diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 01f68983..88bc1916 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -233,6 +233,19 @@ under the pre-1.0 conventions in [VERSIONING.md](docs/governance/VERSIONING.md):
   always present. `SealOutbox::unsealed_published_count` is now
   `unsealed_published_counts` and returns both. `odal seal status` prints both.
 
+- **A `NODE_PROFILE` that is not a profile refuses to start.** `Production`,
+  `prod` and `production ` with a trailing space used to boot as
+  `development`, the profile that allows stub trust ports and honours
+  `ALLOW_UNSIGNED_PLUGINS=true`, so a mistyped production deployment ran the
+  permissive profile without a word. The accepted values are exactly
+  `development`, `sandbox` and `production`; the error quotes what it found.
+  Unset and empty are unchanged and still mean `development`.
+  `NodeProfile::from_env` now returns a `Result`, and `NodeProfile::parse` is
+  the same check on a raw value.
+
+  **Migration:** a deployment that sets `NODE_PROFILE` to anything else fixes the
+  spelling, or unsets the variable to keep `development`.
+
 ### Added
 
 - **Bulk import and CSV templates reach `electronics` and `detergent`.** Both
diff --git a/crates/dpp-node/src/main.rs b/crates/dpp-node/src/main.rs
index ed71bc15..e605288f 100644
--- a/crates/dpp-node/src/main.rs
+++ b/crates/dpp-node/src/main.rs
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
 
     // Read once and handed to both gates that depend on it — the plugin signing
     // policy below and the trust report — so the two cannot disagree about it.
-    let profile = NodeProfile::from_env();
+    let profile = NodeProfile::from_env().context("Invalid NODE_PROFILE")?;
 
     // ── Wasm plugin host ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
     let plugin_host =
diff --git a/crates/dpp-types/src/trust.rs b/crates/dpp-types/src/trust.rs
index 937a182c..eaf0c3a9 100644
--- a/crates/dpp-types/src/trust.rs
+++ b/crates/dpp-types/src/trust.rs
@@ -88,15 +88,55 @@ pub enum NodeProfile {
     Production,
 }
 
+/// A `NODE_PROFILE` that was set to something other than a profile.
+///
+/// Refused rather than read as `development`: a value that was set is a
+/// statement of intent, and reading `Production` or `prod` as the permissive
+/// profile would boot a node the operator meant to be strict without a word.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq, thiserror::Error)]
+#[error(
+    "NODE_PROFILE={value:?} is not a profile. Use exactly `development`, `sandbox` or \
+     `production`, or leave it unset for `development`"
+)]
+pub struct UnknownProfile {
+    /// What the variable held, lossily decoded if it was not valid UTF-8.
+    pub value: String,
+}
+
 impl NodeProfile {
-    /// Read `NODE_PROFILE` from the environment. Anything other than
-    /// `production` or `sandbox` (including unset) is `Development`.
-    #[must_use]
-    pub fn from_env() -> Self {
-        match std::env::var("NODE_PROFILE").ok().as_deref() {
-            Some("production") => Self::Production,
-            Some("sandbox") => Self::Sandbox,
-            _ => Self::Development,
+    /// Read `NODE_PROFILE` from the environment.
+    ///
+    /// Unset or empty is `Development`, the documented default (an empty value
+    /// is a blanked template variable, read as unset). `development`, `sandbox`
+    /// and `production` are the three profiles, matched exactly.
+    ///
+    /// # Errors
+    ///
+    /// [`UnknownProfile`] for any other value, so a misspelling cannot boot as
+    /// the permissive profile.
+    pub fn from_env() -> Result<Self, UnknownProfile> {
+        match std::env::var("NODE_PROFILE") {
+            Ok(raw) => Self::parse(Some(&raw)),
+            Err(std::env::VarError::NotPresent) => Self::parse(None),
+            Err(std::env::VarError::NotUnicode(raw)) => Err(UnknownProfile {
+                value: raw.to_string_lossy().into_owned(),
+            }),
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// The profile a raw `NODE_PROFILE` value names. See [`Self::from_env`].
+    ///
+    /// # Errors
+    ///
+    /// [`UnknownProfile`] for a value that is none of the three profiles.
+    pub fn parse(raw: Option<&str>) -> Result<Self, UnknownProfile> {
+        match raw {
+            None | Some("" | "development") => Ok(Self::Development),
+            Some("sandbox") => Ok(Self::Sandbox),
+            Some("production") => Ok(Self::Production),
+            Some(other) => Err(UnknownProfile {
+                value: other.to_owned(),
+            }),
         }
     }
 
@@ -247,6 +287,52 @@ mod tests {
         ]
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn each_profile_name_parses_to_its_profile() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            NodeProfile::parse(Some("development")),
+            Ok(NodeProfile::Development)
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            NodeProfile::parse(Some("sandbox")),
+            Ok(NodeProfile::Sandbox)
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            NodeProfile::parse(Some("production")),
+            Ok(NodeProfile::Production)
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// Unset is the documented default, and an empty value is a blanked
+    /// template variable: both stay `Development`.
+    #[test]
+    fn unset_and_empty_are_development() {
+        assert_eq!(NodeProfile::parse(None), Ok(NodeProfile::Development));
+        assert_eq!(NodeProfile::parse(Some("")), Ok(NodeProfile::Development));
+    }
+
+    /// 🚨 Each of these used to boot as `Development` — the profile that allows
+    /// ghost trust ports and unsigned plugins — with nothing said.
+    #[test]
+    fn a_misspelled_profile_is_refused_and_named() {
+        for bad in [
+            "Production",
+            "PRODUCTION",
+            "prod",
+            "production ",
+            " production",
+            "Sandbox",
+            "staging",
+            "live",
+        ] {
+            let err = NodeProfile::parse(Some(bad)).expect_err(bad);
+            assert_eq!(err.value, bad);
+            // The value is quoted, so a stray space is visible in the message.
+            assert!(err.to_string().contains(&format!("{bad:?}")), "{err}");
+            assert!(err.to_string().contains("`production`"), "{err}");
+        }
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn gauge_encoding_is_stable() {
         assert_eq!(TrustMode::Ghost.gauge_value(), 0.0);
diff --git a/crates/dpp-vault/src/main.rs b/crates/dpp-vault/src/main.rs
index 6d571981..1959d5fc 100644
--- a/crates/dpp-vault/src/main.rs
+++ b/crates/dpp-vault/src/main.rs
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     // adapter when configured) — so a production profile must refuse to boot
     // here too, or this binary would silently run with placeholder trust.
     let trust = NodeTrustReport::new(
-        NodeProfile::from_env(),
+        NodeProfile::from_env().context("Invalid NODE_PROFILE")?,
         vec![
             TrustPort {
                 port: "registry_sync",
diff --git a/docs/guides/DEVELOPER-GUIDE.md b/docs/guides/DEVELOPER-GUIDE.md
index a2d79c2b..48160444 100644
--- a/docs/guides/DEVELOPER-GUIDE.md
+++ b/docs/guides/DEVELOPER-GUIDE.md
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ binary, with its default and its reasoning. The ones you need to run the node:
 | `DID_WEB_BASE_URL` | `http://localhost:8001` | Origin of the `did:web` identifier |
 | `RESOLVER_BASE_URL` | `http://localhost:8003` | Origin printed into QR codes. Required; no default |
 | `ADMIN_USERNAME`, `ADMIN_PASSWORD` | | Local admin credential for `odal bootstrap`. Leave unset once a key exists if you do not want the path |
-| `NODE_PROFILE` | `development` (default) | `sandbox` refuses to start while a required trust adapter is a stub; `production` also refuses sandbox adapters |
+| `NODE_PROFILE` | `development` (default) | Exactly `development`, `sandbox` or `production`; any other value refuses to start. `sandbox` refuses to start while a required trust adapter is a stub; `production` also refuses sandbox adapters |
 | `LOG_LEVEL` | `info` | A `tracing` filter, so `dpp_vault=debug,info` also works |
 | `LOG_FORMAT` | unset | `pretty` for readable terminal output; JSON otherwise |
 
diff --git a/docs/ops/PRODUCTION-RUNBOOK.md b/docs/ops/PRODUCTION-RUNBOOK.md
index d35cc663..2f85dfc7 100644
--- a/docs/ops/PRODUCTION-RUNBOOK.md
+++ b/docs/ops/PRODUCTION-RUNBOOK.md
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ Caddy obtains and renews the certificates.
 | `KEY_STORE_PATH` | Set by Compose | Leave it on the `node-data` volume; anywhere else, a container recreate generates a new key |
 | `ADMIN_USERNAME`, `ADMIN_PASSWORD` | For onboarding | Remove them once API keys exist, unless you want the recovery path available |
 | `ODAL_VERSION` | Yes | A release number without the tag's `v` (tag `v0.14.0` is image `0.14.0`). Never `latest`. Record the image digest you deploy, and pin the PostgreSQL image digest too |
-| `NODE_PROFILE` | No | Leave unset (`development`) until every required trust port can be live |
+| `NODE_PROFILE` | No | Leave unset (`development`) until every required trust port can be live. A value that is not exactly `development`, `sandbox` or `production` stops the node at boot |
 | `METRICS_ADDR` | No | Keep on loopback. See [METRICS-PLAN.md](METRICS-PLAN.md) |
 | `PLUGINS_DIR` | Set by Compose (`/plugins`) | Put the signed product group `.wasm` files and their `.sig` files on the `node-plugins` volume, and set `PLUGIN_SIGNING_KEY` |
 | `RULESET_BUNDLE_PATH`, `RULESET_PUBLISHER_PUBKEY` | No | Both or neither. A bad bundle keeps the last good one and increments `ruleset_load_failures_total`. A new bundle is taken within `RULESET_POLL_INTERVAL_SECS` (default 300), or at once with `odal ruleset reload` |