diff --git a/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/lease.go b/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/lease.go
index e9500970..3a399d00 100644
--- a/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/lease.go
+++ b/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/lease.go
@@ -1,16 +1,49 @@
 package main
 
+// The switch on the controller's lease (novox/hq ADR 0561 §3): minting is on only while the lease is handed to a holder
+// that is no controller, and off for a controller's value, a key deleted or expired, or one that cannot be read. The
+// write that hands it away turns it on and mints every wanted account the vault holds no value for; a lease handed back
+// turns it off. No clock and no setting turns it. A key's age passing is heard by no watch, so the lease is read afresh
+// before every mint (LeaseRead): a lease that expired since mints nothing.
+
 import "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/buscompose"
 
-// LeaseHeard is the watch of the controller's lease (ADR 0561 §3): minting is on only while it is handed to a holder that
-// is no controller.
+// LeaseHeard is the watch of the controller's lease. When minting turns on or off, every wanted account is judged again:
+// minted when on, held back with the new why when off.
 func (v *Vault) LeaseHeard(raw []byte, found bool, readErr error) {
+	if !v.setLease(raw, found, readErr) {
+		return
+	}
+	on, why := v.mintingOn()
+	v.log("minting is %s: %s", map[bool]string{true: "ON", false: "off"}[on], why)
+	for _, user := range v.wantedUsers() {
+		if w, ok := v.wanted(user); ok {
+			if _, err := v.mintWanted(w, "the lease write"); err != nil {
+				v.log("%s is not minted: %v", user, err)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// setLease records what the lease says, and answers whether minting turned on or off by it.
+func (v *Vault) setLease(raw []byte, found bool, readErr error) bool {
 	on, why := buscompose.LeaseHandedAway(raw, found, readErr)
 	m := &v.minting
 	m.mu.Lock()
 	defer m.mu.Unlock()
-	if on != m.on || m.why == "" {
+	flipped := on != m.on || m.why == ""
+	if flipped {
 		m.since = v.Now().UTC()
 	}
 	m.on, m.why = on, why
+	return flipped
+}
+
+// leaseAfresh reads the lease again before a mint, where the vault can: a key that expired since is heard by no watch.
+func (v *Vault) leaseAfresh() {
+	if v.LeaseRead == nil {
+		return
+	}
+	raw, found, err := v.LeaseRead()
+	v.setLease(raw, found, err)
 }
diff --git a/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/main.go b/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/main.go
index 06f3d61c..30ff5819 100644
--- a/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/main.go
+++ b/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/main.go
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ func build() *Env {
 	// Where it sees a consumer bind a provider (pair.go): the same mirror, every key.
 	env.Vault = &Vault{Store: store, Own: own, Askers: Declared{Read: readAssignment, Store: store},
 		Assignments: Mirror{Keys: assignmentKeys, Read: readAssignment}, Emit: emit, Ask: stdio.Ask,
-		Now: time.Now, Log: say, Accounts: busAccounts{}, Haves: readHave}
+		Now: time.Now, Log: say, Accounts: busAccounts{}, Haves: readHave, LeaseRead: readLease}
 	return env
 }
 
