diff --git a/hub/src/config.ts b/hub/src/config.ts
index d776fb6..aeea7c3 100644
--- a/hub/src/config.ts
+++ b/hub/src/config.ts
@@ -58,6 +58,10 @@ const titaniumAdminToken =
 const magicLinkSecret = requireMinLenIfSet("MAGIC_LINK_SECRET", process.env.MAGIC_LINK_SECRET, 32);
 const sessionSecret = requireMinLenIfSet("SESSION_SECRET", process.env.SESSION_SECRET, 32);
 const allowLegacyLogin = parseBool(process.env.ALLOW_LEGACY_LOGIN, true);
+// Phase 07-D escape hatch: when LICENSE_REQUIRED=false, requireActiveLicense
+// short-circuits to permissive mode (logs a warning once at boot). Used while
+// Keygen JWKS endpoint is unhealthy so identity/REST routes don't 402.
+const licenseRequired = parseBool(process.env.LICENSE_REQUIRED, true);
 // Optional Titanium -> hub webhook for license-state changes. Inert (route
 // returns 503) until Titanium ships the webhook and the secret is provisioned.
 const titaniumWebhookSecret = requireMinLenIfSet(
@@ -94,4 +98,5 @@ export const config = {
   sessionSecret,
   allowLegacyLogin,
   titaniumWebhookSecret,
+  licenseRequired,
 };
diff --git a/hub/src/license-gate.ts b/hub/src/license-gate.ts
index 47188b0..39631f4 100644
--- a/hub/src/license-gate.ts
+++ b/hub/src/license-gate.ts
@@ -46,6 +46,10 @@ import {
 const GRACE_DAYS_DEFAULT = 7;
 const LICENSE_CHECK_FAILED_THROTTLE_MS = 60_000;
 
+// One-shot boot warning when LICENSE_REQUIRED=false. Logged on first request,
+// not on every request, to keep prod logs scannable.
+let permissiveWarned = false;
+
 // Per-user throttle of `license_check_failed` audit writes — at most one
 // every 60s to keep the log scannable during a burst of mutating requests.
 const lastLogged = new Map<string, number>();
@@ -154,7 +158,25 @@ async function refreshLicense(
       };
     }
     if (err instanceof TitaniumVerifyError) {
-      // Map verify errors to a sensible state and persist.
+      // Transient verify failures (JWKS endpoint down / network blip surfaced
+      // as a verify error rather than TitaniumApiError) MUST NOT flip ACTIVE
+      // → INVALID. Treat 'network', 'malformed' (covers jose's
+      // JWKSInvalid / fetch errors), and unknown-kind verify errors as
+      // transient: keep cached value, log, continue with grace logic.
+      const transient =
+        err.kind === "network" ||
+        err.kind === "malformed" ||
+        /jwks/i.test(err.message);
+      if (transient) {
+        console.warn(
+          `[license-gate] transient verify error (${err.kind}: ${err.message}) — preserving cached status=${fields.license_status ?? "NONE"}`,
+        );
+        return {
+          status: fields.license_status ?? "NONE",
+          license_id: fields.license_id,
+        };
+      }
+      // Map definitive verify errors to a sensible state and persist.
       const kindStatus =
         err.kind === "expired" ? "EXPIRED"
         : err.kind === "blocked" ? "BANNED"
@@ -205,6 +227,18 @@ export function requireActiveLicense(
   const readOnlyOk = opts.readOnlyOk ?? false;
 
   return async (c: Context, next: Next) => {
+    // Escape hatch: when LICENSE_REQUIRED=false, bypass the gate entirely.
+    // Used while Keygen JWKS is unhealthy so REST identity routes don't 402.
+    if (!config.licenseRequired) {
+      if (!permissiveWarned) {
+        permissiveWarned = true;
+        console.warn(
+          "[license-gate] LICENSE_REQUIRED=false → permissive mode (all authed requests pass)",
+        );
+      }
+      return next();
+    }
+
     const userId = c.get("userId") as string | undefined;
     if (!userId) {
       // Auth missing — defer to the upstream 401 shape.
diff --git a/hub/test/license-gate.test.ts b/hub/test/license-gate.test.ts
index b435143..4bb3405 100644
--- a/hub/test/license-gate.test.ts
+++ b/hub/test/license-gate.test.ts
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import {
   __resetDalForTesting,
 } from "../src/license-gate";
 import { config } from "../src/config";
-import { BlockedSubjectError } from "../src/titanium-client";
+import { BlockedSubjectError, TitaniumVerifyError } from "../src/titanium-client";
 
 type Fields = {
   license_status: string | null;
@@ -299,3 +299,53 @@ describe("requireActiveLicense — audit log on denial", () => {
     expect(recordCalls.length).toBe(0);
   });
 });
+
+describe("requireActiveLicense — escape hatches", () => {
+  test("LICENSE_REQUIRED=false → bypass gate entirely", async () => {
+    const orig = (config as any).licenseRequired;
+    (config as any).licenseRequired = false;
+    // No DAL stubs needed — gate must not consult them.
+    __setDalForTesting({
+      getUserLicenseFields: async () => {
+        throw new Error("should not be called in permissive mode");
+      },
+    });
+    const app = makeApp();
+    const res = await app.request("/", { method: "POST" });
+    (config as any).licenseRequired = orig;
+    expect(res.status).toBe(200);
+  });
+
+  test("JWKS-unreachable verify error → preserve cached ACTIVE (no flip to INVALID)", async () => {
+    const origTtl = config.titanium.licenseCacheTtlSeconds;
+    // Force cache stale so refreshLicense runs.
+    (config.titanium as any).licenseCacheTtlSeconds = 1;
+    __setDalForTesting({
+      getUserLicenseFields: async () => ({
+        license_status: "ACTIVE",
+        license_id: "lic-1",
+        license_checked_at: daysAgo(1), // stale
+        titanium_subject: SUBJECT,
+      }),
+      updateLicenseStatus: async (uid, status, lid) => {
+        updateCalls.push([uid, status, lid]);
+      },
+      recordAuthEvent: async (opts: any) => {
+        recordCalls.push(opts);
+      },
+      validateLicenseKey: async () => {
+        throw new TitaniumVerifyError(
+          "malformed",
+          "Unknown verify error: JWKS fetch failed: 404 Not Found",
+        );
+      },
+      assertNotBlocked: async () => {},
+    });
+    const app = makeApp({ readOnlyOk: true });
+    const res = await app.request("/", { method: "GET" });
+    (config.titanium as any).licenseCacheTtlSeconds = origTtl;
+    expect(res.status).toBe(200);
+    // Critical: must NOT have persisted INVALID to the DB.
+    expect(updateCalls).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});