diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 789c27b..fede217 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -315,6 +315,22 @@ Run the tests:
 mix test
 ```
 
+### Distributed ownership tests (local BEAM nodes)
+
+```bash
+mix test --only distributed
+```
+
+This opt-in lane starts three disposable BEAM VMs with a shared EKV quorum.
+It checks concurrent starts, acknowledged writes across owner VM loss, minority
+write rejection, recovery after a distribution partition, and stale ETag fencing
+after healing. Partitions affect only the test nodes; the controller uses stdio
+and does not change host networking. Each case uses isolated names and data
+directories and stops its peers on exit.
+
+These are focused failure scenarios, not a general linearizability checker or
+deterministic scheduler. Run them separately from the fast default suite.
+
 ### Integration Tests (with Tigris)
 
 Set the required environment variables:
diff --git a/test/distributed_ownership_test.exs b/test/distributed_ownership_test.exs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f68ea7f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/distributed_ownership_test.exs
@@ -0,0 +1,205 @@
+defmodule DurableServer.DistributedOwnershipTest do
+  use ExUnit.Case, async: false
+
+  alias DurableServer.DistributedTestClient, as: Client
+  alias DurableServer.StoredState
+
+  @moduletag :integration
+  @moduletag :distributed
+  @moduletag :capture_log
+  @moduletag timeout: 90_000
+
+  setup do
+    id = DurableServer.UUID.uuid4()
+    cookie = :"ownership_cookie_#{id}"
+    store = :"ownership_store_#{id}"
+    supervisor = :"ownership_supervisor_#{id}"
+    tmp_dir = Path.expand("tmp/distributed_ownership/#{id}")
+    on_exit(fn -> File.rm_rf!(tmp_dir) end)
+
+    members =
+      for index <- 1..3 do
+        {:ok, peer, node} =
+          :peer.start(%{
+            name: :"ownership_#{id}_#{index}",
+            connection: :standard_io,
+            peer_down: :continue,
+            shutdown: :halt,
+            args: [~c"-setcookie", Atom.to_charlist(cookie), ~c"-connect_all", ~c"false"]
+          })
+
+        # Control uses stdio, so it remains available through a distribution
+        # partition. Teardown halts only these disposable VMs, not the host.
+        on_exit(fn -> :peer.stop(peer) end)
+        :ok = :peer.call(peer, :code, :add_paths, [:code.get_path()])
+        {:ok, _} = :peer.call(peer, Application, :ensure_all_started, [:ekv])
+        {:ok, _} = :peer.call(peer, Application, :ensure_all_started, [:durable_server])
+        :ok = :peer.call(peer, Logger, :configure, [[level: :warning]])
+
+        {:ok, _} =
+          :peer.call(peer, Client, :start_store, [store, Path.expand("#{tmp_dir}/#{index}")])
+
+        %{peer: peer, node: node}
+      end
+
+    for member <- members, other <- members, member != other do
+      assert :peer.call(member.peer, Node, :connect, [other.node])
+    end
+
+    await_cluster(members, store)
+
+    for member <- members do
+      assert {:ok, _} = rpc(member, :start_durable, [supervisor, store])
+    end
+
+    {:ok, members: members, store: store, supervisor: supervisor, cookie: cookie}
+  end
+
+  test "concurrent starts and acknowledged increments agree across three nodes", context do
+    %{members: members, supervisor: supervisor} = context
+    key = "concurrent"
+
+    results =
+      for member <- members, _ <- 1..4 do
