diff --git a/src/actions/contract-backfill.actions.ts b/src/actions/contract-backfill.actions.ts
index 880a5f4..15e4808 100644
--- a/src/actions/contract-backfill.actions.ts
+++ b/src/actions/contract-backfill.actions.ts
@@ -50,7 +50,8 @@ export const ExecutedUploadAction: Action = {
   params: [
     // Field-backed where a picker is wanted: the param inherits the field's
     // type, its label and its `lookupFilters`, so inactive types, blocked
-    // counterparties and non-company business units are already out of the
+    // counterparties, and business units of the wrong kind (a non-company as
+    // the entity, a non-department as the department) are already out of the
     // pickers.
     { field: 'contract_type', required: true, helpText: 'The workflow this contract would have run. It still stamps the number, the category and the execution formalities.' },
     { field: 'party', required: true, helpText: 'The counterparty on the executed document.' },
diff --git a/src/actions/contract.actions.ts b/src/actions/contract.actions.ts
index 3d5e2df..96a30f8 100644
--- a/src/actions/contract.actions.ts
+++ b/src/actions/contract.actions.ts
@@ -8,11 +8,13 @@ import { P } from '@objectstack/spec';
  * ## Why the action carries params at all
  *
  * The flat screens of a flow have no record picker (measured on the pinned
- * console — see the flow's header), so the three pickers the intake needs are
+ * console — see the flow's header), so the four pickers the intake needs are
  * collected HERE, by the action's param dialog: field-backed lookup params
  * render the real pickers and inherit the fields' `lookupFilters` (active
- * types only; blocked parties hidden; company-kind business units only). The console posts them as the flow's
- * `params`, which the engine seeds into the input variables of the same name.
+ * types only; blocked parties hidden; company-kind business units for the
+ * entity, department-kind ones for the department). The console posts them
+ * as the flow's `params`, which the engine seeds into the input variables of
+ * the same name.
  *
  * ## The headless half
  *
@@ -55,16 +57,18 @@ export const LaunchContractAction: Action = {
   target: 'contract_intake',
   locations: ['list_toolbar'],
   params: [
-    // The three pickers a flat screen cannot render.
+    // The four pickers a flat screen cannot render.
     { field: 'contract_type', label: 'Contract type', required: true, helpText: 'The workflow this contract runs: which fields are asked, whether legal reviews it, how it is executed.' },
     { field: 'party', label: 'Counterparty', required: false, helpText: 'Pick an existing counterparty, or leave empty to create one on the next step.' },
     // Required here because it is required on the contract: a signing entity
     // is a business-unit row, so the action has no default to fall back to.
     { field: 'our_entity', label: 'Our signing entity', required: true, helpText: 'Which of our legal entities signs.' },
+    // Optional, as the field is: a business-unit row of kind department
+    // (#109). Before #109 it was a select on the flow's core screen.
+    { field: 'department', label: 'Requesting department', required: false, helpText: 'The department launching this contract.' },
     // Everything else is answered on the flow's screens; declared here for
     // the headless doors only.
     headless('title', 'text', 'Title'),
-    headless('department', 'text', 'Requesting department'),
     headless('amount', 'number', 'Contract amount'),
     headless('currency_code', 'text', 'Currency (ISO 4217, lowercase)'),
     headless('is_amount_estimated', 'boolean', 'Amount is an estimate'),
diff --git a/src/apps/clm.app.ts b/src/apps/clm.app.ts
index caf04ce..bcb79d3 100644
--- a/src/apps/clm.app.ts
+++ b/src/apps/clm.app.ts
@@ -57,13 +57,13 @@ import { App } from '@objectstack/spec/ui';
  *   switcher builds a tab per named `listViews` entry, so `status_kanban` is
  *   one click from 全部合同 under its own label and zero clicks further than a
  *   second sidebar row would be.
- * - **签约主体与部门** (管理) is not a row here yet. The signing entities are
- *   rows now — `our_entity` is a lookup to the platform's `sys_business_unit`
- *   (kind `company`, #20 ruling C), maintained in Setup → Business Units, the
- *   platform's own org-chart surface — but `department` is still a
- *   `Field.select` option list on `clm_contract` (schema, not rows) until #109
- *   moves it onto the same object. The sidebar row for the pair is decided
- *   once both halves are data, rather than half a row now.
+ * - **签约主体与部门** (管理) is not a row here yet. Both halves are rows of
+ *   the platform's `sys_business_unit` now: `our_entity` is a lookup to the
+ *   company-kind units (#20 ruling C) and `department` to the
+ *   department-kind ones (#109). Both are maintained in Setup → Business
+ *   Units, the platform's own org-chart surface. Whether the 管理 group also
+ *   gets a row pointing there is a §05 navigation decision of its own, not
+ *   part of either card.
