diff --git a/lib/persist/conformance.sh b/lib/persist/conformance.sh
index 6d100448..14de2028 100755
--- a/lib/persist/conformance.sh
+++ b/lib/persist/conformance.sh
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ if [ ! -x "$SX_SERVER" ]; then
   exit 1
 fi
 
-SUITES=(event log kv project subscribe concurrency snapshot compaction durable blob view cas catalog query batch upcast idempotency global recovery)
+SUITES=(event log kv project subscribe concurrency snapshot compaction durable blob view cas catalog query batch upcast idempotency global example-acl recovery)
 
 OUT_JSON="lib/persist/scoreboard.json"
 OUT_MD="lib/persist/scoreboard.md"
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ run_suite() {
 (load "lib/persist/upcast.sx")
 (load "lib/persist/idempotency.sx")
 (load "lib/persist/global.sx")
+(load "lib/persist/examples/acl.sx")
 (load "lib/persist/subscribe.sx")
 (load "lib/persist/api.sx")
 (epoch 2)
diff --git a/lib/persist/examples/acl.sx b/lib/persist/examples/acl.sx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f35cac81
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/persist/examples/acl.sx
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+; persist/examples/acl — a WORKED MIGRATION REFERENCE. A subsystem (acl grants:
+; who may access what) currently hand-rolls an in-memory mutable map that loses
+; every grant on restart and keeps no audit trail. This shows the same subsystem
+; rebuilt on persist. It is the template other subsystem loops copy; it does NOT
+; touch the real lib/acl (out of this loop's scope).
+;
+; BEFORE — hand-rolled, ephemeral, no history, no concurrency safety:
+;   (define acl-grants {})                      ; resource -> principal list (mutable)
+;   (define acl-grant!  (fn (r p) (set! acl-grants (assoc acl-grants r (cons p (get acl-grants r))))))
+;   (define acl-revoke! (fn (r p) (set! acl-grants (assoc acl-grants r (remove p ...)))))
+;   (define acl-can?    (fn (r p) (contains? (get acl-grants r) p)))
+;   ;; vanishes on restart; "when/why was X granted?" is unanswerable.
+;
+; AFTER — on persist. Grants/revokes are EVENTS (history matters), the current
+; grant set is a PROJECTION, checks read a materialized VIEW, and the audit trail
+; is a time-windowed query. Every fn takes a backend `b`, so the same code runs
+; on the in-memory backend today and the durable backend unchanged.
+; Requires: lib/persist/log.sx, lib/persist/project.sx, lib/persist/view.sx,
+;           lib/persist/query.sx.
+
+(define acl/stream (fn (resource) (str "acl/" resource)))
+
+; write side — grant/revoke append events (the history is the source of truth)
+(define
+  acl/grant
+  (fn
+    (b resource principal at)
+    (persist/append b (acl/stream resource) "granted" at {:principal principal})))
+(define
+  acl/revoke
+  (fn
+    (b resource principal at)
+    (persist/append b (acl/stream resource) "revoked" at {:principal principal})))
+
+; fold step: grant adds a principal (once), revoke removes it
+(define
+  acl/step
+  (fn
+    (set e)
+    (let
+      ((p (get (persist/event-data e) :principal)))
+      (if
+        (equal? (persist/event-type e) "granted")
+        (if (contains? set p) set (append set p))
+        (filter (fn (x) (not (equal? x p))) set)))))
+
+; read side — current grant set + membership check (replays the log)
+(define
+  acl/grants
+  (fn
+    (b resource)
+    (persist/project-fold b (acl/stream resource) acl/step (list))))
+(define
+  acl/can?
+  (fn (b resource principal) (contains? (acl/grants b resource) principal)))
+
+; materialized view — attach to a hub for O(1) checks that stay current on write
+(define
+  acl/view
+  (fn
+    (resource)
+    (persist/view
+      (str "acl-current/" resource)
+      (acl/stream resource)
+      acl/step
+      (list))))
+(define
+  acl/can-fast?
+  (fn
+    (b resource principal)
+    (contains? (persist/view-peek b (acl/view resource)) principal)))
+
+; audit — grants/revokes for a resource in a time window (the new capability the
+; hand-rolled version could never answer)
+(define
+  acl/audit-window
+  (fn
+    (b resource from to)
+    (persist/read-window b (acl/stream resource) from to)))
diff --git a/lib/persist/scoreboard.json b/lib/persist/scoreboard.json
index ac995fa1..57235fdd 100644
--- a/lib/persist/scoreboard.json
+++ b/lib/persist/scoreboard.json
@@ -18,9 +18,10 @@
     "upcast": {"pass": 9, "fail": 0},
     "idempotency": {"pass": 9, "fail": 0},
     "global": {"pass": 11, "fail": 0},
+    "example-acl": {"pass": 10, "fail": 0},
     "recovery": {"pass": 6, "fail": 0}
   },
-  "total_pass": 191,
+  "total_pass": 201,
   "total_fail": 0,
-  "total": 191
+  "total": 201
 }
diff --git a/lib/persist/scoreboard.md b/lib/persist/scoreboard.md
index ada4507f..e21eab7f 100644
--- a/lib/persist/scoreboard.md
+++ b/lib/persist/scoreboard.md
@@ -22,5 +22,6 @@ _Generated by `lib/persist/conformance.sh`_
 | upcast | 9 | 0 | 9 |
 | idempotency | 9 | 0 | 9 |
 | global | 11 | 0 | 11 |
+| example-acl | 10 | 0 | 10 |
 | recovery | 6 | 0 | 6 |
-| **Total** | **191** | **0** | **191** |
+| **Total** | **201** | **0** | **201** |
diff --git a/lib/persist/tests/example-acl.sx b/lib/persist/tests/example-acl.sx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b9f01f59
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/persist/tests/example-acl.sx
@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+; Reference migration — acl grants on persist. Proves the AFTER behaviour,
+; including the capabilities the hand-rolled BEFORE version could not provide
+; (durability across restart + an audit trail).
+
+(persist-test
+  "grant then can?"
+  (let
+    ((b (persist/open)))
+    (begin
+      (acl/grant b "doc-1" "alice" 0)
+      (acl/can? b "doc-1" "alice")))
+  true)
+(persist-test
+  "no grant means no access"
+  (acl/can? (persist/open) "doc-1" "alice")
+  false)
+(persist-test
+  "revoke removes access"
+  (let
+    ((b (persist/open)))
+    (begin
+      (acl/grant b "doc-1" "alice" 0)
+      (acl/revoke b "doc-1" "alice" 1)
+      (acl/can? b "doc-1" "alice")))
+  false)
+(persist-test
+  "multiple principals tracked independently"
+  (let
+    ((b (persist/open)))
+    (begin
+      (acl/grant b "doc-1" "alice" 0)
+      (acl/grant b "doc-1" "bob" 1)
+      (acl/revoke b "doc-1" "alice" 2)
+      (list (acl/can? b "doc-1" "alice") (acl/can? b "doc-1" "bob"))))
+  (list false true))
+(persist-test
+  "granting twice is idempotent in the set"
+  (let
+    ((b (persist/open)))
+    (begin
+      (acl/grant b "doc-1" "alice" 0)
+      (acl/grant b "doc-1" "alice" 1)
+      (len (acl/grants b "doc-1"))))
+  1)
+(persist-test
+  "grants on different resources are isolated"
+  (let
+    ((b (persist/open)))
+    (begin
+      (acl/grant b "doc-1" "alice" 0)
+      (acl/grant b "doc-2" "bob" 0)
+      (list (acl/can? b "doc-1" "bob") (acl/can? b "doc-2" "bob"))))
+  (list false true))
+(persist-test
+  "audit window answers when-was-it-granted (new capability)"
+  (let
+    ((b (persist/open)))
+    (begin
+      (acl/grant b "doc-1" "alice" 100)
+      (acl/revoke b "doc-1" "alice" 200)
+      (acl/grant b "doc-1" "bob" 300)
+      (len (acl/audit-window b "doc-1" 150 300))))
+  2)
+(persist-test
+  "materialized view stays current on publish"
+  (let
+    ((b (persist/open)))
+    (let
+      ((h (persist/view-attach (persist/hub b) (acl/view "doc-1"))))
+      (begin
+        (persist/publish
+          h
+          (acl/stream "doc-1")
+          "granted"
+          0
+          {:principal "alice"})
+        (acl/can-fast? b "doc-1" "alice"))))
+  true)
+(persist-test
+  "grants survive restart on the durable backend (the headline win)"
+  (let
+    ((disk (persist/mem-backend)))
+    (begin
+      (let
+        ((db (persist/mock-durable disk)))
+        (begin
+          (acl/grant db "doc-1" "alice" 0)
+          (acl/grant db "doc-1" "bob" 1)))
+      (let
+        ((db2 (persist/mock-durable disk)))
+        (list (acl/can? db2 "doc-1" "alice") (acl/can? db2 "doc-1" "bob")))))
+  (list true true))
+(persist-test
+  "revoke before restart is still revoked after"
+  (let
+    ((disk (persist/mem-backend)))
+    (begin
+      (let
+        ((db (persist/mock-durable disk)))
+        (begin
+          (acl/grant db "doc-1" "alice" 0)
+          (acl/revoke db "doc-1" "alice" 1)))
+      (acl/can? (persist/mock-durable disk) "doc-1" "alice")))
+  false)
diff --git a/plans/persist-on-sx.md b/plans/persist-on-sx.md
index 25b6ba0a..17b70e2b 100644
--- a/plans/persist-on-sx.md
+++ b/plans/persist-on-sx.md
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ read models (feeds, indices, audit logs) update incrementally.
 
