diff --git a/modules/mesh-delivery-watchman/internal/watch/finding.go b/modules/mesh-delivery-watchman/internal/watch/finding.go
index b0707089..837e3db3 100644
--- a/modules/mesh-delivery-watchman/internal/watch/finding.go
+++ b/modules/mesh-delivery-watchman/internal/watch/finding.go
@@ -66,15 +66,29 @@ func (f Finding) Key() string {
 	return FindingKey(f.Scope, f.ID, token)
 }
 
+// KeyID is an id as the parts of a key: each dot-separated part made safe for a bus key, as the key of a condition is
+// (mcc.Key), so the finding's key keeps the shape its condition had.
+func KeyID(id string) string {
+	parts := strings.Split(id, ".")
+	for i, p := range parts {
+		p = unsafeKey.ReplaceAllString(strings.TrimSpace(p), "_")
+		if p == "" {
+			p = "_"
+		}
+		parts[i] = p
+	}
+	return strings.Join(parts, ".")
+}
+
 // Contract is f as the seat mesh-conditions' generated finding (design 47 G §686, §689): a ref, where the finding has a
 // token other than its kind, goes into the id as `<id>.<ref>` (A-14), and is kept in `ref` so the finding reads back as
 // it was written. The resolved words are not a field of the seat (A-22), and its `at` is its `since`, so the same thing
 // observed again writes the same bytes.
 func (f Finding) Contract() condseat.Finding {
-	id, ref := f.ID, ""
+	id, ref := KeyID(f.ID), ""
 	if f.Token != "" && f.Token != f.Kind {
 		ref = f.Token
-		id = f.ID + "." + ref
+		id = id + "." + KeyID(ref)
 	}
 	v := condseat.Finding{Scope: f.Scope, ID: id, Kind: f.Kind, Ref: ref, Severity: f.Severity, Summary: f.Summary,
 		Headline: f.Headline, Explanation: f.Explanation, Needs: f.Needs, Source: f.Source, Observer: Observer,