diff --git a/zddc/README.md b/zddc/README.md
index 29b2255..9777344 100644
--- a/zddc/README.md
+++ b/zddc/README.md
@@ -251,9 +251,15 @@ for a level whose `acl.permissions` map matches the user.
    - No `.zddc` anywhere (`HasAnyFile=false`) → **allow** (the empty-tree default).
    - At least one `.zddc` existed (`HasAnyFile=true`) → **403 Forbidden** (default-deny).
 
+The walk respects an **inherit fence** (see "The `inherit:` directive" below).
+A level whose `acl.inherit: false` flag is set acts as a fence: ancestors above
+it are invisible to descendants at-and-below the fence, both for grants and for
+role lookups. In strict cascade mode the fence is ignored (NIST AC-6 invariant).
+
 Implementation: `GrantedVerbsAtLevel` (`zddc/internal/zddc/acl.go`) computes the
 per-level grant; `EffectiveVerbs` / `AllowedAction` walk the chain; the chain
-itself is built by `EffectivePolicy` (`zddc/internal/zddc/cascade.go`).
+itself is built by `EffectivePolicy` (`zddc/internal/zddc/cascade.go`); the
+fence is computed by `PolicyChain.VisibleStart`.
 
 #### Cascade mode
 
@@ -272,6 +278,56 @@ root-admin involvement. Federal deployments needing absolute parent denies
 The mode is logged at startup and surfaced on `/.profile/config`. Subtree
 `.zddc` files cannot change the mode — it's a deployment-wide policy.
 
+#### The `inherit:` directive
+
+A `.zddc` may declare `acl.inherit: false` to fence off all ancestor grants
+and roles from the descendant subtree. Useful for the "complete reset, then
+add back specific principals" pattern — vendor folders, regulated subtrees,
+anywhere a permissive ancestor rule is too broad and the operator wants
+explicit local control.
+
+```yaml
+# <ZDDC_ROOT>/Vendor/.zddc — vendor folder, fully reset
+acl:
+  inherit: false           # ancestors above this level become invisible
+  permissions:
+    "*@vendor.com": rwcd   # the vendor and the doc controller are
+    _doc_controller: rwcda # the only principals with access here
+```
+
+Behaviour:
+
+- **Grants:** the cascade walker (leaf → root) stops at the deepest
+  `inherit: false` level when looking for a matching grant. Ancestor
+  `permissions` entries don't contribute. The default-deny rule still
+  applies if no descendant grant matches.
+- **Roles:** role definitions in ancestors above the fence are also
+  invisible. To use a role inside a fenced subtree, redefine it locally
+  (a redefinition at-or-below the fence is fine).
+- **Admins:** the root `admins:` list is unaffected. Root admins still
+  bypass all ACL evaluation, fence or no fence — that's the deliberate
+  escape hatch for misfiled documents.
+- **WORM:** the `archive/<party>/issued|received/` mask is path-based,
+  not cascade-based. `inherit:` does not change WORM behaviour.
+
+**Strict cascade mode IGNORES `inherit: false`.** NIST AC-6 requires
+ancestor explicit-denies to be absolute, and the inherit directive
+would let a leaf widen access an ancestor refused. Under
+`--cascade-mode=strict` the directive has no effect (and the bundled
+federal Rego at `--print-rego=federal` mirrors that rule). Operators
+who need fence-style "reset" semantics in a federal-track deployment
+should not use the directive — instead, restructure the tree so the
+permissive ancestor rule never appears.
+
+The cascade tracer (`/.profile/effective-policy`) surfaces every
+level's `inherit` flag and the `chain.visible_start` index so a
+reviewer can see exactly where the fence sits and whether it's in
+effect under the active mode.
+
+Implementation: parser (`zddc/internal/zddc/file.go`),
+`PolicyChain.VisibleStart` (`zddc/internal/zddc/cascade.go`), and the
+fence-aware role walk (`zddc/internal/zddc/roles.go`).
+
 #### Special folders
 
 Five folder names trigger built-in behaviors regardless of cascade mode (canonical list in `zddc/internal/zddc/special.go`):
@@ -401,14 +457,21 @@ naive intuition suggests.
 1. **Same-level `allow + deny "*@company.com"` does NOT lock the level down to the
    allow's targets.** Deny is checked before allow within a single `.zddc`, so the
    allowed user's email matches the deny first and is blocked. To exclude insiders
-   from a leaf, use the two-level gate-and-reallow (parent denies, deeper level
-   re-allows) — *or* avoid putting `*@company.com` at any ancestor.
+   from a leaf, use the `inherit: false` directive (preferred — see "The
+   `inherit:` directive" above), or the two-level gate-and-reallow pattern, or
+   avoid putting `*@company.com` at any ancestor in the first place.
 
    ```yaml
    # /Closed/.zddc — DOES NOT WORK as intended
    acl:
      allow: [alice@company.com]
      deny:  ["*@company.com"]   # blocks alice too — deny is checked first at same level
+
+   # /Closed/.zddc — works correctly
+   acl:
+     inherit: false              # ancestor "*@company.com" rule is invisible here
+     permissions:
+       alice@company.com: rwcd
    ```
 
 2. **A leaf-level `allow: [subset]` does NOT restrict when a parent has