diff --git a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/auto-dispatch.ts b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/auto-dispatch.ts
index db88b5e7f..26bde55ea 100644
--- a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/auto-dispatch.ts
+++ b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/auto-dispatch.ts
@@ -11,9 +11,10 @@
 
 import type { GSDState } from "./types.js";
 import type { GSDPreferences } from "./preferences.js";
-import type { UatType } from "./files.js";
-import { loadFile, extractUatType, loadActiveOverrides } from "./files.js";
+import { loadFile, loadActiveOverrides } from "./files.js";
 import { isDbAvailable, getMilestoneSlices } from "./gsd-db.js";
+import { extractVerdict, isAcceptableUatVerdict } from "./verdict-parser.js";
+import { extractUatType } from "./files.js";
 
 import {
   resolveMilestoneFile,
@@ -188,20 +189,10 @@ export const DISPATCH_RULES: DispatchRule[] = [
         if (!resultFile) continue;
         const content = await loadFile(resultFile);
         if (!content) continue;
-        const verdictMatch = content.match(/verdict:\s*([\w-]+)/i);
-        const verdict = verdictMatch?.[1]?.toLowerCase();
-
-        // Determine acceptable verdicts based on UAT type.
-        // mixed / human-experience / live-runtime modes may legitimately
-        // produce PARTIAL when all automatable checks pass but human-only
-        // checks remain — this should not block progression.
-        const acceptableVerdicts: string[] = ["pass", "passed"];
+        const verdict = extractVerdict(content);
         const uatType = extractUatType(content);
-        if (uatType === "mixed" || uatType === "human-experience" || uatType === "live-runtime") {
-          acceptableVerdicts.push("partial");
-        }
 
-        if (verdict && !acceptableVerdicts.includes(verdict)) {
+        if (verdict && !isAcceptableUatVerdict(verdict, uatType)) {
           return {
             action: "stop" as const,
             reason: `UAT verdict for ${sliceId} is "${verdict}" — blocking progression until resolved.\nReview the UAT result and update the verdict to PASS, or re-run /gsd auto after fixing.`,
diff --git a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/auto-prompts.ts b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/auto-prompts.ts
index 876e68cb8..593a961e6 100644
--- a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/auto-prompts.ts
+++ b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/auto-prompts.ts
@@ -6,8 +6,9 @@
  * utility.
  */
 
-import { loadFile, parseContinue, parseSummary, extractUatType, loadActiveOverrides, formatOverridesSection, parseTaskPlanFile } from "./files.js";
+import { loadFile, parseContinue, parseSummary, loadActiveOverrides, formatOverridesSection, parseTaskPlanFile } from "./files.js";
 import type { Override, UatType } from "./files.js";
+import { hasVerdict, getUatType } from "./verdict-parser.js";
 import { loadPrompt, inlineTemplate } from "./prompt-loader.js";
 import {
   resolveMilestoneFile, resolveSliceFile, resolveSlicePath,
@@ -781,8 +782,8 @@ export async function checkNeedsRunUat(
         const uatContent = await loadFile(uatFile);
         if (!uatContent) return null;
         // If the UAT file already contains a verdict, UAT has been run — skip
-        if (/verdict:\s*[\w-]+/i.test(uatContent)) return null;
-        const uatType = extractUatType(uatContent) ?? "artifact-driven";
+        if (hasVerdict(uatContent)) return null;
+        const uatType = getUatType(uatContent);
         return { sliceId: sid, uatType };
       }
     }
@@ -805,8 +806,8 @@ export async function checkNeedsRunUat(
   const uatContentFb = await loadFile(uatFileFb);
   if (!uatContentFb) return null;
   // If the UAT file already contains a verdict, UAT has been run — skip
-  if (/verdict:\s*[\w-]+/i.test(uatContentFb)) return null;
-  const uatTypeFb = extractUatType(uatContentFb) ?? "artifact-driven";
+  if (hasVerdict(uatContentFb)) return null;
+  const uatTypeFb = getUatType(uatContentFb);
   return { sliceId: uatSid, uatType: uatTypeFb };
 }
 
@@ -1504,7 +1505,7 @@ export async function buildRunUatPrompt(
   const inlinedContext = capPreamble(`## Inlined Context (preloaded — do not re-read these files)\n\n${inlined.join("\n\n---\n\n")}`);
 
   const uatResultPath = join(base, relSliceFile(base, mid, sliceId, "UAT"));
-  const uatType = extractUatType(uatContent) ?? "artifact-driven";
+  const uatType = getUatType(uatContent);
 
   return loadPrompt("run-uat", {
     workingDirectory: base,
diff --git a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/state.ts b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/state.ts
index 7550626c9..59ddd6d2b 100644
--- a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/state.ts
+++ b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/state.ts
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ import { nativeBatchParseGsdFiles, type BatchParsedFile } from './native-parser-
 import { join, resolve } from 'path';
 import { existsSync, readdirSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { debugCount, debugTime } from './debug-logger.js';
+import { extractVerdict } from './verdict-parser.js';
 
