diff --git a/scripts/cluster/run-production-acceptance.sh b/scripts/cluster/run-production-acceptance.sh
index 66e5a0c..4590746 100755
--- a/scripts/cluster/run-production-acceptance.sh
+++ b/scripts/cluster/run-production-acceptance.sh
@@ -12,8 +12,9 @@ Usage:
 
 This is a destructive production acceptance workflow. It pauses new live tasks,
 changes Worker capacity, creates paid real canaries, and deletes one Worker Pod
-during each recovery phase. A failed run deliberately keeps traffic in
-validation mode and restores only the last stable capacity profile.
+during each recovery phase. It also grants the dedicated acceptance API Key
+access to the selected production candidates. A failed run deliberately keeps
+traffic in validation mode and restores only the last stable capacity profile.
 
 Required private environment values:
   AI_GATEWAY_ACCEPTANCE_ADMIN_TOKEN
@@ -262,9 +263,114 @@ LIMIT 1;")
     echo 'no enabled Gemini image-edit or omni-video max_images>=9 model was found' >&2
     return 1
   }
+  [[ $AI_GATEWAY_ACCEPTANCE_GEMINI_MODEL =~ ^[A-Za-z0-9._:/+-]+$ &&
+     $AI_GATEWAY_ACCEPTANCE_VIDEO_MODEL =~ ^[A-Za-z0-9._:/+-]+$ ]] || {
+    echo 'acceptance model invocation names contain unsupported characters' >&2
+    return 1
+  }
   export AI_GATEWAY_ACCEPTANCE_GEMINI_MODEL AI_GATEWAY_ACCEPTANCE_VIDEO_MODEL
 }
 
+ensure_acceptance_model_access() {
+  local resources response body missing expected
+  response=$temporary_root/model-access.json
+  resources=$(database_query "
+WITH selected_candidates AS (
+  SELECT DISTINCT platform.id AS platform_id, model.id AS platform_model_id, model.base_model_id
+  FROM platform_models model
+  JOIN integration_platforms platform ON platform.id=model.platform_id
+  JOIN base_model_catalog base_model ON base_model.id=model.base_model_id
+  WHERE platform.status='enabled'
+    AND platform.deleted_at IS NULL
+    AND model.enabled=true
+    AND base_model.invocation_name IN (
+      '$AI_GATEWAY_ACCEPTANCE_GEMINI_MODEL',
+      '$AI_GATEWAY_ACCEPTANCE_VIDEO_MODEL'
+    )
+), resources AS (
+  SELECT 'platform'::text AS resource_type, platform_id AS resource_id
+  FROM selected_candidates
+  UNION
+  SELECT 'platform_model', platform_model_id
+  FROM selected_candidates
+  UNION
+  SELECT 'base_model', base_model_id
+  FROM selected_candidates
+  WHERE base_model_id IS NOT NULL
+)
+SELECT COALESCE(
+  jsonb_agg(
+    jsonb_build_object(
+      'resourceType', resource_type,
+      'resourceId', resource_id,
+      'priority', 100,
+      'minPermissionLevel', 0,
+      'status', 'active'
+    )
+    ORDER BY resource_type, resource_id
+  ),
+  '[]'::jsonb
+)::text
+FROM resources;")
+  expected=$(jq 'length' <<<"$resources")
+  (( expected > 0 )) || {
+    echo 'selected acceptance models did not resolve to production candidate resources' >&2
+    return 1
+  }
+  body=$(jq -cn \
+    --arg subjectID "$AI_GATEWAY_ACCEPTANCE_API_KEY_ID" \
+    --argjson resources "$resources" \
+    '{
+      subjectType:"api_key",
+      subjectId:$subjectID,
+      effect:"allow",
+      upsertResources:$resources,
+      deleteResources:[]
+    }')
+  admin_request POST /api/admin/access-rules/batch "$body" "$response"
+  missing=$(database_query "
+WITH selected_candidates AS (
+  SELECT DISTINCT platform.id AS platform_id, model.id AS platform_model_id, model.base_model_id
+  FROM platform_models model
+  JOIN integration_platforms platform ON platform.id=model.platform_id
+  JOIN base_model_catalog base_model ON base_model.id=model.base_model_id
+  WHERE platform.status='enabled'
+    AND platform.deleted_at IS NULL
+    AND model.enabled=true
+    AND base_model.invocation_name IN (
+      '$AI_GATEWAY_ACCEPTANCE_GEMINI_MODEL',
+      '$AI_GATEWAY_ACCEPTANCE_VIDEO_MODEL'
+    )
+), resources AS (
+  SELECT 'platform'::text AS resource_type, platform_id AS resource_id
+  FROM selected_candidates
+  UNION
+  SELECT 'platform_model', platform_model_id
+  FROM selected_candidates
+  UNION
+  SELECT 'base_model', base_model_id
+  FROM selected_candidates
+  WHERE base_model_id IS NOT NULL
+)
+SELECT count(*)
+FROM resources resource
+WHERE NOT EXISTS (
+  SELECT 1
+  FROM gateway_access_rules rule
+  WHERE rule.subject_type='api_key'
+    AND rule.subject_id='$AI_GATEWAY_ACCEPTANCE_API_KEY_ID'::uuid
+    AND rule.effect='allow'
+    AND rule.status='active'
+    AND rule.resource_type=resource.resource_type
+    AND rule.resource_id=resource.resource_id
+);")
+  [[ $missing == 0 ]] || {
+    echo "acceptance API Key is missing $missing selected candidate access rules" >&2
+    return 1
+  }
+  echo "acceptance_model_access=PASS resources=$expected"
+}
+
 deploy_protocol_emulator() {
   sed "s|image: easyai-api|image: $api_image|" \
     "$cluster_root/deploy/kubernetes/acceptance/protocol-emulator.yaml" |
@@ -964,6 +1070,7 @@ finish_and_promote() {
 
 verify_release_cas
 select_acceptance_models
+ensure_acceptance_model_access
 deploy_protocol_emulator
 create_and_activate_run
 wait_for_existing_tasks_to_drain