diff --git a/.github/workflows/verify-app.yml b/.github/workflows/verify-app.yml
index 9e3b485fc9..925405b9eb 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/verify-app.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/verify-app.yml
@@ -42,6 +42,21 @@ jobs:
       - name: Lint
         run: yarn linter:check
 
+  i18n:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    needs: install
+    if: "!contains(github.event.head_commit.message, '[skip ci]')"
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
+      - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
+        with:
+          cache: ''
+
+      - uses: dhis2/action-safe-yarn-install-with-cache@v1
+
+      - name: Verify custom terminology in i18n/en.pot
+        run: yarn i18n:verify
+
   typescript:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     if: "!contains(github.event.head_commit.message, '[skip ci]')"
@@ -160,7 +175,7 @@ jobs:
 
   build:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: [lint, typescript, unit-tests]
+    needs: [lint, typescript, unit-tests, i18n]
     if: "!contains(github.event.head_commit.message, '[skip ci]')"
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v6
diff --git a/.husky/pre-push b/.husky/pre-push
index 2333da579d..0769f91379 100755
--- a/.husky/pre-push
+++ b/.husky/pre-push
@@ -1 +1 @@
-yarn linter:check && yarn tsc:check
+yarn linter:check && yarn tsc:check && yarn i18n:verify
diff --git a/i18n/en.pot b/i18n/en.pot
index db44c9dd8d..9ee346033a 100644
--- a/i18n/en.pot
+++ b/i18n/en.pot
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ msgstr ""
 "Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8\n"
 "Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit\n"
 "Plural-Forms: nplurals=2; plural=(n != 1)\n"
-"POT-Creation-Date: 2026-09-17T14:05:20.397Z\n"
-"PO-Revision-Date: 2026-09-17T14:05:20.397Z\n"
+"POT-Creation-Date: 2026-09-17T14:08:27.014Z\n"
+"PO-Revision-Date: 2026-09-17T14:08:27.014Z\n"
 