@@ -112,6 +112,34 @@ func watchWants(env *Env) bool {
 	return true
 }
 
+// readLease is the controller's lease key, read through the runtime under the vault's own account (its manifest reads it).
+func readLease() ([]byte, bool, error) {
+	e, err := stdio.State(LeaseRead).Get(LeaseKey)
+	if err != nil || e == nil {
+		return nil, false, err
+	}
+	return e.Value, true, nil
+}
+
+// watchLease turns minting on and off as the controller's lease is written (lease.go, ADR 0561 §3): a watch, never a
+// poll; and the lease is read afresh before every mint. It answers whether the watch began.
+func watchLease(env *Env) bool {
+	if env.Vault == nil {
+		return true
+	}
+	env.Vault.LeaseHeard(readLease())
+	err := stdio.State(LeaseRead).Watch(LeaseKey, func(c stdio.StateChange) error {
+		deleted := c.Op == "delete" || c.Op == "purge" || len(c.Value) == 0
+		env.Vault.LeaseHeard(c.Value, !deleted, nil)
+		return nil
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		say("the controller's lease is not watched, so minting stays as last read; begun again at the next pass: %v", err)
+		return false
+	}
+	return true
+}
+
 // adoptOperatorKey takes the operator key from the export the mesh writes to the vault's root (what
 // `operator key set` recorded; the controller keeps only a public half there), and seals again any
 // operator copy not yet sealed to the current key. Run every minute, so a failure partway is finished. It
@@ -166,11 +194,15 @@ func main() {
 			say("hashed %d bus accounts at start; %d could not be, tried again every minute: %v", len(written), len(failed), failed)
 		}
 		watched := watchHandings(env)
+		lease := watchLease(env)
 		wants := watchWants(env)
 		for {
 			if !watched {
 				watched = watchHandings(env)
 			}
+			if !lease {
+				lease = watchLease(env)
+			}
 			if !wants {
 				wants = watchWants(env)
 			}
diff --git a/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/mint.go b/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/mint.go
index 6808ea2d..c24bae1c 100644
--- a/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/mint.go
+++ b/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/mint.go
@@ -202,6 +202,7 @@ func (v *Vault) mintWanted(w buscompose.WantedAccount, by string) (Minted, error
 		v.holdBack(w.User, why)
 		return Minted{}, errHeldBack{why}
 	}
+	v.leaseAfresh()
 	if on, why := v.mintingOn(); !on {
 		v.holdBack(w.User, "held back: "+why)
 		return Minted{}, errHeldBack{why}
diff --git a/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/mint_test.go b/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/mint_test.go
index fba566fc..aadd8abe 100644
--- a/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/mint_test.go
+++ b/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/mint_test.go
@@ -105,3 +105,46 @@ func TestTheVaultMintsAWantedAccountOnceAndNothingItHolds(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("vault_status says %+v: an adopted user is not held back, one account minted", st)
 	}
 }
+
+// 774/AC8 (novox/hq ADR 0561 §3): while the controller holds the lease nothing is minted and vault_status says why and
+// names each wanted account held back (never an adopted one); the write that hands the lease away mints them; a lease
+// handed back, expired or unreadable turns minting off again, read afresh before every mint.
+func TestNothingIsMintedUntilTheLeaseIsHandedAway(t *testing.T) {
+	v, accounts, _ := mintingVault(t, false)
+	accounts.keys = map[string]AccountHash{"ace.mod-y": {User: "ace.mod-y", Hash: "$2a$04$adopted", Adopted: true}}
+	for _, m := range []string{"mod-x", "mod-y"} {
+		w := aWant(m)
+		v.WantHeard(w.User, wantRaw(t, w), false)
+	}
+	st := v.MintState()
+	if st.On || !strings.Contains(st.Why, "controller holds the lease") || len(st.HeldBack) != 1 ||
+		!strings.Contains(st.HeldBack["ace.mod-x"], "controller holds the lease") {
+		t.Fatalf("under the controller's lease vault_status says %+v", st)
+	}
+	if _, held, _ := v.Store.Read("own/ace/mod-x/broker"); held {
+		t.Fatal("minted while the controller holds the lease")
+	}
+	// Handed away: the wanted account is minted at that write, the adopted one is not.
+	lease := []byte(`{"handed-to":"the operator's hand-over"}`)
+	v.LeaseRead = func() ([]byte, bool, error) { return lease, true, nil }
+	v.LeaseHeard(lease, true, nil)
+	if _, held, _ := v.Store.Read("own/ace/mod-x/broker"); !held {
+		t.Fatalf("not minted at the lease write: %+v", v.MintState())
+	}
+	if _, held, _ := v.Store.Read("own/ace/mod-y/broker"); held {
+		t.Error("an adopted account was minted at the lease write")
+	}
+	if st := v.MintState(); !st.On || len(st.HeldBack) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("after the lease write vault_status says %+v", st)
+	}
+	// The key expired (no watch hears a key's age pass): read afresh before the next mint, nothing is minted.
+	v.LeaseRead = func() ([]byte, bool, error) { return nil, false, nil }
+	z := aWant("mod-z")
+	v.WantHeard(z.User, wantRaw(t, z), false)
+	if _, held, _ := v.Store.Read("own/ace/mod-z/broker"); held {
+		t.Error("minted after the lease's key expired")
+	}
+	if st := v.MintState(); st.On || !strings.Contains(st.HeldBack["ace.mod-z"], "no lease is written") {
+		t.Errorf("after the key expired vault_status says %+v", st)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/tools.go b/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/tools.go
index 2ef64c8d..b2738d0a 100644
--- a/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/tools.go
+++ b/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/tools.go
@@ -492,7 +492,9 @@ func definitions(env *Env) []toolDef {
 			run: func(string, map[string]any) (any, error) { return env.health(), nil }},
 		{Name: "vault_status",
 			Description: "What needs a person's eye in the vault: operator copies still sealed to an earlier key, the operator " +
-				"key the mesh's export holds if the vault refused it, and how often the record of hand-outs was rolled.",
+				"key the mesh's export holds if the vault refused it, how often the record of hand-outs was rolled, and " +
+				"minting (novox/hq ADR 0561 §3, §9): whether the vault mints bus accounts now and why (only while the " +
+				"controller's lease is handed away), every wanted account it holds back with why, and those it minted.",
 			run: func(string, map[string]any) (any, error) {
 				if env.Vault == nil {
 					return map[string]any{"ready": false, "error": fmt.Sprint(env.Broken)}, nil
@@ -504,7 +506,7 @@ func definitions(env *Env) []toolDef {
 				key, _ := env.Vault.Store.OperatorKey()
 				return map[string]any{"ready": true, "operator_key": key, "copies_on_an_earlier_key": left,
 					"operator_key_refused": env.keyRefused(), "handed_rolled": env.Vault.Store.Rolled(),
-					"ok": left == 0 && env.keyRefused() == "" && key != ""}, nil
+					"minting": env.Vault.MintState(), "ok": left == 0 && env.keyRefused() == "" && key != ""}, nil
 			}},
 	}
 }
diff --git a/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/vault.go b/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/vault.go
index da2ee430..3d975e97 100644
--- a/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/vault.go
+++ b/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/vault.go
@@ -56,6 +56,8 @@ type Vault struct {
 	hashes hashing
 	// adoption is the last adoption (adopt.go), under mu.
 	adoption adoptionKept
+	// LeaseRead reads the controller's lease afresh before a mint (lease.go): nil reads it only as the watch hands it.
+	LeaseRead func() ([]byte, bool, error)
 	// minting is the switch on the lease and what the vault knows of the wanted bus accounts (mint.go).
 	minting minting
 	// callsMu guards pending: the keys of the calls open now (intake.go), never written anywhere.
diff --git a/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/vault_test.go b/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/vault_test.go
index 91a0a736..a635c535 100644
--- a/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/vault_test.go
+++ b/modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/vault_test.go
@@ -131,9 +131,10 @@ func filesUnder(t *testing.T, dir string) map[string]string {
 
