diff --git a/wizard-work/ledger/2026-10-27-checkin-census.md b/wizard-work/ledger/2026-10-27-checkin-census.md
index 786f802..6808f93 100644
--- a/wizard-work/ledger/2026-10-27-checkin-census.md
+++ b/wizard-work/ledger/2026-10-27-checkin-census.md
@@ -62,4 +62,4 @@ at the pin is 2026-10-27 (2 files).
 - Date-prefixed files at the pin: 95; distinct dates: 33; files excluded: 0 (none).
 - `wizard` = filename with leading `YYYY-MM-DD-` and trailing `-{digits}` stripped.
 - Correction: the `e0ee5cb` revision of this artifact counted the live directory and published 96 files / 33 dates; no revision of `checkins/` holds that `sentinel` file, and the numbers here are recomputed from the pin.
-- Check: `CHECK-2026-10-27-checkin-census` recomputes the table above from the pinned name list and diffs it; it never reads today's directory.
+- Check: `CHECK-2026-10-27-checkin-census` recomputes the table above, the total line and the per-date appendix from the pinned name list and diffs all three; it never reads today's directory.
diff --git a/wizard-work/ledger/CHECK-2026-10-27-checkin-census b/wizard-work/ledger/CHECK-2026-10-27-checkin-census
index c172504..4697f88 100755
--- a/wizard-work/ledger/CHECK-2026-10-27-checkin-census
+++ b/wizard-work/ledger/CHECK-2026-10-27-checkin-census
@@ -107,6 +107,60 @@ fi
 echo "PASS tsv: $(($(wc -l < "$TSV") - 1)) wizard row(s)," \
      "$(awk -F"$TAB" 'NR>1{s+=$2} END{print s+0}' "$TSV") file(s)"
 
+# ------------------------------------------- leg 4: the MD's published table
+# The MD is what a reader scrolls to, and until now nothing graded it: editing
+# `| zephyrus | 51 |` to `| zephyrus | 5 |` left the old CHECK PASS.
+[ -s "$MD" ] || fail "MD missing or empty: ${MD#"$REPO"/}"
+awk -F'|' '
+  /^\| *wizard *\| *checkin_files *\| *$/ { inb = 1; next }
+  inb && /^\|[- |]*$/                  { next }
+  inb && /^\|/ {
+    w = $2; n = $3
+    gsub(/[[:space:]]/, "", w); gsub(/[[:space:]]/, "", n)
+    printf "%s\t%s\n", w, n; next
+  }
+  inb { inb = 0 }
+' "$MD" > "$tmp/md.body"
+echo "PASS tables: MD per-wizard block is $(wc -l < "$tmp/md.body") row(s)"
+if ! cmp -s "$tmp/tsv.body" "$tmp/md.body"; then
+  printf 'FAIL: MD per-wizard table != recompute from the pin\n' >&2
+  diff -u "$tmp/tsv.body" "$tmp/md.body" >&2 || true
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# ------------------------------------------------- leg 5: the MD's total line
+want_files="$(wc -l < "$tmp/names")"
+want_dates="$(cut -c1-10 "$tmp/names" | sort -u | wc -l)"
+read -r md_files md_dates < <(
+  sed -n 's/^\*\*Total files:\*\* \([0-9][0-9]*\) across \([0-9][0-9]*\) dates.*$/\1 \2/p' "$MD"
+)
+[ -n "${md_files:-}" ] || fail "MD carries no '**Total files:** N across D dates' line"
+if [ "$md_files" != "$want_files" ] || [ "$md_dates" != "$want_dates" ]; then
+  fail "MD total line says ${md_files} files / ${md_dates} dates; the pin gives" \
+       "${want_files} / ${want_dates}"
+fi
+echo "PASS total: MD says ${md_files} file(s) across ${md_dates} date(s)"
+
+# --------------------------------------------- leg 6: the MD's per-date appendix
+awk -F'|' '
+  /^\| *date *\| *files *\| *$/ { inb = 1; next }
+  inb && /^\|[- |]*$/        { next }
+  inb && /^\|/ {
+    d = $2; n = $3
+    gsub(/[[:space:]]/, "", d); gsub(/[[:space:]]/, "", n)
+    printf "%s\t%s\n", d, n; next
+  }
+  inb { inb = 0 }
+' "$MD" > "$tmp/md.dates"
+cut -c1-10 "$tmp/names" | LC_ALL=C sort | uniq -c \
+  | awk '{printf "%s\t%d\n", $2, $1}' | LC_ALL=C sort > "$tmp/pin.dates"
+if ! cmp -s "$tmp/pin.dates" "$tmp/md.dates"; then
+  printf 'FAIL: MD per-date appendix != recompute from the pin\n' >&2
+  diff -u "$tmp/pin.dates" "$tmp/md.dates" >&2 || true
+  exit 1
+fi
+echo "PASS appendix: $(wc -l < "$tmp/md.dates") date row(s) agree with the pin"
+
 # -------------------------------------------------------------------- verdict
 printf 'VERDICT=PASS census-2026-10-27 rows=%s files=%s pin=%s\n' \
   "$(($(wc -l < "$TSV") - 1))" \
diff --git a/wizard-work/ledger/extract_checkin_census_2026-10-27.py b/wizard-work/ledger/extract_checkin_census_2026-10-27.py
index 1a4d5f7..064aa99 100644
--- a/wizard-work/ledger/extract_checkin_census_2026-10-27.py
+++ b/wizard-work/ledger/extract_checkin_census_2026-10-27.py
@@ -133,8 +133,9 @@ def render_md(per_date, per_wizard, excluded, commit, tree, dated):
         "- Correction: the `e0ee5cb` revision of this artifact counted the live "
         "directory and published 96 files / 33 dates; no revision of `checkins/` "
         "holds that `sentinel` file, and the numbers here are recomputed from the pin.",
-        "- Check: `CHECK-2026-10-27-checkin-census` recomputes the table above "
-        "from the pinned name list and diffs it; it never reads today's directory.",
+        "- Check: `CHECK-2026-10-27-checkin-census` recomputes the table above, "
+        "the total line and the per-date appendix from the pinned name list and "
+        "diffs all three; it never reads today's directory.",
     ]
     return "\n".join(lines) + "\n"