 msgid "The application could not be loaded."
 msgstr "The application could not be loaded."
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 5248f5d4e8..ddc2984748 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -81,6 +81,7 @@
         "verifyCacheVersion": "node scripts/verifyCacheVersion.js",
         "postinstall": "husky && patch-package && node scripts/createSymlinkToInternalPackages.mjs",
         "i18n:add": "d2-app-scripts i18n extract && git add ./i18n/",
+        "i18n:verify": "d2-app-scripts i18n extract && node scripts/verifyCustomTerminology.mjs",
         "clean": "./scripts/clean.sh && yarn workspaces run clean"
     },
     "devDependencies": {
diff --git a/scripts/verifyCustomTerminology.mjs b/scripts/verifyCustomTerminology.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f8dae484cd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/verifyCustomTerminology.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
+/*
+ * Verifies that i18n/en.pot contains no msgid where custom terminology
+ * appears outside a {{...}}-template placeholder.
+ *
+ * Custom terms (enrollment, event, program stage, note, relationship, attribute,
+ * organisation unit, follow-up) needs to be inside {{...}}-template placeholder
+ * to be overridden per program at runtime.
+
+ * Runs with `yarn i18n:verify`
+ */
+/* eslint-disable no-console */
+
+import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
+import path from 'node:path';
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
+
+const POT = fileURLToPath(new URL('../i18n/en.pot', import.meta.url));
+
+const CUSTOM_TERMS = [
+    { words: ['enrollment', 'enrolment'], suggestion: '{{enrollmentLabel}}' },
+    { words: ['enrollments', 'enrolments'], suggestion: '{{enrollmentsLabel}}' },
+    { words: ['event'], suggestion: '{{eventLabel}}' },
+    { words: ['events'], suggestion: '{{eventsLabel}}' },
+    { words: ['program stage'], suggestion: '{{programStageLabel}}' },
+    { words: ['program stages'], suggestion: '{{programStagesLabel}}' },
+    { words: ['note'], suggestion: '{{noteLabel}}' },
+    { words: ['notes'], suggestion: '{{notesLabel}}' },
+    { words: ['relationship'], suggestion: '{{relationshipLabel}}' },
+    { words: ['relationships'], suggestion: '{{relationshipsLabel}}' },
+    { words: ['attribute'], suggestion: '{{attributeLabel}}' },
+    { words: ['attributes'], suggestion: '{{attributesLabel}}' },
+    { words: ['organisation unit', 'org unit', 'organization unit', 'registering unit'], suggestion: '{{orgUnitLabel}}' },
+    { words: ['follow-up', 'followup', 'follow up'], suggestion: '{{followUpLabel}}' },
+];
+
+const FALLBACKS = new Set([
+    'enrollment', 'enrollments',
+    'event', 'events',
+    'program stage', 'program stages',
+    'note', 'notes',
+    'relationship', 'relationships',
+    'attribute', 'attributes',
+    'organisation unit', 'follow-up',
+]);
+
+const ALLOWLIST = new Set([
+    // "event program" = DHIS2 programType, not user's event terminology
+    'This is not an event program or the metadata is corrupt. See log for details.',
+    // "event program" = DHIS2 programType, not user's event terminology
+    '{{programName}} is an event program and does not have {{enrollmentsLabel}}.',
+    // NoSelectionsInfoBox — only renders when no program is selected, so no program-specific label to use
+    'Choose a program and organisation unit to see existing data and create new records.',
+    // ProgramList — program picker shows generic label rather than any single program's custom label
+    'Some programs are being filtered by the chosen organisation unit',
+]);
+
+function extractStrings(potContents) {
+    const header = /^(msgid|msgstr(?:\[\d+\])?) "(.*)"$/;
+    const continuation = /^"(.*)"$/;
+
+    const entries = [];
+    potContents.split('\n').forEach((line, idx) => {
+        const h = line.match(header);
+        if (h) {
+            entries.push({ kind: h[1], value: h[2], line: idx + 1 });
+            return;
+        }
+        const c = line.match(continuation);
+        if (c && entries.length) entries.at(-1).value += c[1];
+    });
+
+    let currentMsgid = null;
+    return entries.flatMap(({ kind, value, line }) => {
+        if (kind === 'msgid') currentMsgid = value;
+        return value && currentMsgid ? [{ value, line, msgid: currentMsgid, kind }] : [];
+    });
+}
+
+function findViolations(msgid) {
+    const stripped = msgid.replace(/\{\{[^{}]*\}\}/g, '');
+    const hits = [];
+    for (const { words, suggestion } of CUSTOM_TERMS) {
+        for (const word of words) {
+            const re = new RegExp(String.raw`\b${word}\b`, 'i');
+            if (re.test(stripped)) {
+                hits.push({ word, suggestion });
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    return hits;
+}
+
+const DIVIDER = '━'.repeat(72);
+
+function reportViolations(violations) {
+    const relPot = path.relative(process.cwd(), POT);
+    console.error(`\n${DIVIDER}\n`);
+    for (const v of violations) {
+        console.error(`  ${relPot}:${v.line}`);
+        console.error(`    msgid:      "${v.msgid}"`);
+        if (v.value !== v.msgid) console.error(`    ${v.kind.padEnd(11)} "${v.value}"`);
+        for (const h of v.hits) {
+            console.error(`      ✗ "${h.word}"  →  use ${h.suggestion}`);
+        }
+        console.error('');
+    }
+    console.error(`\x1b[1;31m${violations.length} custom-terminology violation(s) in en.pot.\x1b[0m\n`);
+    console.error('Fix by wrapping the offending word in a custom-terminology template.\n');
+    console.error('If a hit is a genuine exception, add the exact msgid to the ALLOWLIST');
+    console.error('in scripts/verifyCustomTerminology.mjs.');
+    console.error(`\n${DIVIDER}\n`);
+}
+
+function main() {
+    const strings = extractStrings(readFileSync(POT, 'utf8'));
+    const violations = strings
+        .filter(({ msgid, value }) => !ALLOWLIST.has(msgid) && !FALLBACKS.has(value))
+        .map(({ value, line, msgid, kind }) => ({ msgid, value, line, kind, hits: findViolations(value) }))
+        .filter(({ hits }) => hits.length > 0);
+
+    if (violations.length === 0) {
+        console.log('i18n:verify — no custom-terminology violations in en.pot');
+        return;
+    }
+
+    reportViolations(violations);
+    process.exit(1);
+}
+
+main();