 import {
   isDbAvailable,
@@ -91,11 +92,8 @@ export function isMilestoneComplete(roadmap: Roadmap): boolean {
  * after remediation slices are executed.
  */
 export function isValidationTerminal(validationContent: string): boolean {
-  const match = validationContent.match(/^---\n([\s\S]*?)\n---/);
-  if (!match) return false;
-  const verdict = match[1].match(/verdict:\s*(\S+)/);
-  if (!verdict) return false;
-  const v = verdict[1] === 'passed' ? 'pass' : verdict[1];
+  const v = extractVerdict(validationContent);
+  if (!v) return false;
   // 'pass' and 'needs-attention' are always terminal.
   // 'needs-remediation' is treated as terminal to prevent infinite loops
   // when no remediation slices exist in the roadmap (#832). The validation
diff --git a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/tools/validate-milestone.ts b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/tools/validate-milestone.ts
index eae1d8245..856ced060 100644
--- a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/tools/validate-milestone.ts
+++ b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/tools/validate-milestone.ts
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import {
 import { resolveMilestonePath, clearPathCache } from "../paths.js";
 import { saveFile, clearParseCache } from "../files.js";
 import { invalidateStateCache } from "../state.js";
+import { VALIDATION_VERDICTS, isValidMilestoneVerdict } from "../verdict-parser.js";
 
 export interface ValidateMilestoneParams {
   milestoneId: string;
@@ -71,9 +72,8 @@ export async function handleValidateMilestone(
   if (!params.milestoneId || typeof params.milestoneId !== "string" || params.milestoneId.trim() === "") {
     return { error: "milestoneId is required and must be a non-empty string" };
   }
-  const validVerdicts = ["pass", "needs-attention", "needs-remediation"];
-  if (!validVerdicts.includes(params.verdict)) {
-    return { error: `verdict must be one of: ${validVerdicts.join(", ")}` };
+  if (!isValidMilestoneVerdict(params.verdict)) {
+    return { error: `verdict must be one of: ${VALIDATION_VERDICTS.join(", ")}` };
   }
 
   // ── Filesystem render ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
diff --git a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/verdict-parser.ts b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/verdict-parser.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..18794436a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/verdict-parser.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+/**
+ * Centralized verdict extraction, normalization, and schema validation.
+ *
+ * All verdict-related logic lives here so that normalization rules
+ * (e.g. `passed` → `pass`) are applied consistently across the codebase.
+ */
+
+import { extractUatType } from "./files.js";
+import type { UatType } from "./files.js";
+
+// ── Verdict extraction ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+/**
+ * Extract and normalize the `verdict` value from YAML frontmatter.
+ *
+ * Normalization:
+ * - lowercased
+ * - `passed` → `pass`
+ *
+ * Returns `undefined` when frontmatter is absent or has no `verdict` field.
+ */
+export function extractVerdict(content: string): string | undefined {
+  const fmMatch = content.match(/^---\n([\s\S]*?)\n---/);
+  if (!fmMatch) return undefined;
+  const verdictMatch = fmMatch[1].match(/verdict:\s*([\w-]+)/i);
+  if (!verdictMatch) return undefined;
+  let v = verdictMatch[1].toLowerCase();
+  if (v === "passed") v = "pass";
+  return v;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Returns `true` when the content's frontmatter contains a `verdict` field.
+ */
+export function hasVerdict(content: string): boolean {
+  return /verdict:\s*[\w-]+/i.test(content);
+}
+
+// ── UAT verdict schema ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+/**
+ * Base verdicts that are always acceptable for UAT results.
+ */
+export const UAT_ACCEPTABLE_VERDICTS: readonly string[] = ["pass", "passed"];
+
+/**
+ * UAT types whose results may legitimately produce a `partial` verdict
+ * when all automatable checks pass but human-only checks remain.
+ */
+const PARTIAL_ELIGIBLE_UAT_TYPES: readonly UatType[] = [
+  "mixed",
+  "human-experience",
+  "live-runtime",
+];
+
+/**
+ * Check whether a verdict is acceptable for a given UAT type.
+ *
+ * `pass` / `passed` are always acceptable. `partial` is acceptable only for
+ * UAT types that include non-automatable human checks.
+ */
+export function isAcceptableUatVerdict(verdict: string, uatType: UatType | undefined): boolean {
+  if (UAT_ACCEPTABLE_VERDICTS.includes(verdict)) return true;
+  if (verdict === "partial" && uatType && (PARTIAL_ELIGIBLE_UAT_TYPES as readonly string[]).includes(uatType)) {
+    return true;
+  }
+  return false;
+}
+
+// ── Milestone validation verdict schema ─────────────────────────────────
+
+/**
+ * Valid verdicts for the `validate-milestone` tool.
+ */
+export const VALIDATION_VERDICTS = ["pass", "needs-attention", "needs-remediation"] as const;
+export type ValidationVerdict = (typeof VALIDATION_VERDICTS)[number];
+
+/**
+ * Check whether a string is a valid milestone validation verdict.
+ */
+export function isValidMilestoneVerdict(verdict: string): verdict is ValidationVerdict {
+  return (VALIDATION_VERDICTS as readonly string[]).includes(verdict);
+}
+
+// ── UAT type helper ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+/**
+ * Extract the UAT type from content, defaulting to `"artifact-driven"`.
+ *
+ * The `"artifact-driven"` fallback is the original default used throughout
+ * the codebase when a UAT file lacks an explicit `## UAT Type` section.
+ */
+export function getUatType(content: string): UatType {
+  return extractUatType(content) ?? "artifact-driven";
+}