  * - **报表** (管理) is still absent. Card 10 landed §09's four datasets and
  *   three DASHBOARDS, which the 分析 group below points at with
  *   `type: 'dashboard'` items; no `reports:` metadata exists yet, and a
diff --git a/src/dashboards/legal.dashboard.ts b/src/dashboards/legal.dashboard.ts
index 3d28ec0..15a9af2 100644
--- a/src/dashboards/legal.dashboard.ts
+++ b/src/dashboards/legal.dashboard.ts
@@ -61,11 +61,14 @@ import type { Dashboard } from '@objectstack/spec/ui';
  * inline map produces none. A filter added later with a plain-string label
  * ships English on a zh-CN board with `pnpm lint:i18n-gate` still green.
  *
- * ⚠️ These option labels DUPLICATE `objects.<object>.fields.<field>.options.*`
- * in the bundle, which is not ideal and is not avoidable here: the filter
- * declares its own option list (the schema requires it for a `select` filter),
- * and the two are separate authored strings that happen to say the same thing.
- * If they drift, the bundle's copy is the one the grid and the record page use.
+ * ⚠️ The `category` filter's option labels DUPLICATE
+ * `objects.<object>.fields.<field>.options.*` in the bundle, which is not
+ * ideal and is not avoidable here: the filter declares its own option list
+ * (the schema requires it for a `select` filter), and the two are separate
+ * authored strings that happen to say the same thing. If they drift, the
+ * bundle's copy is the one the grid and the record page use. The `department`
+ * filter has no such copy since #109: its options are business-unit rows, and
+ * a row's name is data, shown as written.
  */
 export const LegalDashboard: Dashboard = {
   name: 'legal_workbench',
@@ -75,10 +78,10 @@ export const LegalDashboard: Dashboard = {
   columns: 12,
   gap: 4,
 
-  // Both are persisted `Field.select` columns on `clm_contract`, and every
-  // widget on this dashboard is bound to `contract_metrics` (base object
-  // `clm_contract`), so neither filter can reach a widget whose object lacks
-  // the column.
+  // Both are persisted columns on `clm_contract` (`category` a select,
+  // `department` a lookup), and every widget on this dashboard is bound to
+  // `contract_metrics` (base object `clm_contract`), so neither filter can
+  // reach a widget whose object lacks the column.
   globalFilters: [
     {
       name: 'category',
@@ -100,23 +103,24 @@ export const LegalDashboard: Dashboard = {
         { value: 'other', label: { en: 'Other', 'zh-CN': '其他' } },
       ],
     },
+    // `department` is a lookup to `sys_business_unit` since #109, so the
+    // filter's options are the department-kind units themselves, read at run
+    // time, and the value it applies is the unit's id, which is what the
+    // column holds. Retired departments stay in the list on purpose: their
+    // contracts are still on the board.
     {
       name: 'department',
       field: 'department',
       object: 'clm_contract',
       label: { en: 'Requesting Department', 'zh-CN': '发起部门' },
-      type: 'select',
+      type: 'lookup',
       scope: 'dashboard',
-      options: [
-        { value: 'sales', label: { en: 'Sales', 'zh-CN': '销售' } },
-        { value: 'procurement', label: { en: 'Procurement', 'zh-CN': '采购' } },
-        { value: 'legal', label: { en: 'Legal', 'zh-CN': '法务' } },
-        { value: 'finance', label: { en: 'Finance', 'zh-CN': '财务' } },
-        { value: 'operations', label: { en: 'Operations', 'zh-CN': '运营' } },
-        { value: 'people', label: { en: 'People / HR', 'zh-CN': '人力资源' } },
-        { value: 'it', label: { en: 'IT', 'zh-CN': '信息技术' } },
-        { value: 'other', label: { en: 'Other', 'zh-CN': '其他' } },
-      ],
+      optionsFrom: {
+        object: 'sys_business_unit',
+        valueField: 'id',
+        labelField: 'name',
+        filter: { kind: 'department' },
+      },
     },
   ],
 
diff --git a/src/data/business-unit.seed.ts b/src/data/business-unit.seed.ts
index 0c884bb..6bec6b3 100644
--- a/src/data/business-unit.seed.ts
+++ b/src/data/business-unit.seed.ts
@@ -3,19 +3,22 @@
 import { SeedSchema } from '@objectstack/spec/data';
 
 import { STRINGS } from './demo-locale.js';
-import { SIGNING_ENTITY_PLAN } from './plan.js';
+import { DEPARTMENT_PLAN, SIGNING_ENTITY_PLAN } from './plan.js';
 
 /**
  * The group's three legal entities — DESIGN.md §10's US parent with a European
- * and an Asia-Pacific subsidiary — as rows of the platform's organisation
- * object, `sys_business_unit`.
+ * and an Asia-Pacific subsidiary — and the seven departments that launch its
+ * contracts, as rows of the platform's organisation object,
+ * `sys_business_unit`.
