diff --git a/scripts/check_style.py b/scripts/check_style.py
index 0ced611..b95d919 100755
--- a/scripts/check_style.py
+++ b/scripts/check_style.py
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ def hex_is_prose(text: str, match: re.Match, ctx: FileContext) -> bool:
 # section 3 is a default and section 4 says so.
 PHASE_BLOCKING = {
     1: {"paths", "links", "agents", "hygiene"},
-    2: {"paths", "links", "agents", "hygiene", "content", "naming", "language"},
+    2: {"paths", "links", "agents", "hygiene", "content", "naming", "language", "docs"},
 }
 
 
@@ -398,6 +398,30 @@ def check_agent_files(root: Path, report: Report) -> None:
             )
 
 
+def check_docs_baseline(root: Path, report: Report) -> None:
+    """The file set a reader expects, split by what the repository is.
+
+    A LICENSE is the signal: a repository that grants rights to outside readers
+    owes them a contribution path, a way to report a vulnerability, and a
+    conduct policy. A repository that does not grant them is internal, and an
+    internal repository needs one thing from this list — where credentials live
+    and what to do when one leaks — not a public disclosure process it will
+    never run.
+    """
+    if (root / "LICENSE").exists():
+        required = ["CONTRIBUTING.md", "SECURITY.md", "CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md"]
+        kind = "public"
+    else:
+        required = ["SECURITY.md"]
+        kind = "private"
+    missing = [name for name in required if not (root / name).exists()]
+    if missing:
+        report.add(
+            "docs",
+            f"{kind} repository is missing {', '.join(missing)} (section 14)",
+        )
+
+
 def check_language(root: Path, report: Report) -> None:
     marketing = re.compile(
         r"\b(" + "|".join(re.escape(w) for w in MARKETING_WORDS) + r")\b", re.IGNORECASE
@@ -522,6 +546,7 @@ def main() -> int:
     check_links(root, report)
     check_agent_files(root, report)
     check_language(root, report)
+    check_docs_baseline(root, report)
     check_leaks(root, report)
     check_internal_paths(root, report)
 
diff --git a/scripts/test_style.py b/scripts/test_style.py
index 45369d9..f2e8b5c 100644
--- a/scripts/test_style.py
+++ b/scripts/test_style.py
@@ -281,6 +281,37 @@ def test_cross_repository_reference_never_blocks(self):
         self.assertEqual(report.blocking_findings(), [])
 
 
+class DocsBaselineTest(CheckerTestCase):
+    def test_public_repository_needs_the_reader_file_set(self):
+        self.write("LICENSE", "MIT\n")
+        report = self.report()
+        check_style.check_docs_baseline(self.root, report)
+        found = self.messages(report, "docs")
+        self.assertTrue(any("CONTRIBUTING.md" in m for m in found))
+        self.assertTrue(any("CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md" in m for m in found))
+
+    def test_public_repository_with_the_file_set_passes(self):
+        self.write("LICENSE", "MIT\n")
+        for name in ("CONTRIBUTING.md", "SECURITY.md", "CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md"):
+            self.write(name, "# " + name + "\n")
+        report = self.report()
+        check_style.check_docs_baseline(self.root, report)
+        self.assertEqual(self.messages(report, "docs"), [])
+
+    def test_private_repository_needs_only_the_credential_doc(self):
+        # No LICENSE means the repository grants nothing to outside readers, so
+        # a public disclosure process would be a document nobody runs.
+        self.write("SECURITY.md", "# Credentials\n")
+        report = self.report()
+        check_style.check_docs_baseline(self.root, report)
+        self.assertEqual(self.messages(report, "docs"), [])
+
+    def test_private_repository_without_the_credential_doc_is_reported(self):
+        report = self.report()
+        check_style.check_docs_baseline(self.root, report)
+        self.assertTrue(any("SECURITY.md" in m for m in self.messages(report, "docs")))
+
+
 class PhaseTest(CheckerTestCase):
     def test_phase_one_does_not_block_naming(self):
         self.write("docs/hk_equity_runtime.md", "# x\n")