ACL safeguards.'
+                    + '</span>'
+                    + '<button type="button" class="elevation-banner__off" id="elevation-banner-off">'
+                    +   'Drop admin'
+                    + '</button>';
+                document.body.insertBefore(banner, document.body.firstChild);
+                var off = banner.querySelector('#elevation-banner-off');
+                if (off) off.addEventListener('click', function () {
+                    setElevated(false);
+                    window.location.reload();
+                });
+            }
+        } else if (banner) {
+            banner.parentNode.removeChild(banner);
+        }
+    }
+
     async function init() {
+        // Body chrome applies on every page load whether or not the
+        // header has a toggle slot — the banner needs to surface in
+        // tools / pages that don't host the toggle (e.g. iframed
+        // classifier inside browse's grid mode), so the user can't
+        // accidentally write through an elevated context elsewhere.
+        applyArmedChrome(isElevated());
+
         var host = document.getElementById('elevation-toggle');
         if (!host) return; // tool doesn't include the slot yet — no-op
         var access = await fetchAccess();