  *
  * `clm_contract.our_entity` is a lookup to that object filtered to
  * `kind: 'company'` (#20, ruling C), so a signing entity is DATA: a customer
  * adds theirs in Setup → Business Units, and this demo plays the admin's part
- * by seeding the fictional group's. The parent/child link is the platform's
- * own `parent_business_unit_id`, so the org-chart view in Setup shows the
- * group as a tree.
+ * by seeding the fictional group's. `clm_contract.department` is the same
+ * shape filtered to `kind: 'department'` (#109), so the departments are rows
+ * of the same object, under the US parent (`plan.ts` says why). The
+ * parent/child link is the platform's own `parent_business_unit_id`, so the
+ * org-chart view in Setup shows the group as one tree.
  *
  * ## Why `SeedSchema.parse` and not `defineSeed`
  *
@@ -24,26 +27,37 @@ import { SIGNING_ENTITY_PLAN } from './plan.js';
  * depends on the package that does. Every key below is a declared field of
  * the installed `@objectstack/platform-objects` 18.1.0 definition (`name`,
  * `code`, `kind`, `parent_business_unit_id`, `active`), read there rather
- * than assumed.
+ * than assumed. `department` is one of that definition's `kind` options
+ * (`company · division · department · office · cost_center`).
  *
  * ## The key is `code`
  *
  * `code` is the platform's own natural key for a unit ("Short stable code …
  * Unique within tenant") and it is locale-blind, so `demo-en` and `demo-zh`
- * upsert the same three rows and every contract resolves its `our_entity`
- * against the same codes in either language. The subsidiaries name their
- * parent by code too; the loader writes a self-referencing dataset row by row,
- * so the parent exists by the time a child names it.
+ * upsert the same ten rows and every contract resolves its `our_entity` and
+ * its `department` against the same codes in either language. The
+ * subsidiaries and the departments name their parent by code too; the loader
+ * writes a self-referencing dataset row by row, in this order, so the parent
+ * exists by the time a child names it — the companies come first.
  */
 export const businessUnitSeed = SeedSchema.parse({
   object: 'sys_business_unit',
   mode: 'upsert',
   externalId: 'code',
-  records: SIGNING_ENTITY_PLAN.map((entity, index) => ({
-    code: entity.code,
-    name: STRINGS.signingEntities[index]!,
-    kind: 'company',
-    parent_business_unit_id: entity.parentCode,
-    active: true,
-  })),
+  records: [
+    ...SIGNING_ENTITY_PLAN.map((entity, index) => ({
+      code: entity.code,
+      name: STRINGS.signingEntities[index]!,
+      kind: 'company',
+      parent_business_unit_id: entity.parentCode,
+      active: true,
+    })),
+    ...DEPARTMENT_PLAN.map((department, index) => ({
+      code: department.code,
+      name: STRINGS.departments[index]!,
+      kind: 'department',
+      parent_business_unit_id: department.parentCode,
+      active: true,
+    })),
+  ],
 });
diff --git a/src/data/contract.seed.ts b/src/data/contract.seed.ts
index ae90d4e..e7623c1 100644
--- a/src/data/contract.seed.ts
+++ b/src/data/contract.seed.ts
@@ -73,6 +73,9 @@ export const contractSeed = defineSeed(Contract, {
       // England and Wales → the APAC subsidiary. A code, resolved against the
       // `sys_business_unit` rows `business-unit.seed.ts` upserts on `code`.
       our_entity: SIGNING_ENTITY_PLAN[law.entityIndex]!.code,
+      // The requesting department follows the contract type (`plan.ts`): a
+      // code, resolved against the department-kind `sys_business_unit` rows
+      // `business-unit.seed.ts` upserts on `code`, as `our_entity` is.
       department: type.department,
       // `owner_id` names a user the way `legal_owner` on the next line does —
       // a `lookup('sys_user')` resolved against `sys_user.name` by the two-boot
diff --git a/src/data/demo-en/index.ts b/src/data/demo-en/index.ts
index c28f1b0..cd7f443 100644
--- a/src/data/demo-en/index.ts
+++ b/src/data/demo-en/index.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import type { DemoStrings } from '../strings.js';
 import { APPROVAL_RULES, CLAUSES, CONTRACT_TYPES } from './catalog.js';
 import { PARTIES } from './parties.js';
 import {
+  DEPARTMENTS,
   DEVIATION_JUSTIFICATIONS,
   DEVIATION_TEXTS,
   JURISDICTIONS,
@@ -28,6 +29,7 @@ import {
  */
 export const EN: DemoStrings = {
   signingEntities: SIGNING_ENTITIES,
+  departments: DEPARTMENTS,
   contractTypes: CONTRACT_TYPES,
   clauses: CLAUSES,
   approvalRules: APPROVAL_RULES,
diff --git a/src/data/demo-en/prose.ts b/src/data/demo-en/prose.ts
index 498a663..c69f4f7 100644
--- a/src/data/demo-en/prose.ts
+++ b/src/data/demo-en/prose.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,20 @@ export const SIGNING_ENTITIES: readonly string[] & { length: 3 } = [
   'Arcadia Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.',
 ] as const;
 
+/**
+ * The departments that launch contracts, in `DEPARTMENT_PLAN`'s order
+ * (`../plan.ts`). Each is a department-kind business unit under the US parent.
