diff --git a/scripts/check-deps.sh b/scripts/check-deps.sh
index 8e058dd..1d2999c 100755
--- a/scripts/check-deps.sh
+++ b/scripts/check-deps.sh
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 # Exit 1 if any unapproved import is found.
 # 
 # The allowlist is parsed from CONVENTIONS.md to maintain a single source of truth.
+# Also enforces Scope column: "test only" packages cannot appear in non-test code.
 
 set -euo pipefail
 
@@ -13,22 +14,53 @@ if [ ! -f "$CONVENTIONS_FILE" ]; then
     exit 1
 fi
 
-# Parse approved packages from CONVENTIONS.md table
-# Looks for lines like: | `gopkg.in/yaml.v3` | ...
-ALLOWED=()
-while IFS= read -r line; do
-    # Extract package from markdown table cell: | `package` |
-    pkg=$(echo "$line" | grep -oP '\| `\K[^`]+' | head -1 || true)
-    if [ -n "$pkg" ] && [[ "$pkg" != "Package" ]]; then
-        ALLOWED+=("$pkg")
-    fi
-done < <(grep -E '^\| `[a-zA-Z]' "$CONVENTIONS_FILE" || true)
+# Parse approved packages from CONVENTIONS.md table using awk (POSIX-compatible)
+# Format: | `package` | use case | scope |
+# Output: package:scope (e.g., "gopkg.in/yaml.v3:production")
+declare -A ALLOWED_PROD=()
+declare -A ALLOWED_TEST=()
 
-if [ ${#ALLOWED[@]} -eq 0 ]; then
+while IFS= read -r line; do
+    # Use awk to extract package and scope from table row
+    # Split on | and extract backtick-wrapped package from column 1, scope from column 3
+    pkg=$(echo "$line" | awk -F'|' '{gsub(/^[[:space:]]*`|`[[:space:]]*$/, "", $2); print $2}')
+    scope=$(echo "$line" | awk -F'|' '{gsub(/^[[:space:]]+|[[:space:]]+$/, "", $4); print tolower($4)}')
+    
+    if [ -n "$pkg" ] && [ "$pkg" != "Package" ] && [[ "$pkg" =~ ^[a-zA-Z] ]]; then
+        if [[ "$scope" == *"test"* ]]; then
+            ALLOWED_TEST["$pkg"]=1
+        else
+            ALLOWED_PROD["$pkg"]=1
+        fi
+    fi
+done < <(grep '| `' "$CONVENTIONS_FILE" 2>/dev/null || true)
+
+ALL_ALLOWED=("${!ALLOWED_PROD[@]}" "${!ALLOWED_TEST[@]}")
+
+if [ ${#ALL_ALLOWED[@]} -eq 0 ]; then
     echo "⚠️  No approved packages found in $CONVENTIONS_FILE"
     echo "   (This is fine if you want stdlib-only)"
 fi
 
+# Helper: check if import matches any package in an associative array (literal prefix, no glob)
+matches_allowlist() {
+    local import="$1"
+    shift
+    local -n allowlist=$1
+    
+    for allowed in "${!allowlist[@]}"; do
+        # Exact match
+        if [ "$import" = "$allowed" ]; then
+            return 0
+        fi
+        # Literal prefix match for subpackages (no glob interpretation)
+        if [ "${import#"$allowed/"}" != "$import" ]; then
+            return 0
+        fi
+    done
+    return 1
+}
+
 # Get DIRECT dependencies only (exclude indirect/transitive)
 # Fail closed: if go list fails, we exit non-zero
 IMPORTS=$(go list -m -f '{{if not .Indirect}}{{.Path}}{{end}}' all 2>&1) || {
@@ -44,21 +76,13 @@ if [ -z "$IMPORTS" ]; then
     exit 0
 fi
 
+# Check all direct dependencies are in the allowlist
 VIOLATIONS=""
 while IFS= read -r import; do
     [ -z "$import" ] && continue
     
-    # Check if import matches any allowed package (prefix match for subpackages)
-    MATCHED=false
-    for allowed in "${ALLOWED[@]}"; do
-        if [[ "$import" == "$allowed" ]] || [[ "$import" == "$allowed/"* ]]; then
-            MATCHED=true
-            break
-        fi
-    done
-    
-    if [ "$MATCHED" = false ]; then
-        VIOLATIONS="${VIOLATIONS}  - ${import}"$'\n'
+    if ! matches_allowlist "$import" ALLOWED_PROD && ! matches_allowlist "$import" ALLOWED_TEST; then
+        VIOLATIONS="${VIOLATIONS}  - ${import} (not in allowlist)"$'\n'
     fi
 done <<< "$IMPORTS"
 
@@ -68,17 +92,31 @@ if [ -n "$VIOLATIONS" ]; then
     echo "The following imports are not in the allowlist:"
     printf "%s" "$VIOLATIONS"
     echo ""
-    echo "Approved packages (from CONVENTIONS.md):"
-    for pkg in "${ALLOWED[@]}"; do
-        echo "  - $pkg"
-    done
+    echo "To add a dependency, update CONVENTIONS.md (requires Aaron's approval)"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Enforce Scope: test-only packages must not appear in non-test code
+# Get imports used by non-test code only
+PROD_IMPORTS=$(go list -deps -f '{{if not .Standard}}{{.ImportPath}}{{end}}' ./... 2>/dev/null | grep -v '_test' || true)
+
+TEST_ONLY_IN_PROD=""
+for test_pkg in "${!ALLOWED_TEST[@]}"; do
+    if echo "$PROD_IMPORTS" | grep -q "^${test_pkg}"; then
+        TEST_ONLY_IN_PROD="${TEST_ONLY_IN_PROD}  - ${test_pkg} (marked 'test only' but used in production code)"$'\n'
+    fi
+done
+
+if [ -n "$TEST_ONLY_IN_PROD" ]; then
+    echo "❌ TEST-ONLY DEPENDENCIES IN PRODUCTION CODE"
     echo ""
-    echo "To add a dependency:"
-    echo "  1. Open a PR that ONLY updates CONVENTIONS.md"
-    echo "  2. Get explicit approval from Aaron"
-    echo "  3. After merge, use the package in a separate PR"
+    printf "%s" "$TEST_ONLY_IN_PROD"
+    echo ""
+    echo "These packages are marked 'test only' in CONVENTIONS.md"
+    echo "and must only be imported from *_test.go files."
     exit 1
 fi
 
 echo "✅ All dependencies are approved"
 echo "   Direct deps: $(echo "$IMPORTS" | wc -l | tr -d ' ')"
+echo "   Production: ${#ALLOWED_PROD[@]}, Test-only: ${#ALLOWED_TEST[@]}"