 ## Status (rolling)
 
-`bash lib/persist/conformance.sh` → **191/191** (Phases 1–4 complete + extensions)
+`bash lib/persist/conformance.sh` → **201/201** (Phases 1–4 complete + extensions + a reference migration)
 
 ## Ground rules
 
@@ -188,7 +188,22 @@ over an in-process disk (the mock-IO harness).
 feed/-log, flow store, mod/audit, search index, acl grants, identity sessions all
 become `persist` log or kv. Track each migration in that subsystem's plan.
 
+**Reference migration:** `lib/persist/examples/acl.sx` is a worked, tested
+template — an ACL-grants store rebuilt on persist (grants/revokes as events,
+current set as a projection, O(1) checks via a materialized view, an audit-window
+query). It carries an explicit BEFORE (hand-rolled ephemeral map) → AFTER
+diff in its header and proves the headline win (grants survive restart) on the
+durable backend. Other subsystem loops copy this pattern; it does not touch the
+real `lib/acl`.
+
 ## Progress log
+- **Reference migration: acl grants (201/201).** `lib/persist/examples/acl.sx` —
+  a worked, in-scope template migrating an ACL-grants store from a hand-rolled
+  ephemeral map to persist: grants/revokes as events, current set as a
+  projection, O(1) checks via a materialized view, audit via `read-window`.
+  Header carries the BEFORE→AFTER diff. 10 tests, incl. grants surviving restart
+  on the durable backend (the capability the BEFORE version lacked). The pattern
+  other subsystem loops copy.
 - **Ext: global commit ordering (191/191).** `global.sx` — `persist/gappend`
   records a pointer in a reserved `$global` index (its seq = global commit
   position); `read-global`/`project-global` resolve pointers to events in commit