+ */
+export const DEPARTMENTS: readonly string[] & { length: 7 } = [
+  'Sales',
+  'Procurement',
+  'Legal',
+  'Finance',
+  'Operations',
+  'People & HR',
+  'IT',
+] as const;
+
 /** Distinguishes a second contract of the same type with the same counterparty. */
 export const TITLE_QUALIFIERS: readonly string[] & { length: 8 } = [
   'Renewal',
diff --git a/src/data/demo-zh/index.ts b/src/data/demo-zh/index.ts
index fb0dd0f..2112aa4 100644
--- a/src/data/demo-zh/index.ts
+++ b/src/data/demo-zh/index.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import type { DemoStrings } from '../strings.js';
 import { APPROVAL_RULES, CLAUSES, CONTRACT_TYPES } from './catalog.js';
 import { PARTIES } from './parties.js';
 import {
+  DEPARTMENTS,
   DEVIATION_JUSTIFICATIONS,
   DEVIATION_TEXTS,
   JURISDICTIONS,
@@ -27,6 +28,7 @@ import {
  */
 export const ZH_CN: DemoStrings = {
   signingEntities: SIGNING_ENTITIES,
+  departments: DEPARTMENTS,
   contractTypes: CONTRACT_TYPES,
   clauses: CLAUSES,
   approvalRules: APPROVAL_RULES,
diff --git a/src/data/demo-zh/prose.ts b/src/data/demo-zh/prose.ts
index 4919471..807afa8 100644
--- a/src/data/demo-zh/prose.ts
+++ b/src/data/demo-zh/prose.ts
@@ -15,6 +15,17 @@ export const SIGNING_ENTITIES: readonly string[] & { length: 3 } = [
   '阿卡迪亚亚太私人有限公司',
 ] as const;
 
+/** 发起合同的七个部门，顺序同 `../plan.ts` 的 `DEPARTMENT_PLAN`；都是美国母公司之下 kind 为部门的业务单元。 */
+export const DEPARTMENTS: readonly string[] & { length: 7 } = [
+  '销售部',
+  '采购部',
+  '法务部',
+  '财务部',
+  '运营部',
+  '人力资源部',
+  '信息技术部',
+] as const;
+
 /** 同一相对方、同一类型的第二份合同用它区分。 */
 export const TITLE_QUALIFIERS: readonly string[] & { length: 8 } = [
   '续签',
diff --git a/src/data/index.ts b/src/data/index.ts
index 3cb4d43..8d76698 100644
--- a/src/data/index.ts
+++ b/src/data/index.ts
@@ -25,9 +25,9 @@ import { obligationSeed, paymentPlanSeed } from './post-signature.seed.js';
  * anyway:
  *
  *  - **The configuration objects come first.** `clm_contract.contract_type`
- *    resolves against a type's `name`, `clm_contract.our_entity` against a
- *    business unit's `code` and `clm_deviation.clause` against a clause's
- *    `title`; a reference that resolves to nothing on a `required` column
+ *    resolves against a type's `name`, `clm_contract.our_entity` and
+ *    `clm_contract.department` against a business unit's `code`, and
+ *    `clm_deviation.clause` against a clause's `title`; a reference that resolves to nothing on a `required` column
  *    takes the whole row with it.
  *  - **`clm_contract` comes before its five children**, all of which reference
  *    it by title through the one function in `keys.ts`.
@@ -53,8 +53,8 @@ import { obligationSeed, paymentPlanSeed } from './post-signature.seed.js';
  */
 export const demoSeeds: Seed[] = [
   // 1. Configuration first — every contract resolves its type here, its
-  //    signing entity (a `sys_business_unit` of kind `company`), and every
-  //    deviation its clause.
+  //    signing entity (a `sys_business_unit` of kind `company`) and its
+  //    department (one of kind `department`), and every deviation its clause.
   businessUnitSeed,
   contractTypeSeed,
   clauseSeed,
diff --git a/src/data/plan.ts b/src/data/plan.ts
index 016477e..9c7b91c 100644
--- a/src/data/plan.ts
+++ b/src/data/plan.ts
@@ -75,6 +75,45 @@ export const SIGNING_ENTITY_PLAN: readonly SigningEntityPlan[] & { length: 3 } =
 ] as const;
 assertCount('sys_business_unit (signing entities)', SIGNING_ENTITY_PLAN.length, 3);
 
+/**
+ * The departments that launch contracts, as `sys_business_unit` rows of kind
+ * `department` (#109, the same ruling as the signing entities: organisation
+ * structure is data, and the data is the platform's organisation tree).