 // The manifest declares one bucket, and no secret is in it: the vault's only place for a secret is its own store on its
 // own disk (ADR 0349 §7, ADR 0201 §13). The one bucket is bus-accounts, the bcrypt hashes of the bus accounts it holds
-// (ADR 0547 clause 9), opened in accounts.go alone. It reads two buckets of others', and only reads them: the
-// controller's assignments, for what each node's plan names (askers.go, design 57 V4), and the node-engines' haves, where
-// the bus node hands the loaded list's hashes sealed to the vault (adopt.go, ADR 0547 clause 9), in main.go alone.
+// (ADR 0547 clause 9), opened in accounts.go alone. It reads four buckets of others', and only reads them: the
+// controller's assignments, for what each node's plan names (askers.go, design 57 V4), the node-engines' haves, where
+// the bus node hands the loaded list's hashes sealed to the vault (adopt.go, ADR 0547 clause 9), the grants part's wanted
+// accounts and the controller's lease (mint.go, lease.go, ADR 0561 §2, §3), in main.go alone.
 func TestNoBucketHoldsASecret(t *testing.T) {
 	raw, err := os.ReadFile("../../module.json")
 	if err != nil {
@@ -147,7 +148,7 @@ func TestNoBucketHoldsASecret(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("the manifest declares buckets %s: a secret is in no bucket, sealed or not (ADR 0201 §13), and the one "+
 			"bucket is the accounts' hashes (ADR 0547 clause 9)", s)
 	}
-	if r, _ := json.Marshal(manifest["reads"]); string(r) != `["mesh-controller.assignments","node-engine.have","mesh-grants.accounts"]` {
+	if r, _ := json.Marshal(manifest["reads"]); string(r) != `["mesh-controller.assignments","node-engine.have","mesh-grants.accounts","mesh-controller.lease"]` {
 		t.Errorf("the manifest reads %s: the vault reads the controller's assignments, the haves and the grants part's "+
 			"wanted accounts alone", r)
 	}
@@ -174,6 +175,9 @@ func TestNoBucketHoldsASecret(t *testing.T) {
 			code = []byte(strings.Replace(string(code), "stdio.State(HaveRead).Get(", "", 1))
 			code = []byte(strings.Replace(string(code), "stdio.State(HaveRead).Watch(", "", 1))
 			code = []byte(strings.Replace(string(code), "stdio.State(WantedRead).Watch(", "", 1))
+			// And the controller's lease, one read and one watch (ADR 0561 §3).
+			code = []byte(strings.Replace(string(code), "stdio.State(LeaseRead).Get(", "", 1))
+			code = []byte(strings.Replace(string(code), "stdio.State(LeaseRead).Watch(", "", 1))
 		}
 		if m := bucket.Find(code); m != nil {
 			t.Errorf("%s opens a bucket (%s): the vault keeps every secret in its own store only", f, m)
diff --git a/modules/mesh-vault/module.json b/modules/mesh-vault/module.json
index 3be11a1c..d2c8783f 100644
--- a/modules/mesh-vault/module.json
+++ b/modules/mesh-vault/module.json
@@ -21,7 +21,8 @@
   "reads": [
     "mesh-controller.assignments",
     "node-engine.have",
-    "mesh-grants.accounts"
+    "mesh-grants.accounts",
+    "mesh-controller.lease"
   ],
   "state": [
     {