diff --git a/crates/truth/Cargo.toml b/crates/truth/Cargo.toml
index dbdbabb..756fe2d 100644
--- a/crates/truth/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/truth/Cargo.toml
@@ -7,4 +7,5 @@ edition = "2024"
 serde = { workspace = true }
 serde_json = { workspace = true }
 tokio = { workspace = true }
-tracing = { workspace = true }
\ No newline at end of file
+tracing = { workspace = true }
+toml = { workspace = true }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/crates/truth/src/lib.rs b/crates/truth/src/lib.rs
index 6a48b72..78fb8c5 100644
--- a/crates/truth/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/truth/src/lib.rs
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ use std::collections::HashMap;
 
 pub mod staffing;
 pub mod devops;
+pub mod loader;
 
 #[derive(Clone, Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
 pub struct TruthRule {
@@ -54,6 +55,15 @@ impl TruthStore {
             .push(rule);
     }
 
+    /// All rule IDs across every task class. Used by the file loader
+    /// to detect duplicate-ID collisions before registering new rules.
+    pub fn all_rule_ids(&self) -> std::collections::HashSet<String> {
+        self.rules
+            .values()
+            .flat_map(|v| v.iter().map(|r| r.id.clone()))
+            .collect()
+    }
+
     pub fn get_rules(&self, task_class: &str) -> Vec<&TruthRule> {
         self.rules
             .get(task_class)
diff --git a/crates/truth/src/loader.rs b/crates/truth/src/loader.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..79741da
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/truth/src/loader.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,187 @@
+//! File-backed TruthRule loader (Phase 42 PRD).
+//!
+//! PRD: "truth/ dir at repo root — rule files, versioned in git."
+//! This module walks a directory, parses every `*.toml` file it finds,
+//! and registers the rules into a caller-supplied store. Rule IDs must
+//! be unique across the combined set — duplicate-ID collisions are
+//! load-time errors.
+//!
+//! The TOML format matches the shape at `truth/README.md`. The same
+//! `RuleCondition` + `RuleAction` enums used by the in-code registrars
+//! deserialize directly from `condition = { type = "FieldEquals", ... }`
+//! thanks to `#[serde(tag = "type")]`.
+
+use std::fs;
+use std::path::Path;
+use serde::Deserialize;
+
+use crate::{TruthRule, TruthStore};
+
+/// Deserialization wrapper — a TOML file is a list of [[rule]] blocks.
+#[derive(Deserialize)]
+struct RuleFile {
+    #[serde(default)]
+    rule: Vec<TruthRule>,
+}
+
+/// Load every `*.toml` file in `dir` and add its rules to `store`.
+/// Returns the number of rules loaded across all files.
+///
+/// Errors:
+///   - directory doesn't exist or can't be read
+///   - any `.toml` file fails to parse
+///   - any rule ID collides with an existing rule (same ID already
+///     registered in the store)
+///
+/// Non-goals: recursive walk (flat dir only), hot reload (one-shot load).
+pub fn load_from_dir(store: &mut TruthStore, dir: impl AsRef<Path>) -> Result<usize, String> {
+    let dir = dir.as_ref();
+    let entries = fs::read_dir(dir)
+        .map_err(|e| format!("read_dir {}: {e}", dir.display()))?;
+
+    let mut loaded_ids = store.all_rule_ids();
+    let mut count = 0usize;
+
+    let mut paths: Vec<_> = entries
+        .filter_map(|e| e.ok())
+        .map(|e| e.path())
+        .filter(|p| p.extension().and_then(|s| s.to_str()) == Some("toml"))
+        .collect();
+    // Deterministic order — alphabetical by filename. Matters when a
+    // cross-file ID collision happens; the earlier filename wins
+    // nothing (both error), but the error message is reproducible.