+ * `clm_contract.department` is a lookup to them.
+ *
+ * Every department sits under the US parent, `ARC-US`. A requesting
+ * department is a group function, and it is a separate axis from the entity
+ * that signs. Contracts are spread across entities by governing law
+ * ({@link JURISDICTION_BY_COUNTRY}) and across departments by contract type
+ * ({@link CONTRACT_TYPE_PLAN}). If Operations hung under the EU subsidiary, a
+ * New York lease would be requested by a European department. Under the group
+ * parent, the org chart in Setup shows the three entities and the seven
+ * departments as one tree, and no contract tells two stories.
+ *
+ * `code` is the natural key the seed upserts on and the value every contract's
+ * `department` names, locale-blind for the same reason as the entities' codes.
+ * The index of each entry is the index into the locale bundle's `departments`
+ * tuple. The old option list's `other` has no row: "other" is not a unit of
+ * the organisation, and a contract with no department leaves the field empty.
+ */
+export type DepartmentCode = 'ARC-SALES' | 'ARC-PROC' | 'ARC-LEGAL' | 'ARC-FIN' | 'ARC-OPS' | 'ARC-PEOPLE' | 'ARC-IT';
+
+export interface DepartmentPlan {
+  readonly code: DepartmentCode;
+  /** The `code` of the company the department sits under. */
+  readonly parentCode: string;
+}
+
+export const DEPARTMENT_PLAN: readonly DepartmentPlan[] & { length: 7 } = [
+  { code: 'ARC-SALES', parentCode: 'ARC-US' },
+  { code: 'ARC-PROC', parentCode: 'ARC-US' },
+  { code: 'ARC-LEGAL', parentCode: 'ARC-US' },
+  { code: 'ARC-FIN', parentCode: 'ARC-US' },
+  { code: 'ARC-OPS', parentCode: 'ARC-US' },
+  { code: 'ARC-PEOPLE', parentCode: 'ARC-US' },
+  { code: 'ARC-IT', parentCode: 'ARC-US' },
+] as const;
+
 export interface Jurisdiction {
   readonly governingLaw: string;
   /** Index into the locale bundle's `jurisdictions` tuple. */
@@ -123,19 +162,20 @@ export interface ContractTypePlan {
   readonly amountBand: readonly [number, number] | null;
   /** Whether contracts of this type carry an instalment schedule. */
   readonly hasPaymentSchedule: boolean;
-  readonly department: 'sales' | 'procurement' | 'legal' | 'finance' | 'operations' | 'people' | 'it' | 'other';
+  /** The requesting department: a {@link DEPARTMENT_PLAN} code. */
+  readonly department: DepartmentCode;
 }
 
 export const CONTRACT_TYPE_PLAN: readonly ContractTypePlan[] = [
-  { code: 'NDA', category: 'nda',       direction: 'other',    requiresLegalReview: true,  executionFormalities: [],                          signMethod: 'esign',   reviewSlaDays: 3,  defaultTermMonths: 24, retentionYears: 7,  intakeFields: ['governing_law', 'confidentiality_term_months'], amountBand: null,                hasPaymentSchedule: false, department: 'legal' },
-  { code: 'MSA', category: 'framework', direction: 'sales',    requiresLegalReview: true,  executionFormalities: ['countersigned_copy'],       signMethod: 'esign',   reviewSlaDays: 5,  defaultTermMonths: 36, retentionYears: 10, intakeFields: ['governing_law', 'payment_terms', 'auto_renew'],  amountBand: [250_000, 4_000_000], hasPaymentSchedule: true,  department: 'sales' },
-  { code: 'SOW', category: 'service',   direction: 'sales',    requiresLegalReview: false, executionFormalities: [],                          signMethod: 'esign',   reviewSlaDays: 3,  defaultTermMonths: 12, retentionYears: 10, intakeFields: ['payment_terms', 'parent_contract'],              amountBand: [40_000, 700_000],   hasPaymentSchedule: true,  department: 'sales' },
-  { code: 'ORD', category: 'sales',     direction: 'sales',    requiresLegalReview: false, executionFormalities: [],                          signMethod: 'esign',   reviewSlaDays: 2,  defaultTermMonths: 12, retentionYears: 7,  intakeFields: ['payment_terms'],                                 amountBand: [6_000, 95_000],     hasPaymentSchedule: true,  department: 'sales' },
-  { code: 'SUP', category: 'purchase',  direction: 'purchase', requiresLegalReview: true,  executionFormalities: ['countersigned_copy'],       signMethod: 'either',  reviewSlaDays: 5,  defaultTermMonths: 24, retentionYears: 10, intakeFields: ['governing_law', 'payment_terms', 'auto_renew'],  amountBand: [30_000, 1_400_000], hasPaymentSchedule: true,  department: 'procurement' },
-  { code: 'DPA', category: 'dpa',       direction: 'other',    requiresLegalReview: true,  executionFormalities: ['countersigned_copy'],       signMethod: 'esign',   reviewSlaDays: 5,  defaultTermMonths: 36, retentionYears: 10, intakeFields: ['governing_law'],                                 amountBand: null,                hasPaymentSchedule: false, department: 'legal' },
