diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index c0d7aca..7058f26 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -57,6 +57,11 @@ jobs:
           grep -Fq "## [${RELEASE_VERSION}] -" CHANGELOG.md
           test -s ".github/release-notes/${RELEASE_VERSION}.md"
           scripts/verify-revapi-allowlist.sh
+          ./mvnw --quiet --batch-mode -N -Prelease \
+            -Dcentral.autoPublish=true -Dcentral.waitUntil=published \
+            help:effective-pom -Doutput="${RUNNER_TEMP}/effective-pom.xml"
+          grep -Fq "<autoPublish>true</autoPublish>" "${RUNNER_TEMP}/effective-pom.xml"
+          grep -Fq "<waitUntil>published</waitUntil>" "${RUNNER_TEMP}/effective-pom.xml"
           test -n "${CENTRAL_USERNAME}"
           test -n "${CENTRAL_TOKEN}"
           test -n "${GPG_PASSPHRASE}"
@@ -131,65 +136,46 @@ jobs:
         shell: bash
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
-          base_url="https://repo1.maven.org/maven2/dev/juherr/datex4j"
-          missing=0
-          while read -r artifact_id _packaging; do
-            [[ -z "${artifact_id}" || "${artifact_id}" == \#* ]] && continue
-            pom_url="${base_url}/${artifact_id}/${RELEASE_VERSION}/${artifact_id}-${RELEASE_VERSION}.pom"
-            if ! curl \
-              --connect-timeout 5 \
-              --max-time 10 \
-              --fail \
-              --silent \
-              --show-error \
-              --head \
-              "${pom_url}" >/dev/null; then
-              missing=1
-              break
-            fi
-          done < config/release/public-artifacts.txt
-          if [[ "${missing}" -eq 0 ]]; then
+          status=0
+          scripts/check-central-release.sh "${RELEASE_VERSION}" || status=$?
+          if [[ "${status}" -eq 0 ]]; then
             echo "Release ${RELEASE_VERSION} is already available from Maven Central; skipping deploy."
             exit 0
           fi
+          if [[ "${status}" -ne 1 ]]; then
+            echo "Could not determine whether ${RELEASE_VERSION} is published; refusing to deploy." >&2
+            exit "${status}"
+          fi
           ./mvnw --batch-mode --no-transfer-progress \
-            -Prelease -DskipTests -DautoPublish=true -DwaitUntil=published deploy
+            -Prelease -DskipTests \
+            -Dcentral.autoPublish=true -Dcentral.waitUntil=published deploy
 
       - name: Wait for Maven Central resolution
         shell: bash
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
-          base_url="https://repo1.maven.org/maven2/dev/juherr/datex4j"
-          for attempt in $(seq 1 30); do
-            missing=0
-            while read -r artifact_id _packaging; do
-              [[ -z "${artifact_id}" || "${artifact_id}" == \#* ]] && continue
-              pom_url="${base_url}/${artifact_id}/${RELEASE_VERSION}/${artifact_id}-${RELEASE_VERSION}.pom"
-              if ! curl \
-                --connect-timeout 5 \
-                --max-time 10 \
-                --fail \
-                --silent \
-                --show-error \
-                --head \
-                "${pom_url}" >/dev/null; then
-                missing=1
-                break
-              fi
-            done < config/release/public-artifacts.txt
-            [[ "${missing}" -eq 0 ]] && break
-            if [[ "${attempt}" -eq 30 ]]; then
+          for attempt in $(seq 1 60); do
+            # Unlike the deploy guard, a transport failure is retried here: this
+            # loop only waits, so an unreachable Central is just another retry.
+            status=0
+            scripts/check-central-release.sh "${RELEASE_VERSION}" || status=$?
+            if [[ "${status}" -eq 0 ]]; then
+              break
+            fi
+            if [[ "${attempt}" -eq 60 ]]; then
               echo "Release did not become resolvable from Maven Central in time." >&2
+              echo "Check the deployment state at https://central.sonatype.com/publishing/deployments" >&2
+              echo "Once it reports published, re-run this failed job to keep the released commit." >&2
               exit 1
             fi
-            sleep 20
+            sleep 30
           done
           consumer_repository=$(mktemp -d)
           ./mvnw --batch-mode --no-transfer-progress \
             -f config/release-smoke/pom.xml \
             -Dmaven.repo.local="${consumer_repository}" \
             -Ddatex4j.version="${RELEASE_VERSION}" \
-            -Ddatex4j.repository="${base_url%/dev/juherr/datex4j}" \
+            -Ddatex4j.repository="https://repo1.maven.org/maven2" \
             verify
 
   finalize:
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index ddf836c..c270b92 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -169,3 +169,16 @@ Release steps:
 
 The workflow safely resumes when its signed tag or GitHub Release already exists at the same
 commit. It refuses conflicting tags or releases.
+
+Resume a failed release with `gh run rerun <run-id> --failed` rather than a new dispatch. A re-run
+keeps the original commit, so the signed tag still points at the code that produced the published
+artifacts. The publishing job skips the deploy only when `scripts/check-central-release.sh` resolves
+every published file — each POM plus the main, sources, and javadoc jars — so a partially propagated
+release still redeploys instead of being frozen. The re-run then replays the remaining verification,
+tag, and release steps.
+
+The publishing job drives `central-publishing-maven-plugin` through the `central.autoPublish` and
+`central.waitUntil` properties. The root POM binds them into an explicit plugin `<configuration>`,
+which takes precedence over the plugin's own `autoPublish` and `waitUntil` user properties — those
+`-D` flags are silently ignored. `Validate release inputs` asserts the effective POM resolves to
+`true` and `published` before anything is uploaded.
diff --git a/scripts/check-central-release.sh b/scripts/check-central-release.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..62c887b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/check-central-release.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+if [[ $# -ne 1 ]]; then
+  echo "Usage: $0 <version>" >&2
+  exit 2
+fi
+
+version=$1
+project_root=$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)
+inventory="${project_root}/config/release/public-artifacts.txt"
+base_url=${CENTRAL_BASE_URL:-https://repo1.maven.org/maven2/dev/juherr/datex4j}
+
+# Exit 0: every payload resolves. Exit 1: Central answered, something is absent.
+# Exit 2: Central could not be questioned. Callers must not read 2 as "absent" —
+# deploying on a transport failure would republish an already published version.
+resolves() {
+  local url=$1
+  local http_code curl_status=0
+
+  http_code=$(curl \
+    --connect-timeout 5 \
+    --max-time 10 \
+    --silent \
+    --head \
+    --output /dev/null \
+    --write-out '%{http_code}' \
+    "${url}") || curl_status=$?
+
+  if [[ "${curl_status}" -ne 0 ]]; then
+    echo "Maven Central is unreachable (curl exit ${curl_status}): ${url}" >&2
+    exit 2
+  fi
+
+  case "${http_code}" in
+    200) return 0 ;;
+    404) return 1 ;;
+    *)
+      echo "Unexpected HTTP ${http_code} from Maven Central: ${url}" >&2
+      exit 2
+      ;;
+  esac
+}
+
+# Mirrors the payload set asserted locally by verify-central-bundle.sh, so a
+# release is only considered complete once every published file resolves.
+while read -r artifact_id packaging; do
+  [[ -z "${artifact_id}" || "${artifact_id}" == \#* ]] && continue
+
+  base="${base_url}/${artifact_id}/${version}/${artifact_id}-${version}"
+  payloads=("${base}.pom")
+  case "${packaging}" in
+    jar)
+      payloads+=("${base}.jar" "${base}-sources.jar" "${base}-javadoc.jar")
+      ;;
+    pom) ;;
+    *)
+      echo "Unsupported packaging '${packaging}' for ${artifact_id}" >&2
+      exit 2
+      ;;
+  esac
+
+  for payload in "${payloads[@]}"; do
+    if ! resolves "${payload}"; then
+      echo "Not published to Maven Central: ${payload}" >&2
+      exit 1
+    fi
+  done
+done < "${inventory}"