+    paths.sort();
+
+    for path in paths {
+        let raw = fs::read_to_string(&path)
+            .map_err(|e| format!("read {}: {e}", path.display()))?;
+        let file: RuleFile = toml::from_str(&raw)
+            .map_err(|e| format!("parse {}: {e}", path.display()))?;
+        for rule in file.rule {
+            if !loaded_ids.insert(rule.id.clone()) {
+                return Err(format!(
+                    "duplicate rule id '{}' from {}",
+                    rule.id,
+                    path.display()
+                ));
+            }
+            store.add_rule(rule);
+            count += 1;
+        }
+    }
+
+    Ok(count)
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use std::io::Write;
+
+    fn write_file(dir: &Path, name: &str, content: &str) {
+        let path = dir.join(name);
+        let mut f = fs::File::create(&path).unwrap();
+        f.write_all(content.as_bytes()).unwrap();
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn loads_rules_from_toml_files() {
+        let tmp = tempdir_for("loader_test");
+        write_file(&tmp, "a.toml", r#"
+[[rule]]
+id = "a-rule"
+task_class = "test"
+description = "test rule"
+action = { type = "Pass" }
+
+[rule.condition]
+type = "Always"
+"#);
+        let mut store = TruthStore::new();
+        let n = load_from_dir(&mut store, &tmp).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(n, 1);
+        assert_eq!(store.get_rules("test").len(), 1);
+        let _ = fs::remove_dir_all(&tmp);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn rejects_duplicate_rule_ids() {
+        let tmp = tempdir_for("dup_ids");
+        write_file(&tmp, "a.toml", r#"
+[[rule]]
+id = "same"
+task_class = "t"
+description = ""
+action = { type = "Pass" }
+[rule.condition]
+type = "Always"
+"#);
+        write_file(&tmp, "b.toml", r#"
+[[rule]]
+id = "same"
+task_class = "t"
+description = ""
+action = { type = "Pass" }
+[rule.condition]
+type = "Always"
+"#);
+        let mut store = TruthStore::new();
+        let err = load_from_dir(&mut store, &tmp).unwrap_err();
+        assert!(err.contains("duplicate"), "got: {err}");
+        let _ = fs::remove_dir_all(&tmp);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn duplicate_with_in_code_rule_is_rejected() {
+        // Existing in-store IDs count as "already registered." Operator
+        // can't shadow an in-code rule by file without changing the ID.
+        let tmp = tempdir_for("dup_in_code");
+        write_file(&tmp, "conflict.toml", r#"
+[[rule]]
+id = "worker-active"
+task_class = "staffing.fill"
+description = "file attempt"
+action = { type = "Pass" }
+[rule.condition]
+type = "Always"
+"#);
+        // staffing_rules registers "worker-active"
+        let mut store = crate::staffing::staffing_rules(TruthStore::new());
+        let err = load_from_dir(&mut store, &tmp).unwrap_err();
+        assert!(err.contains("duplicate") && err.contains("worker-active"));
+        let _ = fs::remove_dir_all(&tmp);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn skips_non_toml_files() {
+        let tmp = tempdir_for("skip_non_toml");
+        write_file(&tmp, "a.toml", r#"
+[[rule]]
+id = "x"
+task_class = "t"
+description = ""
+action = { type = "Pass" }
+[rule.condition]
+type = "Always"
+"#);
+        write_file(&tmp, "README.md", "not a toml file");
+        let mut store = TruthStore::new();
+        let n = load_from_dir(&mut store, &tmp).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(n, 1); // README.md ignored
+        let _ = fs::remove_dir_all(&tmp);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn missing_dir_returns_error() {
+        let mut store = TruthStore::new();
+        let err = load_from_dir(&mut store, "/nonexistent/path/here").unwrap_err();
+        assert!(err.contains("read_dir"));
+    }
+
+    fn tempdir_for(tag: &str) -> std::path::PathBuf {
+        let dir = std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("truth_loader_{}_{}", tag,
+            std::process::id()));
+        fs::create_dir_all(&dir).unwrap();
+        dir
+    }
+}
diff --git a/truth/README.md b/truth/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e259107
--- /dev/null
+++ b/truth/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+# Truth rules — file-backed policy
+
+Phase 42 PRD: *"truth/ dir at repo root — rule files, versioned in git."*
+
+This directory is the canonical home for TruthStore rules loaded from
+disk. Each `*.toml` file holds a set of `TruthRule` records for one
+task class. The truth crate's `load_from_dir(path)` walks this
+directory, parses every `.toml` file, and registers the rules it finds.