-  { code: 'LSE', category: 'lease',     direction: 'purchase', requiresLegalReview: true,  executionFormalities: ['notarized', 'witnessed'],   signMethod: 'wet_ink', reviewSlaDays: 10, defaultTermMonths: 60, retentionYears: 15, intakeFields: ['governing_law', 'auto_renew'],                   amountBand: [400_000, 2_600_000],hasPaymentSchedule: true,  department: 'operations' },
-  { code: 'ICA', category: 'employment',direction: 'purchase', requiresLegalReview: true,  executionFormalities: ['countersigned_copy'],       signMethod: 'esign',   reviewSlaDays: 5,  defaultTermMonths: 12, retentionYears: 7,  intakeFields: ['payment_terms', 'confidentiality_term_months'],  amountBand: [18_000, 140_000],   hasPaymentSchedule: true,  department: 'people' },
-  { code: 'AMD', category: 'amendment', direction: 'other',    requiresLegalReview: true,  executionFormalities: ['countersigned_copy'],       signMethod: 'esign',   reviewSlaDays: 3,  defaultTermMonths: 12, retentionYears: 10, intakeFields: ['parent_contract'],                               amountBand: [12_000, 260_000],   hasPaymentSchedule: true,  department: 'legal' },
+  { code: 'NDA', category: 'nda',       direction: 'other',    requiresLegalReview: true,  executionFormalities: [],                          signMethod: 'esign',   reviewSlaDays: 3,  defaultTermMonths: 24, retentionYears: 7,  intakeFields: ['governing_law', 'confidentiality_term_months'], amountBand: null,                hasPaymentSchedule: false, department: 'ARC-LEGAL' },
+  { code: 'MSA', category: 'framework', direction: 'sales',    requiresLegalReview: true,  executionFormalities: ['countersigned_copy'],       signMethod: 'esign',   reviewSlaDays: 5,  defaultTermMonths: 36, retentionYears: 10, intakeFields: ['governing_law', 'payment_terms', 'auto_renew'],  amountBand: [250_000, 4_000_000], hasPaymentSchedule: true,  department: 'ARC-SALES' },
+  { code: 'SOW', category: 'service',   direction: 'sales',    requiresLegalReview: false, executionFormalities: [],                          signMethod: 'esign',   reviewSlaDays: 3,  defaultTermMonths: 12, retentionYears: 10, intakeFields: ['payment_terms', 'parent_contract'],              amountBand: [40_000, 700_000],   hasPaymentSchedule: true,  department: 'ARC-SALES' },
+  { code: 'ORD', category: 'sales',     direction: 'sales',    requiresLegalReview: false, executionFormalities: [],                          signMethod: 'esign',   reviewSlaDays: 2,  defaultTermMonths: 12, retentionYears: 7,  intakeFields: ['payment_terms'],                                 amountBand: [6_000, 95_000],     hasPaymentSchedule: true,  department: 'ARC-SALES' },
+  { code: 'SUP', category: 'purchase',  direction: 'purchase', requiresLegalReview: true,  executionFormalities: ['countersigned_copy'],       signMethod: 'either',  reviewSlaDays: 5,  defaultTermMonths: 24, retentionYears: 10, intakeFields: ['governing_law', 'payment_terms', 'auto_renew'],  amountBand: [30_000, 1_400_000], hasPaymentSchedule: true,  department: 'ARC-PROC' },
+  { code: 'DPA', category: 'dpa',       direction: 'other',    requiresLegalReview: true,  executionFormalities: ['countersigned_copy'],       signMethod: 'esign',   reviewSlaDays: 5,  defaultTermMonths: 36, retentionYears: 10, intakeFields: ['governing_law'],                                 amountBand: null,                hasPaymentSchedule: false, department: 'ARC-LEGAL' },
+  { code: 'LSE', category: 'lease',     direction: 'purchase', requiresLegalReview: true,  executionFormalities: ['notarized', 'witnessed'],   signMethod: 'wet_ink', reviewSlaDays: 10, defaultTermMonths: 60, retentionYears: 15, intakeFields: ['governing_law', 'auto_renew'],                   amountBand: [400_000, 2_600_000],hasPaymentSchedule: true,  department: 'ARC-OPS' },
+  { code: 'ICA', category: 'employment',direction: 'purchase', requiresLegalReview: true,  executionFormalities: ['countersigned_copy'],       signMethod: 'esign',   reviewSlaDays: 5,  defaultTermMonths: 12, retentionYears: 7,  intakeFields: ['payment_terms', 'confidentiality_term_months'],  amountBand: [18_000, 140_000],   hasPaymentSchedule: true,  department: 'ARC-PEOPLE' },
+  { code: 'AMD', category: 'amendment', direction: 'other',    requiresLegalReview: true,  executionFormalities: ['countersigned_copy'],       signMethod: 'esign',   reviewSlaDays: 3,  defaultTermMonths: 12, retentionYears: 10, intakeFields: ['parent_contract'],                               amountBand: [12_000, 260_000],   hasPaymentSchedule: true,  department: 'ARC-LEGAL' },
 ];
 assertCount('clm_contract_type', CONTRACT_TYPE_PLAN.length, 9);
 
diff --git a/src/data/strings.ts b/src/data/strings.ts
index b9c2b41..cbeafbd 100644
--- a/src/data/strings.ts
+++ b/src/data/strings.ts
@@ -59,6 +59,11 @@ export interface DemoStrings {
    * order (`plan.ts`). Their `sys_business_unit.name`.
