diff --git a/.policies/index.md b/.policies/index.md
index c1fb9ba6..1a5ac878 100644
--- a/.policies/index.md
+++ b/.policies/index.md
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ This is the **single source of truth** for all policies in this repository.
 | [Stateless Stream Operations](./stateless-streams.md)    | Recommended | Use `*[Symbol.iterator]` pattern for reusable stream operations        |
 | [Version Bump](./version-bump.md)                        | Recommended | PRs changing package code must include a semantic version bump         |
 | [Async Teardown](./async-teardown.md)                    | Recommended | Teardown that needs `yield*` must use `ensure()`, not a `finally` block |
+| [Scope-Bound Event Registration](./scope-bound-event-registration.md) | Recommended | Listener lifetime depends on a scope, never on the event firing; no `once()` |
 | [Package.json Metadata](./package-json-metadata.md)      | Strict      | Every published package must include a description field               |
 | [No Agent Marketing](./no-agent-marketing.md)            | Strict      | No AI tool promotional material in commits, PRs, issues, or comments   |
 | [Code Comments](./code-comments.md)                      | Strict      | Comments say what the code cannot; delete the ones that restate it     |
diff --git a/.policies/scope-bound-event-registration.md b/.policies/scope-bound-event-registration.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..79c9d0c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.policies/scope-bound-event-registration.md
@@ -0,0 +1,129 @@
+# Scope-Bound Event Registration Policy (Recommended)
+
+This document defines the recommended policy for registering event listeners on
+emitters (Node `EventEmitter`, streams, `EventTarget`) inside Effection code.
+
+## Core Principle
+
+**An event listener's lifetime must depend solely on a scope, never on its event
+firing.**
+
+## The Rule
+
+| Case / Condition                                        | Required behavior                                                        |
+| ------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
+| Registering any listener                                | Use `.on()` / `.addEventListener()` with a **named** handler             |
+| `emitter.once(...)` or `{ once: true }`                 | Never; convert to `.on()` plus scope-bound removal                       |
+| Removing the listener                                   | `.off()` in the scope's own teardown (`finally` for sync-only, `ensure()` otherwise) |
+| Teardown waits on a value the listener resolves         | Deregister in a sync `finally` around that wait, in the same `ensure()`  |
+
+The `once()` *operation* from `@effectionx/node/events` is compliant and
+unaffected: it removes its listener when its scope exits, whether or not the
+event ever fired. This policy is about `EventEmitter.prototype.once` and the
+`{ once: true }` listener option.
+
+### Why
+
+`emitter.once()` deregisters the hook only when the event fires. If the event
+never fires — the process never errors, the stream is destroyed instead of
+ending, the scope is halted first — the listener outlives the scope that
+created it. On emitters shared beyond a single owner (I/O pipes are the
+canonical case: a child's stdio may be inherited by descendants and observed by
+more than one consumer) the leaked listener keeps firing into a dead scope,
+resolving resolvers nobody is waiting on and holding referenced objects alive.
+
+Symmetric registration and removal on scope entry and exit makes listener
+lifetime deterministic — the same principle
+[Structured Concurrency](./structured-concurrency.md) applies to tasks, applied
+to event hooks.
+
+## Examples
+
+### Compliant: named handlers, removed in the scope's teardown
+
+```typescript
+function useConnection(url: string): Operation<Connection> {
+  return resource(function* (provide) {
+    let socket = connect(url);
+    let onMessage = (message: Message) => inbox.send(message);
+    socket.on("message", onMessage);
+    try {
+      yield* provide(ConnectionHandle(socket));
+    } finally {
+      socket.off("message", onMessage); // sync-only: `finally` is fine
+    }
+  });
+}
+```
+
+### Compliant: teardown waits on a listener-resolved value first
+
+```typescript
+function useChildProcess(create: () => ChildProcess): Operation<NativeProcess> {
+  return resource(function* (provide) {
+    let result = withResolvers<Result<ExitStatus>>();
+    let child: ChildProcess | undefined;
+
+    let onClose = (code: number | null) => result.resolve(Ok(ExitStatus(code)));
+
+    yield* ensure(function* () {
+      if (child) {
+        try {
+          yield* result.operation; // needs `onClose` still attached
+        } finally {
+          child.off("close", onClose); // after the wait, but not dependent
+        } //                              on it completing — sync finally
+      }
+    });
+
+    child = create();
+    child.on("close", onClose);
+    yield* provide(NativeProcess(child, result.operation));
+  });
+}
+```
+
+### Non-Compliant: `once()` ties removal to the event firing
+
+```typescript
+child.once("error", (error) => {
+  result.resolve(Err(error)); // VIOLATION: if "error" never fires, the
+}); //                           listener outlives the scope
+```
+
+### Non-Compliant: registered but never removed
+
+```typescript
+stream.on("data", (chunk) => signal.send(chunk)); // VIOLATION: no `.off()` on
+yield* provide(handle); //                           any teardown path; leaks on
+//                                                   emitters shared beyond this scope
+```
+
+## Verification Checklist
+
+Before marking a review complete, verify:
+
+- [ ] No `emitter.once(...)` or `{ once: true }` registration in the diff
+- [ ] Every `.on()` / `.addEventListener()` has a named handler and a matching
+      `.off()` / `.removeEventListener()` on a teardown path of the same scope
+- [ ] Removal that follows a `yield*` lives in `ensure()`, not `finally`
+      (see [Async Teardown](./async-teardown.md))
+- [ ] When teardown awaits a listener-resolved value, removal sits in a sync
+      `finally` around that wait — ordered after it, but not dependent on it
+      completing
+
+## Common Mistakes
+
+| Mistake                                                      | Fix                                                                 |
+| ------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| `emitter.once("close", handler)`                             | `emitter.on("close", handler)` + `.off()` in the scope's teardown   |
+| Anonymous inline listener                                    | Name it — `.off()` needs the same function reference                |
+| `.off()` in a `finally` while an `ensure()` still awaits the event | Move removal into that `ensure()`, in a sync `finally` around the wait |
+| Skipping removal because "the emitter dies with the process" | Remove anyway; the emitter may be shared beyond this scope          |
+
+## Related Policies
+
+- [Async Teardown](./async-teardown.md) - Where removal may live: `finally` only if sync-only
+- [Structured Concurrency](./structured-concurrency.md) - The same lifetime principle, for tasks
+- [Correctness Through Explicit Invariants](./correctness-invariants.md) - The never-fires path must be considered
+- [Policies Index](./index.md) - Add your new policy to the Policy Documents table
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index d4a7ac1d..830dd15b 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -78,6 +78,11 @@ When reviewing PRs:
   yields, the resume comes back as `iterator.next()`, which takes the frame out of
   return-mode and the halt is lost. Synchronous cleanup in `finally` is fine.
   See the [Async Teardown policy](.policies/async-teardown.md)
+- **Never register event listeners with `emitter.once()`; listener lifetime must depend
+  on a scope, not on the event firing.** Register named handlers with `.on()` and remove
+  them with `.off()` in the scope's own teardown — after any teardown wait that needs the
+  listener still attached. See the
+  [Scope-Bound Event Registration policy](.policies/scope-bound-event-registration.md)
 - Prefer `Operation<T>` for async operations
 - Use `*[Symbol.iterator]` pattern for reusable stream operations (see Stateless Streams policy)
 - Avoid `sleep()` for test synchronization (see No-Sleep Test Sync policy)