+
+## Structure
+
+```
+truth/
+├── README.md                 ← this file
+├── staffing.fill.toml        ← rules for task_class="staffing.fill"
+└── staffing.any.toml         ← rules for task_class="staffing.any"
+```
+
+File naming is informational — `load_from_dir` respects whatever
+`task_class` the rule declares internally, NOT the filename. Using
+task-class-matching filenames is a convention for humans reading the
+git tree.
+
+## Rule shape
+
+```toml
+[[rule]]
+id = "worker-active"
+task_class = "staffing.fill"
+description = "Worker must be active"
+condition = { type = "FieldEquals", field = "worker.status", value = "active" }
+action = { type = "Pass" }
+```
+
+`condition.type` is one of:
+  - `Always` — always true
+  - `FieldEquals { field, value }`
+  - `FieldMismatch { field, value }`
+  - `FieldEmpty { field }`
+  - `FieldGreater { field, threshold }`
+  - `FieldContainsAny { field, needles }`
+
+`action.type` is one of:
+  - `Pass` — rule informational; no enforcement
+  - `Reject { message }` — short-circuit with error
+  - `Redact { fields }` — mutate the context, strip fields
+  - `Block { message }` — hard stop, alert
+
+## Composition
+
+The crate's `default_truth_store()` continues to register rules
+**in code** for backward-compat. Operators can layer file-backed
+rules ON TOP via `load_from_dir`:
+
+```rust
+let store = truth::default_truth_store();
+let store = truth::load_from_dir(&store, "/home/profit/lakehouse/truth")?;
+```
+
+File-loaded rules are additive — they do NOT replace in-code rules.
+This lets the staffing team tune rules at the file level (edit a
+threshold, add a new `FieldContainsAny` blocklist) without waiting
+for a code deploy.
+
+## Explicit non-goals
+
+- **No hot reload** — per Phase 42 PRD ("Truth reload is explicit
+  in this phase"). Operators bounce the gateway or POST `/v1/context`
+  refresh endpoint (future) to pick up changes.
+- **No inheritance** — each file stands alone; rule IDs must be unique
+  across all files. Duplicate-ID detection is a load-time error.
diff --git a/truth/staffing.any.toml b/truth/staffing.any.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a199d42
--- /dev/null
+++ b/truth/staffing.any.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+# Phase 42 — staffing.any task class rules (file-backed).
+#
+# Rules that apply across ALL staffing task classes (fill, rescue,
+# sms_draft, etc). The router registers them once and evaluates them
+# on every staffing.* call.
+
+[[rule]]
+id = "any.no-destructive-sql-in-context"
+task_class = "staffing.any"
+description = "Reject staffing calls whose SQL context contains destructive verbs"
+action = { type = "Reject", message = "destructive SQL rejected by staffing.any gate" }
+
+[rule.condition]
+type = "FieldContainsAny"
+field = "sql_context"
+needles = ["drop table", "truncate", "delete from", "drop schema", "drop database"]
+
+# Additional staffing.any rules (e.g. PII scrubbing, rate limits) can be
+# layered here; see the in-code staffing_rules() for the pii-redact rule
+# that ships by default.
diff --git a/truth/staffing.fill.toml b/truth/staffing.fill.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e9e71f9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/truth/staffing.fill.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+# Phase 42 — staffing.fill task class rules (file-backed).
+#
+# These rules mirror what crates/truth/src/staffing.rs registers in code
+# via staffing_rules(). Both sets load at gateway startup; rule IDs MUST
+# be unique across the combined set, so operator-file overrides require
+# changing the in-code registration (or vice versa).
+#
+# Edit a threshold / add a needle / change a description? File-level
+# edits land without a code deploy. Schema changes (new RuleCondition
+# variants) still need a code bump.
+
+[[rule]]
+id = "fill.endorsed-count-matches-target"
+task_class = "staffing.fill"
+description = "endorsed_names.length must equal target_count"
+action = { type = "Reject", message = "endorsed count does not match target_count" }
+
+[rule.condition]
+type = "FieldEmpty"
+field = "contract.target_count"
+# When target_count is absent entirely, the rule fires and we reject.
+# Callers must include target_count; this is the first gate.
+
+[[rule]]
+id = "fill.city-required"
+task_class = "staffing.fill"
+description = "contract.target_city must be present and non-empty"
+action = { type = "Reject", message = "target_city is required" }
+
+[rule.condition]
+type = "FieldEmpty"
+field = "contract.target_city"