    */
   readonly signingEntities: Strings<3>;
+  /**
+   * The seven departments that launch contracts, in `DEPARTMENT_PLAN`'s order
+   * (`plan.ts`). Their `sys_business_unit.name`.
+   */
+  readonly departments: Strings<7>;
   /** DESIGN.md §10: nine contract types. */
   readonly contractTypes: readonly ContractTypeStrings[] & { length: 9 };
   /** DESIGN.md §10: thirty playbook clauses. */
diff --git a/src/datasets/contract.dataset.ts b/src/datasets/contract.dataset.ts
index 30a0b9d..01491de 100644
--- a/src/datasets/contract.dataset.ts
+++ b/src/datasets/contract.dataset.ts
@@ -31,15 +31,24 @@ export const ContractDataset = defineDataset({
   object: 'clm_contract',
 
   // Joins are COMPILED from these names; no ON clause is ever written
-  // (ADR-0021). Both are to-one lookups on `clm_contract`, so both are legal
-  // one-hop paths.
-  include: ['contract_type', 'party'],
+  // (ADR-0021). All three are to-one lookups on `clm_contract`, so all three
+  // are legal one-hop paths. `department` joined in #109, when the field
+  // became a lookup to `sys_business_unit`.
+  include: ['contract_type', 'party', 'department'],
 
   dimensions: [
     { name: 'status', label: 'Status', field: 'status', type: 'string' },
     { name: 'category', label: 'Category', field: 'category', type: 'string' },
     { name: 'direction', label: 'Direction', field: 'direction', type: 'string' },
-    { name: 'department', label: 'Requesting Department', field: 'department', type: 'string' },
+    // The department's NAME, one hop through the lookup (#109): the column
+    // holds the business unit's id, and a group-by on it would put ids on the
+    // axis. Named `department_name`, like `contract_type_name`, and NOT
+    // `department`, on purpose: a widget's runtime filter is resolved through
+    // a dimension of the same name first (measured on 18.1.0), so a dimension
+    // called `department` would turn the legal workbench's filter, which
+    // applies the unit's id, into `department.name = <id>` and match nothing.
+    // Without it, `department` reaches the column, which holds the id.
+    { name: 'department_name', label: 'Requesting Department', field: 'department.name', type: 'string' },
     { name: 'currency_code', label: 'Currency', field: 'currency_code', type: 'string' },
     { name: 'governing_law', label: 'Governing Law', field: 'governing_law', type: 'string' },
     { name: 'risk_level', label: 'Risk Level', field: 'risk_level', type: 'string' },
diff --git a/src/flows/contract-intake.flow.ts b/src/flows/contract-intake.flow.ts
index f42fd5d..6dc96f8 100644
--- a/src/flows/contract-intake.flow.ts
+++ b/src/flows/contract-intake.flow.ts
@@ -18,19 +18,22 @@ import { must, ref } from './_values.js';
  *  - A flat screen renders text / number / currency / date / email / textarea
  *    / boolean, and a select when `options` are declared. It has NO record
  *    picker and NO file input: a `lookup`-typed field falls through to a plain
- *    text box. So the three pickers the intake needs — the contract type, the
- *    counterparty and our signing entity — are collected by the
- *    `launch_contract` ACTION's param dialog (`src/actions/contract.actions.ts`),
- *    whose field-backed lookup params render the real record pickers. The
- *    flow receives them as the input variables `contract_type`, `party` and
- *    `our_entity`. On 17.3.0 those pickers did NOT inherit the fields'
+ *    text box. So the four pickers the intake needs — the contract type, the
+ *    counterparty, our signing entity and the requesting department — are
+ *    collected by the `launch_contract` ACTION's param dialog
+ *    (`src/actions/contract.actions.ts`), whose field-backed lookup params
+ *    render the real record pickers. The flow receives them as the input
+ *    variables `contract_type`, `party`, `our_entity` and `department`. The
+ *    department was a select on the core screen while it was an option list;
+ *    since #109 it is a business-unit row, so it moved to the dialog with the
+ *    other pickers. On 17.3.0 those pickers did NOT inherit the fields'
  *    `lookupFilters`; re-measured on 18.1.0 they do — the dialog's
  *    counterparty picker fetches
  *    `GET /api/v1/data/clm_party?top=50&filter=["risk_flag","!=","blocked"]`
- *    (38 of 40), and the entity picker filters to company-kind business units
- *    the same way. `refuse_blocked` below still stands: a headless caller
- *    passes an id and never meets a picker, so the picker is convenience and
- *    the refusal is the rule.
