diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index a3f2e4f37..a6d07349b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ jobs:
         run: ./mvnw -B -ntp test -pl . -P no-poi
 
   binary-compat:
-    name: Binary Compatibility (japicmp vs v1.6.8)
+    name: Binary Compatibility (japicmp vs v1.6.9)
     if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
     needs: architecture-and-documentation-guards
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 2fa085c81..fc5cfafa2 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -682,6 +682,17 @@
                                 <includeSynthetic>false</includeSynthetic>
                                 <reportOnlyFilename>true</reportOnlyFilename>
                                 <skipPomModules>true</skipPomModules>
+                                <!--
+                                    Internal layout->render handoff DTOs. These records carry
+                                    engine-internal types (TextStyle, Padding, ...) and evolve
+                                    with rendering features (e.g. ParagraphFragmentPayload gained
+                                    verticalAlign in 1.7.0). They are not part of the canonical
+                                    public API (document.api/dsl/node/style) and carry no
+                                    binary-compatibility promise, so they are excluded from the gate.
+                                -->
+                                <excludes>
+                                    <exclude>com.demcha.compose.document.layout.payloads</exclude>
+                                </excludes>
                             </parameter>
                         </configuration>
                     </plugin>