+        Task.async(fn -> rpc(member, :ensure_counter, [supervisor, key]) end)
+      end
+      |> Enum.map(&Task.await(&1, 15_000))
+
+    pids =
+      Enum.map(results, fn result ->
+        assert {:ok, {pid, _}} = result
+        pid
+      end)
+
+    assert [owner] = Enum.uniq(pids)
+
+    acknowledgements =
+      for member <- members do
+        Task.async(fn -> rpc(member, :invoke, [owner, :increment_and_sync]) end)
+      end
+      |> Enum.map(&Task.await(&1, 15_000))
+
+    assert Enum.sort(acknowledgements) == [{:ok, 1}, {:ok, 2}, {:ok, 3}]
+    assert_durable_count(members, supervisor, key, 3)
+  end
+
+  test "a minority cannot acknowledge writes and stale tokens stay fenced after healing",
+       context do
+    %{members: [minority | majority] = members, supervisor: supervisor, cookie: cookie} = context
+    key = "partition"
+    assert {:ok, {old_owner, _}} = rpc(minority, :ensure_counter, [supervisor, key])
+    assert node(old_owner) == minority.node
+    assert {:ok, 1} = rpc(minority, :invoke, [old_owner, :increment_and_sync])
+    assert {:ok, stale} = rpc(minority, :stored, [supervisor, key])
+
+    isolate(minority, majority)
+
+    assert {:indeterminate, _} = rpc(minority, :invoke, [old_owner, :increment_and_sync])
+    assert :ok = rpc(hd(majority), :discover, [supervisor])
+    new_owner = await_owner(majority, supervisor, key, old_owner)
+    owner_member = Enum.find(majority, &(&1.node == node(new_owner)))
+
+    assert {:ok, 1} = rpc(owner_member, :invoke, [new_owner, :get_count])
+    assert {:ok, 2} = rpc(owner_member, :invoke, [new_owner, :increment_and_sync])
+    assert_durable_count(majority, supervisor, key, 2)
+
+    for member <- majority do
+      assert true = :peer.call(minority.peer, :erlang, :set_cookie, [member.node, cookie])
+      assert :peer.call(minority.peer, Node, :connect, [member.node])
+    end
+
+    await_cluster(members, context.store)
+
+    await(fn -> not :peer.call(minority.peer, Process, :alive?, [old_owner]) end)
+    await(fn -> :peer.call(minority.peer, DurableServer.Supervisor, :ready?, [supervisor]) end)
+
+    assert {:error, :conflict} =
+             rpc(minority, :stale_write, [supervisor, key, stale.body, stale.etag])
+
+    assert_durable_count(members, supervisor, key, 2)
+  end
+
+  test "acknowledged state survives abrupt owner VM loss and majority recovery", context do
+    %{members: [owner_member | survivors], supervisor: supervisor} = context
+    key = "vm-loss"
+    assert {:ok, {old_owner, _}} = rpc(owner_member, :ensure_counter, [supervisor, key])
+
+    for expected <- 1..3 do
+      assert {:ok, ^expected} = rpc(owner_member, :invoke, [old_owner, :increment_and_sync])
+    end
+
+    # halt bypasses terminate callbacks and final sync; this is not graceful stop.
+    :ok = :peer.cast(owner_member.peer, :erlang, :halt, [])
+    await(fn -> match?({:down, _}, :peer.get_state(owner_member.peer)) end)
+    assert :ok = rpc(hd(survivors), :discover, [supervisor])
+    new_owner = await_owner(survivors, supervisor, key, old_owner)
+    new_member = Enum.find(survivors, &(&1.node == node(new_owner)))
+
+    assert {:ok, 3} = rpc(new_member, :invoke, [new_owner, :get_count])
+    assert {:ok, 4} = rpc(new_member, :invoke, [new_owner, :increment_and_sync])
+    assert_durable_count(survivors, supervisor, key, 4)
+  end
+
+  defp isolate(minority, majority) do
+    for member <- majority do
+      # disconnect alone is insufficient: distribution can reconnect on send.
