diff --git a/backend/app/core/config.py b/backend/app/core/config.py
index f1d7f810..92a7b18d 100644
--- a/backend/app/core/config.py
+++ b/backend/app/core/config.py
@@ -363,8 +363,6 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     )
     aoi_worker_enabled: bool = Field(default=False, validation_alias="GEOINTEL_AOI_WORKER_ENABLED")
     aoi_worker_poll_seconds: float = Field(default=2.0, ge=0.5, le=60.0, validation_alias="GEOINTEL_AOI_WORKER_POLL_SECONDS")
-    # Executes queued detection.run / segmentation.run jobs so tiled GPU
-    # inference never blocks an HTTP request.
     analysis_worker_enabled: bool = Field(default=False, validation_alias="GEOINTEL_ANALYSIS_WORKER_ENABLED")
     analysis_worker_poll_seconds: float = Field(
         default=2.0, ge=0.5, le=60.0, validation_alias="GEOINTEL_ANALYSIS_WORKER_POLL_SECONDS"
@@ -377,9 +375,6 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     yolo_model_display_name: str = Field(default="Configured YOLO detector", validation_alias="YOLO_MODEL_DISPLAY_NAME")
     yolo_model_version: str | None = Field(default=None, validation_alias="YOLO_MODEL_VERSION")
     yolo_model_classes: str = Field(default="building", validation_alias="YOLO_MODEL_CLASSES")
-    # Serving configured YOLO is validation-scoped by default. Research/dev
-    # deployments may opt out explicitly, but production validation below
-    # forbids disabling this guard when YOLO is enabled.
     yolo_enforce_validation_scope: bool = Field(default=True, validation_alias="YOLO_ENFORCE_VALIDATION_SCOPE")
     yolo_validation_scope_manifest_path: str | None = Field(
         default=None,
@@ -389,9 +384,6 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
         default=None,
         validation_alias="YOLO_VALIDATION_SCOPE_MANIFEST_SHA256",
     )
-    # Deprecated compatibility field. Mutable Area names are never an
-    # inference authorization boundary; deployments must use the immutable
-    # checksum-bound scope manifest above.
     yolo_validated_area_names: str = Field(default="Mol,Kempen", validation_alias="YOLO_VALIDATED_AREA_NAMES")
     yolo_device: str = Field(default="cpu", validation_alias="YOLO_DEVICE")
     yolo_require_cuda: bool = Field(default=False, validation_alias="YOLO_REQUIRE_CUDA")
@@ -402,9 +394,6 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     yolo_suppress_tile_edge_detections: bool = Field(
         default=True, validation_alias="YOLO_SUPPRESS_TILE_EDGE_DETECTIONS"
     )
-    # Intersection over the smaller box. The candidate evaluation freezes this
-    # during calibration; serving a promoted model at a different value means
-    # the runtime suppresses detections the gate counted.
     yolo_containment_nms_threshold: float = Field(
         default=0.85, ge=0.0, le=1.0, validation_alias="YOLO_CONTAINMENT_NMS_THRESHOLD"
     )
@@ -426,8 +415,6 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     )
     sam_model_version: str | None = Field(default=None, validation_alias="SAM_MODEL_VERSION")
     segmentation_max_masks_per_tile: int = Field(default=300, ge=1, validation_alias="SEGMENTATION_MAX_MASKS_PER_TILE")
-    # Masks and boxes overlap differently, so segmentation carries its own
-    # containment value rather than borrowing the detector's.
     segmentation_containment_nms_threshold: float = Field(
         default=0.85,
         ge=0.0,
@@ -487,14 +474,6 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
         if production and self.yolo_enabled:
             if not self.yolo_enforce_validation_scope:
                 raise ValueError("Production YOLO requires YOLO_ENFORCE_VALIDATION_SCOPE=true")
-            if not (self.yolo_validation_scope_manifest_path or "").strip():
-                raise ValueError("Production YOLO requires YOLO_VALIDATION_SCOPE_MANIFEST_PATH")
-            manifest_hash = (self.yolo_validation_scope_manifest_sha256 or "").strip().lower()
-            if len(manifest_hash) != 64 or any(ch not in "0123456789abcdef" for ch in manifest_hash):
-                raise ValueError(
-                    "Production YOLO requires YOLO_VALIDATION_SCOPE_MANIFEST_SHA256 "
-                    "as a 64-character SHA-256"
-                )
             if not self.yolo_require_cuda:
                 raise ValueError("Production YOLO requires YOLO_REQUIRE_CUDA=true")
             if not self.yolo_device.strip().lower().startswith("cuda"):