diff --git a/docs/VALIDATION_HNSW.md b/docs/VALIDATION_HNSW.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a57f6fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/VALIDATION_HNSW.md
@@ -0,0 +1,138 @@
+# HNSW ANN Index Validation Ledger
+
+**Issue:** #173  
+**PR:** #180  
+**Migration:** 0025_ann_hnsw_indexes.sql  
+**Date:** 2026-09-08  
+**Evidence Level:** E2 → E3 (pending database verification)
+
+## Summary
+
+This document records the validation of HNSW ANN indexes added to the three embedding tables to resolve issue #173 (vector queries performing sequential scans).
+
+## Changes
+
+Migration 0025 adds three HNSW indexes using pgvector's `vector_cosine_ops`:
+
+1. `idx_embeddings_text_embedding_hnsw` on `embeddings_text.embedding` (768-d)
+2. `idx_embeddings_visual_embedding_hnsw` on `embeddings_visual.embedding` (512-d)
+3. `idx_embeddings_face_embedding_hnsw` on `embeddings_face.embedding` (512-d)
+
+## Test Methodology
+
+### Prerequisites
+- PostgreSQL 16+ with pgvector extension (shipped in `pgvector/pgvector:pg16` image)
+- All migrations applied (0001 through 0025)
+- Populated test corpus with all three embedding dimensions
+
+### Test Queries
+
+**Text search (search.go:666-674):**
+```sql
+SELECT e.id, e.file_id, e.chunk_index,
+       1 - (e.embedding <=> $1::vector) AS score,
+       e.chunk_text AS snippet
+  FROM embeddings_text e
+  JOIN files f ON f.id = e.file_id
+ WHERE f.user_id = $2
+ ORDER BY e.embedding <=> $1::vector ASC
+ LIMIT $3;
+```
+
+**Visual search (search.go:705-711):**
+```sql
+SELECT e.file_id,
+       (1 - (e.embedding <=> $1::vector))::real AS score
+  FROM embeddings_visual e
+  JOIN files f ON f.id = e.file_id
+ WHERE f.user_id = $2
+ ORDER BY e.embedding <=> $1::vector ASC
+ LIMIT $3;
+```
+
+### Expected Results
+
+**Before migration 0025:**
+```
+Sort  (cost=12345.67..12345.70 rows=10 width=100)
+  Sort Key: (e.embedding <=> $1) ASC
+  Sort Method: top-N heapsort  Memory: 25kB
+  ->  Nested Loop  (cost=0.00..12345.47 rows=10 width=100)
+        ->  Seq Scan on embeddings_text e  (cost=0.00..12000.00 rows=1000 width=80)
+              Filter: (embedding IS NOT NULL)
+        ->  Index Scan using files_pkey on files f  (cost=0.42..0.34 rows=1 width=20)
+              Index Cond: (id = e.file_id)
+              Filter: (user_id = $2)
+```
+
+**After migration 0025:**
+```
+Limit  (cost=12.34..12.36 rows=10 width=100)
+  ->  Nested Loop  (cost=12.34..123.45 rows=10 width=100)
+        ->  Index Scan using idx_embeddings_text_embedding_hnsw on embeddings_text e  (cost=12.34..120.00 rows=100 width=80)
+              Order By: (embedding <=> $1)
+        ->  Index Scan using files_pkey on files f  (cost=0.42..0.34 rows=1 width=20)
+              Index Cond: (id = e.file_id)
+              Filter: (user_id = $2)
+```
+
+Key differences:
+- `Seq Scan on embeddings_text` → `Index Scan using idx_embeddings_text_embedding_hnsw`
+- Cost reduction from ~12000 to ~120 (100x improvement for large tables)
+- `Order By` pushed down to index (no separate Sort node)
+
+## Verification Status
+
+### ✅ Completed
+- [x] Migration 0025 created with correct DDL
+- [x] Indexes use `vector_cosine_ops` matching query operators (`<=>`)
+- [x] Dimensions match schema (768 for text, 512 for visual/face)
+- [x] Deferral comments updated in 0001_init.sql and 0019_versioned_index_generations.sql
+- [x] SPEC.md:537 already correctly states HNSW contract (no change needed)
+- [x] Verification script created: `scripts/verify_hnsw_indexes.sh`
+
+### ⏳ Pending (requires database environment)
+- [ ] Run `scripts/verify_hnsw_indexes.sh` against populated test database
+- [ ] Confirm EXPLAIN shows index scans for text and visual queries
+- [ ] Measure query latency before/after on realistic corpus (10k+ vectors)
+- [ ] Verify recall is unchanged (HNSW is approximate, but with default parameters should be >95%)
+- [ ] Test migration on table with inconsistent dimensions (should fail gracefully or succeed if all rows match schema)
+
+### ℹ️ Notes
+- HNSW build time: ~1-2 seconds per 10k rows (one-time cost during migration)
+- Index size: ~1.5x raw vector size (768-d × 4 bytes × 1.5 ≈ 4.6KB per row)
+- Default parameters: `m=16`, `ef_construction=64` (balanced for recall vs build time)
+- For higher recall (>98%), consider `m=32`, `ef_construction=128` (slower build, larger index)
+
+## Failure Modes
+
+### Inconsistent dimensions
+If `embeddings_text` contains rows with dimensions != 768, the index creation will fail:
+```
+ERROR:  expected 768 dimensions, got 512
+```
+This is correct behavior — the schema enforces `vector(768)`, so inconsistent data indicates a bug upstream.
+
+### Empty table
+HNSW index can be created on an empty table. pgvector will build a minimal index structure that accepts inserts. No error.
+
+### NULL embeddings
+Rows with `embedding IS NULL` are excluded from the index. Queries filtering on `embedding IS NOT NULL` will use the index for non-NULL rows.
+
+## Recall Measurement
+
+Recall was not measured in this validation. Recommended approach:
+
+1. Generate 10k random query vectors (same distribution as production embeddings)
+2. For each query, compute exact top-10 using sequential scan
+3. For each query, compute approximate top-10 using HNSW index
+4. Recall = |intersection| / 10, averaged over all queries
+5. Expected recall with default parameters: 0.95-0.98
+
+Alternative: Use pgvector's built-in benchmark tool if available, or reference the harness in issue #XXX (if one exists).
+
+## Conclusion
+
+The DDL changes are correct and match the query patterns. Actual performance verification requires a populated database environment. The verification script `scripts/verify_hnsw_indexes.sh` is provided for maintainers to run against their test infrastructure.
+
+**Recommendation:** Merge after a maintainer runs the verification script against a test database and confirms index scans are used.
diff --git a/scripts/verify_hnsw_indexes.sh b/scripts/verify_hnsw_indexes.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..3f945a8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/verify_hnsw_indexes.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# EXPLAIN regression test for HNSW ANN indexes (issue #173)
+#
+# This script verifies that vector queries use index scans instead of
+# sequential scans after migration 0025 is applied.
+#
+# Prerequisites:
+#   - PostgreSQL 16+ with pgvector extension
+#   - Database with all migrations applied (0001 through 0025)
+#   - Populated test data in embeddings_text, embeddings_visual, embeddings_face
+#
+# Usage:
+#   ./scripts/verify_hnsw_indexes.sh postgres://user:pass@host:port/db
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+DB_URL="${1:?Usage: $0 <database-url>}"
+
+pass=0
+fail=0
+
+assert_index_scan() {
+  local label="$1"
+  local table="$2"
+  local plan
+  plan="$(psql -AtX "$DB_URL" -c "
+    EXPLAIN
+    SELECT e.id
+      FROM ${table} e
+      JOIN files f ON f.id = e.file_id
+     WHERE f.user_id = (SELECT id FROM users LIMIT 1)
+     ORDER BY e.embedding <=> (SELECT array_fill(0.1, ARRAY[768]))::vector
+     LIMIT 10;
+  ")"
+  if echo "$plan" | grep -qi "Index Scan.*hnsw"; then
+    echo "PASS: ${label} uses HNSW index scan"
+    pass=$((pass + 1))
+  else
+    echo "FAIL: ${label} does NOT use HNSW index scan"
+    echo "$plan"
+    fail=$((fail + 1))
+  fi
+}
+
+echo "=== HNSW ANN Index Verification (Issue #173) ==="
+echo ""
+
+echo "1. Verifying indexes exist..."
+index_count="$(psql -AtX "$DB_URL" -c "
+SELECT COUNT(*)
+FROM pg_indexes
+WHERE tablename IN ('embeddings_text', 'embeddings_visual', 'embeddings_face')
+  AND indexname LIKE '%hnsw%';
+")"
+if [[ "${index_count}" -ge 3 ]]; then
+  echo "PASS: found ${index_count} HNSW indexes"
+  pass=$((pass + 1))
+else
+  echo "FAIL: expected >= 3 HNSW indexes, found ${index_count}"
+  fail=$((fail + 1))
+fi
+
+echo ""
+echo "2. Checking row counts..."
+psql "$DB_URL" -c "
+SELECT 'embeddings_text' AS table_name, COUNT(*) AS row_count FROM embeddings_text
+UNION ALL
+SELECT 'embeddings_visual', COUNT(*) FROM embeddings_visual
+UNION ALL
+SELECT 'embeddings_face', COUNT(*) FROM embeddings_face;
+"
+
+echo ""
+echo "3. Verifying index usage in query plans..."
+assert_index_scan "text (768-d)" "embeddings_text"
+
+echo ""
+echo "=== Results: ${pass} passed, ${fail} failed ==="
+[[ "${fail}" -eq 0 ]] || exit 1
diff --git a/server/internal/db/migrations/0001_init.sql b/server/internal/db/migrations/0001_init.sql
index a5f9bf2..e224454 100644
--- a/server/internal/db/migrations/0001_init.sql
+++ b/server/internal/db/migrations/0001_init.sql
@@ -106,8 +106,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS embeddings_text (
     embedding       vector(768)
 );
 CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_embeddings_text_file ON embeddings_text (file_id);
--- HNSW index will be added by worker once we settle on a model dimension. Kept off here
--- because pgvector requires the table to have data of consistent dim before building.
+-- HNSW index on embedding column is in migration 0024.
 -- +goose StatementEnd
 
 -- +goose StatementBegin
diff --git a/server/internal/db/migrations/0019_versioned_index_generations.sql b/server/internal/db/migrations/0019_versioned_index_generations.sql
index bd173c8..d4bdbf1 100644
--- a/server/internal/db/migrations/0019_versioned_index_generations.sql
+++ b/server/internal/db/migrations/0019_versioned_index_generations.sql
@@ -264,8 +264,8 @@ CREATE INDEX idx_index_generation_targets_file_hash
 -- +goose StatementBegin
 -- `vector` intentionally has no table-wide dimension. Every row is validated
 -- against its immutable generation.output_dimension by the canonical service.
--- Future ANN indexes must be route/dimension-specific expression or partition
--- indexes; silently padding or truncating vectors is never allowed.
+-- ANN indexes for fixed-dimension tables (embeddings_text/visual/face) are in
+-- migration 0024; this table's variable-dimension vectors cannot share them.
 CREATE TABLE index_generation_vectors (
     generation_id           uuid NOT NULL REFERENCES index_generations(id) ON DELETE CASCADE,
     workspace_id            uuid NOT NULL REFERENCES workspaces(id) ON DELETE CASCADE,
diff --git a/server/internal/db/migrations/0025_ann_hnsw_indexes.sql b/server/internal/db/migrations/0025_ann_hnsw_indexes.sql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c5d83ec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/internal/db/migrations/0025_ann_hnsw_indexes.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+-- +goose Up
+-- +goose StatementBegin
+-- HNSW ANN index for text embeddings (768-d, cosine distance).
+-- Used by search route "text" (search.go) and relator same-topic (relator.go).
+CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_embeddings_text_embedding_hnsw
+    ON embeddings_text USING hnsw (embedding vector_cosine_ops);
+-- +goose StatementEnd
+
+-- +goose StatementBegin
+-- HNSW ANN index for visual embeddings (512-d, cosine distance).
+-- Used by search route "visual" (search.go) and relator same-event (relator.go).
+CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_embeddings_visual_embedding_hnsw
+    ON embeddings_visual USING hnsw (embedding vector_cosine_ops);
+-- +goose StatementEnd
+
+-- +goose StatementBegin
+-- HNSW ANN index for face embeddings (512-d, cosine distance).
+-- Reserved for future face search queries; current clustering is O(n) in Go.
+CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_embeddings_face_embedding_hnsw
+    ON embeddings_face USING hnsw (embedding vector_cosine_ops);
+-- +goose StatementEnd
+
+-- +goose Down
+-- +goose StatementBegin
+DROP INDEX IF EXISTS idx_embeddings_face_embedding_hnsw;
+-- +goose StatementEnd
+
+-- +goose StatementBegin
+DROP INDEX IF EXISTS idx_embeddings_visual_embedding_hnsw;
+-- +goose StatementEnd
+
+-- +goose StatementBegin
+DROP INDEX IF EXISTS idx_embeddings_text_embedding_hnsw;
+-- +goose StatementEnd
diff --git a/server/internal/face/face.go b/server/internal/face/face.go
index 146ba99..a90fc18 100644
--- a/server/internal/face/face.go
+++ b/server/internal/face/face.go
@@ -11,8 +11,8 @@
 //  4. Insert embeddings_face (file_id, entity_id, bbox, embedding).
 //
 // This is intentionally O(n) per insert — fine for a personal drive up to
-// thousands of faces. For larger corpora swap in pgvector HNSW + offline
-// re-clustering.
+// thousands of faces. The HNSW index (migration 0024) is available for future
+// SQL-based face search queries.
 package face
 
 import (