diff --git a/api/app/Listeners/FormBuilder/SyncTagPickerSelectionsOnSubmit.php b/api/app/Listeners/FormBuilder/SyncTagPickerSelectionsOnSubmit.php
index d8504bab..62a3dd2e 100644
--- a/api/app/Listeners/FormBuilder/SyncTagPickerSelectionsOnSubmit.php
+++ b/api/app/Listeners/FormBuilder/SyncTagPickerSelectionsOnSubmit.php
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ declare(strict_types=1);
 
 namespace App\Listeners\FormBuilder;
 
+use App\Enums\FormBuilder\ApplyStatus;
 use App\Enums\FormBuilder\FormFieldType;
 use App\Enums\FormBuilder\FormPurpose;
 use App\Events\FormBuilder\FormSubmissionSubmitted;
@@ -24,6 +25,11 @@ use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Log;
  * person's linked user. No-ops when person.user_id is null (deferred
  * sync runs on PersonIdentityService::confirmMatch).
  *
+ * Gating-invariant first statement per ARCH-BINDINGS §5.6: skip unless
+ * apply_status is COMPLETED. PARTIAL and FAILED both fall through —
+ * rebuilding tags against a Person whose tag-binding may have been the
+ * binding that failed would propagate partial state into derived data.
+ *
  * Failure mode: log at error level; never throw. Event propagation must
  * reach sibling listeners (§31.1 identity, §31.3 shifts, §31.8 crowd lists).
  */
@@ -43,11 +49,25 @@ final class SyncTagPickerSelectionsOnSubmit implements ShouldQueue
     public function handle(FormSubmissionSubmitted $event): void
     {
         try {
+            // Gating-invariant first statement per ARCH-BINDINGS §5.6.
+            // The fresh() reload is required because the inner-txn commit
+            // happens between dispatch and worker pickup; the in-memory
+            // event submission may carry pre-commit state.
             $submission = $event->submission->fresh(['schema']);
             if ($submission === null) {
                 return;
             }
 
+            if ($submission->apply_status !== ApplyStatus::COMPLETED) {
+                Log::info('form-builder.queued-listener.skipped_apply_failed', [
+                    'listener' => self::class,
+                    'submission_id' => (string) $submission->id,
+                    'apply_status' => $submission->apply_status?->value,
+                ]);
+
+                return;
+            }
+
             $schema = $submission->schema;
             if ($schema === null) {
                 return;