diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index c01bfea3..676ad4ba 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -122,6 +122,15 @@ All notable changes to vouch are documented here. Format follows
   per-prompt block, the session banner, `vouch status` and the opt-in
   question all say so rather than calling it "this repo's" knowledge.
 
+### Fixed
+- `clear` reads a naive `before` as utc instead of raising. a date-only
+  cutoff — `2026-07-01`, the shape the cli help, the console's own error
+  text, and the `kb.clear` docs all advertise — parses naive, and comparing
+  it against a claim's aware `created_at` raised `TypeError`: a traceback
+  from `vouch claims-clear --before`, an error response over mcp/jsonl, and
+  an unhandled 500 on the review console's `/clear-claims`. normalised at
+  the `lifecycle.clear_claims` chokepoint, so all four surfaces are fixed
+  at once; the audit event records the normalised cutoff.
 ### Added
 - **ingest selection knob (`vouch ingest --max-claims / --budget-chars`).**
   capture used to file every substantive sentence of a source — complete,
diff --git a/src/vouch/lifecycle.py b/src/vouch/lifecycle.py
index 735076e2..30592a35 100644
--- a/src/vouch/lifecycle.py
+++ b/src/vouch/lifecycle.py
@@ -32,6 +32,12 @@ class LifecycleError(RuntimeError):
     pass
 
 
+def _utc(dt: datetime) -> datetime:
+    if dt.tzinfo is None:
+        return dt.replace(tzinfo=UTC)
+    return dt.astimezone(UTC)
+
+
 def supersede(
     store: KBStore,
     *,
@@ -180,13 +186,16 @@ def clear_claims(
         store: Knowledge base store
         auto_only: If True, only clear auto-approved claims (auto_approved=True).
                    If False, clear all claims matching date filter.
-        before: If set, only clear claims created before this datetime.
+        before: If set, only clear claims created before this datetime. A naive
+                value is read as UTC — `--before 2026-07-01` is the documented
+                shape and parses naive, while `created_at` is always aware.
         actor: Who is performing the operation.
         dry_run: If True, don't write changes, just return what would be cleared.
 
     Returns:
         List of claims that were (or would be) archived.
     """
+    cutoff = _utc(before) if before is not None else None
     all_claims = store.list_claims()
     to_clear: list[Claim] = []
 
@@ -200,7 +209,7 @@ def clear_claims(
             continue
 
         # Filter by date range
-        if before and claim.created_at >= before:
+        if cutoff and _utc(claim.created_at) >= cutoff:
             continue
 
         to_clear.append(claim)
@@ -222,7 +231,7 @@ def clear_claims(
                 data={
                     "count": len(to_clear),
                     "auto_only": auto_only,
-                    "before": before.isoformat() if before else None,
+                    "before": cutoff.isoformat() if cutoff else None,
                 },
             )
 
diff --git a/tests/test_lifecycle.py b/tests/test_lifecycle.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..dd87c9e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_lifecycle.py
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+"""Lifecycle ops that don't need the embedding stack.
+
+`tests/test_clear_claims.py` covers the same feature but skips without numpy,
+so the timezone regression lives here where the base CI job runs it.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from datetime import UTC, datetime, timedelta
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+from vouch import audit
+from vouch import lifecycle as life
+from vouch.proposals import approve, propose_claim
+from vouch.storage import KBStore
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def store(tmp_path: Path) -> KBStore:
+    s = KBStore.init(tmp_path)
+    s.config_path.write_text(
+        "review:\n  approver_role: trusted-agent\n", encoding="utf-8",
+    )
+    return s
+
+
+def test_clear_claims_reads_a_naive_before_as_utc(store: KBStore) -> None:
+    """A naive `before` filters as UTC instead of aborting the clear.
+
+    `--before 2026-07-01` — the shape the CLI, the console error text, and the
+    kb.clear docs all advertise — parses to a naive datetime, while a claim's
+    `created_at` is always aware. Comparing the two raised TypeError, which
+    surfaced as a traceback on the CLI and a 500 in the review console.
+    """
+    src = store.put_source(b"the sky is blue on a clear day")
+    now = datetime.now(UTC)
+
+    old_pr = propose_claim(
+        store, text="old claim", evidence=[src.id], proposed_by="agent"
+    )
+    old_claim = store.get_claim(approve(store, old_pr.id, approved_by="agent").id)
+    old_claim.created_at = now - timedelta(days=2)
+    store.update_claim(old_claim)
+
+    new_pr = propose_claim(
+        store, text="new claim", evidence=[src.id], proposed_by="agent"
+    )
+    approve(store, new_pr.id, approved_by="agent")
+
+    naive_cutoff = (now - timedelta(days=1)).replace(tzinfo=None)
+    cleared = life.clear_claims(
+        store, auto_only=True, before=naive_cutoff, actor="user", dry_run=False
+    )
+
+    assert [c.text for c in cleared] == ["old claim"]
+    assert store.get_claim(cleared[0].id).status.value == "archived"
+
+    event = next(
+        e for e in audit.read_events(store.kb_dir) if e.event == "claim.bulk_clear"
+    )
+    assert event.data["before"] == naive_cutoff.replace(tzinfo=UTC).isoformat()
+
+
+def test_clear_claims_aware_before_is_unchanged(store: KBStore) -> None:
+    """Normalising the cutoff leaves an already-aware `before` alone."""
+    src = store.put_source(b"the sky is blue on a clear day")
+    now = datetime.now(UTC)
+
+    pr = propose_claim(store, text="old claim", evidence=[src.id], proposed_by="agent")
+    claim = store.get_claim(approve(store, pr.id, approved_by="agent").id)
+    claim.created_at = now - timedelta(days=2)
+    store.update_claim(claim)
+
+    cutoff = now - timedelta(days=1)
+    cleared = life.clear_claims(
+        store, auto_only=True, before=cutoff, actor="user", dry_run=True
+    )
+
+    assert [c.text for c in cleared] == ["old claim"]
diff --git a/tests/test_web.py b/tests/test_web.py
index 0b76b954..46cfab87 100644
--- a/tests/test_web.py
+++ b/tests/test_web.py
@@ -446,6 +446,27 @@ def test_clear_apply_archives_auto_preserves_human_and_audits(
     assert auto_id in events[0].object_ids
 
 
+def test_clear_date_only_before_does_not_500(
+    client: TestClient, store: KBStore,
+) -> None:
+    """`before=2026-07-01` is the shape the view's own error text advertises.
+
+    It parses to a naive datetime; comparing it against aware `created_at`
+    used to raise TypeError out of both handlers instead of filtering.
+    """
+    auto_id = _auto_approved_claim(store, "auto cruft with a date filter")
+
+    r = client.get("/clear-claims?before=2999-01-01")
+    assert r.status_code == 200
+    assert auto_id in r.text
+
+    r = client.post(
+        "/clear-claims", data={"before": "2999-01-01"}, follow_redirects=False,
+    )
+    assert r.status_code == 303
+    assert store.get_claim(auto_id).status.value == "archived"
+
+
 def test_clear_invalid_before_shows_inline_error(
     client: TestClient, store: KBStore,
 ) -> None: