diff --git a/scripts/validate_tabs.sh b/scripts/validate_tabs.sh
index d137398..2707330 100644
--- a/scripts/validate_tabs.sh
+++ b/scripts/validate_tabs.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
-#
+# ============================================================================
 # Copyright (C) 2025 Moko Consulting <hello@mokoconsulting.tech>
 #
 # This file is part of a Moko Consulting project.
@@ -21,45 +21,68 @@
 #
 # FILE INFORMATION
 # DEFGROUP: MokoStandards
-# INGROUP: Scripts.Validation
+# INGROUP: GitHub.Actions.CI
 # REPO: https://github.com/mokoconsulting-tech/MokoStandards
 # PATH: /scripts/validate_tabs.sh
-# VERSION: 03.06.00
-# BRIEF: Detect tab characters in repository files for CI enforcement.
-#
+# VERSION: 01.00.00
+# BRIEF: CI validator that blocks tab characters in YAML files and enforces two-space indentation policy.
+# NOTE: YAML is indentation sensitive; tabs are noncompliant. This validator fails the job when any tab is detected.
+# ============================================================================
 
 set -euo pipefail
 
-ROOT_DIR="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)"
-EXIT_CODE=0
+log() {
+  printf '%s\n' "$*"
+}
 
-echo "Scanning repository for tab characters"
+fail=0
 
-# Exclude common binary and vendor paths
-EXCLUDES=(
-   ".git"
-   "node_modules"
-   "vendor"
-   "dist"
-   "build"
-)
+log "[validate_tabs] Scope: *.yml, *.yaml"
+log "[validate_tabs] Policy: tab characters are noncompliant; replace with two spaces"
 
-EXCLUDE_ARGS=()
-for path in "${EXCLUDES[@]}"; do
-   EXCLUDE_ARGS+=("--exclude-dir=${path}")
-done
-
-# Search for literal tab characters
-MATCHES=$(grep -RIn $'\t' "${ROOT_DIR}" "${EXCLUDE_ARGS[@]}" || true)
-
-if [ -n "${MATCHES}" ]; then
-   echo "Tab characters detected in the following files:"
-   echo "${MATCHES}"
-   echo ""
-   echo "CI policy violation: tabs are not permitted"
-   EXIT_CODE=1
+# Find YAML files tracked in git first. If not in a git repo, fall back to filesystem search.
+yaml_files=""
+if command -v git >/dev/null 2>&1 && git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  yaml_files="$(git ls-files '*.yml' '*.yaml' 2>/dev/null || true)"
 else
-   echo "No tab characters found"
+  yaml_files="$(find . -type f \( -name '*.yml' -o -name '*.yaml' \) -print 2>/dev/null || true)"
 fi
 
-exit "${EXIT_CODE}"
+if [ -z "${yaml_files}" ]; then
+  log "[validate_tabs] No YAML files found. Status: PASS"
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+log "[validate_tabs] YAML files discovered: $(printf '%s\n' "${yaml_files}" | wc -l | tr -d ' ')"
+
+while IFS= read -r f; do
+  [ -n "$f" ] || continue
+
+  # Skip deleted paths in edge cases
+  [ -f "$f" ] || continue
+
+  # Detect literal tab characters and report with line numbers.
+  if LC_ALL=C grep -n $'\t' -- "$f" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+	 log "[validate_tabs] FAIL: tab detected in: $f"
+
+	 # Emit an actionable audit trail: line number plus the exact line content.
+	 # Use sed to avoid grep prefix repetition and keep the output deterministic.
+	 LC_ALL=C grep -n $'\t' -- "$f" | while IFS= read -r hit; do
+		log "  ${hit}"
+	 done
+
+	 log "[validate_tabs] Remediation: replace each tab with exactly two spaces"
+	 log "[validate_tabs] Example: sed -i 's/\\t/  /g' \"$f\""
+
+	 fail=1
+  else
+	 log "[validate_tabs] PASS: $f"
+  fi
+done <<< "${yaml_files}"
+
+if [ "$fail" -ne 0 ]; then
+  log "[validate_tabs] Status: FAIL"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+log "[validate_tabs] Status: PASS"