+      assert true =
+               :peer.call(minority.peer, :erlang, :set_cookie, [member.node, :partitioned])
+
+      assert :peer.call(minority.peer, Node, :disconnect, [member.node])
+    end
+
+    await(fn -> :peer.call(minority.peer, Node, :list, []) == [] end)
+
+    for member <- majority do
+      await(fn -> minority.node not in :peer.call(member.peer, Node, :list, []) end)
+    end
+  end
+
+  defp await_cluster(members, store) do
+    for member <- members do
+      expected = members |> Enum.reject(&(&1 == member)) |> Enum.map(& &1.node) |> Enum.sort()
+      await(fn -> rpc(member, :connected_store_members, [store]) == expected end)
+    end
+  end
+
+  defp await_owner(members, supervisor, key, old_owner) do
+    await(fn ->
+      Enum.all?(members, fn member ->
+        case rpc(member, :lookup, [supervisor, key]) do
+          {pid, _} -> pid != old_owner and node(pid) in Enum.map(members, & &1.node)
+          nil -> false
+        end
+      end)
+    end)
+
+    owners = Enum.map(members, fn member -> elem(rpc(member, :lookup, [supervisor, key]), 0) end)
+    assert [owner] = Enum.uniq(owners)
+    owner
+  end
+
+  defp assert_durable_count(members, supervisor, key, expected) do
+    for member <- members do
+      assert {:ok, %{body: %StoredState{state: %{count: ^expected}}}} =
+               rpc(member, :stored, [supervisor, key])
+    end
+  end
+
+  defp rpc(member, function, args), do: :peer.call(member.peer, Client, function, args, 15_000)
+
+  defp await(fun, timeout \\ 20_000) do
+    deadline = System.monotonic_time(:millisecond) + timeout
+    await_until(fun, deadline)
+  end
+
+  defp await_until(fun, deadline) do
+    unless fun.() do
+      if System.monotonic_time(:millisecond) >= deadline do
+        flunk("cluster condition was not met before the deadline")
+      end
+
+      Process.sleep(25)
+      await_until(fun, deadline)
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/test/support/distributed_test_client.ex b/test/support/distributed_test_client.ex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..08344b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/support/distributed_test_client.ex
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+defmodule DurableServer.DistributedTestClient do
+  @moduledoc false
+
+  alias DurableServer.{LifecycleManager, StorageBackend}
+  alias DurableServer.Backends.EKVStore
+
+  defmodule Counter do
+    use DurableServer, vsn: 1
+
+    def dump_state(state), do: state
+    def load_state(_vsn, state), do: state
+    def init(state), do: {:ok, state, permanent: true}
+
+    def handle_call(:get_count, _from, state), do: {:reply, state.count, state}
+
+    def handle_call(:increment_and_sync, _from, state) do
+      state = %{state | count: state.count + 1}
+      {:reply, state.count, state, :sync}
+    end
+  end
+
+  def start_store(name, data_dir) do
+    Supervisor.start_child(EKV.AppSupervisor, {
+      EKV,
+      name: name, data_dir: data_dir, cluster_size: 3, node_id: to_string(node()), log: false
+    })
+  end
+
+  def start_durable(name, store) do
+    Supervisor.start_child(DurableServer.AppSupervisor, {
+      DurableServer.Supervisor,
+      name: name,
+      prefix: "ownership/",
+      backend: {EKVStore, name: store, start: false},
+      initial_discovery_delay_ms: 60_000,
+      discovery_interval_ms: 200,
+      discovery_burst_count: 0,
+      heartbeat_interval_ms: 250,
+      heartbeat_staleness_threshold_ms: 4_000,
+      graceful_shutdown_timeout_ms: 500
+    })
+  end
+
+  def ensure_counter(supervisor, key) do
+    DurableServer.Supervisor.ensure_started_child(
+      supervisor,
+      {Counter, key: key, initial_state: %{count: 0}},
+      local_only: true,
+      timeout: 10_000
+    )
+  end
+
+  def invoke(pid, request) do
+    {:ok, GenServer.call(pid, request, 10_000)}
+  catch
+    # A missing acknowledgement is not evidence that a write did not commit.
+    :exit, reason -> {:indeterminate, reason}
+  end
+
+  def stored(supervisor, key) do
+    %{storage_backend: backend} = DurableServer.Supervisor.__get_config__(supervisor)
+    StorageBackend.get_object(backend, "ownership/" <> key, consistent: true)
+  end
+
+  def stale_write(supervisor, key, body, etag) do
+    %{storage_backend: backend} = DurableServer.Supervisor.__get_config__(supervisor)
+    StorageBackend.put_object(backend, "ownership/" <> key, body, etag: etag, max_retries: 0)
+  end
+
+  def discover(supervisor) do
+    send(LifecycleManager.name(supervisor), :discover_and_restart)
+    :ok
+  end
+
+  def lookup(supervisor, key), do: DurableServer.Supervisor.lookup(supervisor, key)
+
+  def connected_store_members(store) do
+    EKV.info(store).connected_members |> Enum.map(& &1.node) |> Enum.sort()
+  end
+end