+ *    (38 of 40), and the entity and department pickers filter to company-kind
+ *    and department-kind business units the same way. `refuse_blocked` below
+ *    still stands: a headless caller passes an id and never meets a picker,
+ *    so the picker is convenience and the refusal is the rule.
  *  - A screen field's `visibleWhen` is bare CEL the CLIENT evaluates against
  *    the screen's OWN field values only — flow variables are not in scope
  *    there (the server re-checks `required` under it with the run's variables
@@ -151,13 +154,13 @@ export const ContractIntakeFlow: Flow = {
   successMessage: 'Contract launched.',
 
   variables: [
-    // The three pickers, supplied by the launch action's dialog (or headlessly).
+    // The four pickers, supplied by the launch action's dialog (or headlessly).
     { name: 'contract_type', type: 'text', isInput: true, isOutput: false },
     { name: 'party', type: 'text', isInput: true, isOutput: false },
     { name: 'our_entity', type: 'text', isInput: true, isOutput: false },
+    { name: 'department', type: 'text', isInput: true, isOutput: false },
     // Core fields. `title` doubles as the headless marker — see the header.
     { name: 'title', type: 'text', isInput: true, isOutput: false },
-    { name: 'department', type: 'text', isInput: true, isOutput: false },
     { name: 'amount', type: 'number', isInput: true, isOutput: false },
     { name: 'currency_code', type: 'text', isInput: true, isOutput: false, defaultValue: 'usd' },
     { name: 'is_amount_estimated', type: 'boolean', isInput: true, isOutput: false, defaultValue: false },
@@ -248,7 +251,6 @@ export const ContractIntakeFlow: Flow = {
           // raw list, hidden by its own predicate, read by the predicates below.
           { name: 'intakeFields', label: 'Intake fields', type: 'text', defaultValue: ref('intakeFields'), visibleWhen: 'intakeFields == null' },
           { name: 'title', label: 'Title', type: 'text', required: true, placeholder: 'e.g. Mutual NDA with Acme' },
-          { name: 'department', label: 'Requesting department', type: 'select', options: optionsOf(Contract, 'department') },
           { name: 'amount', label: 'Contract amount', type: 'currency' },
           { name: 'currency_code', label: 'Currency', type: 'select', options: optionsOf(Contract, 'currency_code'), defaultValue: ref('currency_code') },
           { name: 'is_amount_estimated', label: 'Amount is an estimate', type: 'boolean', defaultValue: ref('is_amount_estimated') },
diff --git a/src/objects/contract.object.ts b/src/objects/contract.object.ts
index 2468c78..057aefd 100644
--- a/src/objects/contract.object.ts
+++ b/src/objects/contract.object.ts
@@ -191,21 +191,33 @@ export const Contract = ObjectSchema.create({
         { field: 'active', operator: 'eq', value: true },
       ],
     }),
-    department: Field.select({
+    // Departments are organisation structure, so they are data too: the
+    // platform's `sys_business_unit` rows of kind `department` (#109, under
+    // #20's ruling C), maintained in Setup → Business Units next to the
+    // signing entities. The field keeps its name: `business_unit` is a
+    // platform reserved word.
+    //
+    // Still a redundant scalar on the contract, because RLS cannot cross
+    // objects (DESIGN.md §04); department-level sharing is a customer overlay
+    // (§13 Q2). It now stores the unit's id rather than an option value.
+    //
+    // Optional, as it always was. A fresh install has no department until an
+    // admin adds one, and a contract must not wait for the org chart to be
+    // written; a backfilled or renewed contract may have none either.
+    // `storage.notNull` is therefore absent on purpose.
+    department: Field.lookup('sys_business_unit', {
       label: 'Requesting Department',
       group: 'parties',
-      // A redundant scalar on the contract because RLS cannot cross objects
-      // (DESIGN.md §04); department-level sharing is a customer overlay (§13 Q2).
-      description: 'The business unit that launched the contract. Sharing contracts by department is a customer-specific extension, not part of the standard product.',
-      options: [
-        { label: 'Sales',        value: 'sales' },
-        { label: 'