diff --git a/turnstone/core/storage/migrations/versions/017_catchup_admin_permissions.py b/turnstone/core/storage/migrations/versions/017_catchup_admin_permissions.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..30640aa7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/turnstone/core/storage/migrations/versions/017_catchup_admin_permissions.py
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+"""Catch-up: ensure builtin-admin role has all current permissions.
+
+Migrations 011-016 each appended a permission to the builtin-admin role,
+but on some deployments these UPDATE statements did not take effect
+(e.g. due to version stamping without running, or create_all bypassing
+Alembic). This migration idempotently ensures the builtin-admin role
+has the complete permission set.
+
+Revision ID: 017
+Revises: 016
+Create Date: 2026-03-14
+"""
+
+import sqlalchemy as sa
+from alembic import op
+
+revision = "017"
+down_revision = "016"
+branch_labels = None
+depends_on = None
+
+# The complete set of permissions the builtin-admin role should have.
+# Must stay in sync with _VALID_PERMISSIONS in console/server.py.
+_EXPECTED_ADMIN_PERMS = (
+    "read,write,approve,"
+    "admin.users,admin.roles,admin.orgs,"
+    "admin.policies,admin.templates,admin.ws_templates,"
+    "admin.audit,admin.usage,"
+    "admin.schedules,admin.watches,"
+    "admin.judge,admin.memories,admin.settings,admin.mcp,"
+    "tools.approve,workstreams.create,workstreams.close"
+)
+
+
+def upgrade() -> None:
+    conn = op.get_bind()
+    conn.execute(
+        sa.text("UPDATE roles SET permissions = :perms WHERE role_id = 'builtin-admin'"),
+        {"perms": _EXPECTED_ADMIN_PERMS},
+    )
+
+
+def downgrade() -> None:
+    # No-op: we don't remove permissions on downgrade since we can't
+    # know which subset the deployment originally had.
+    pass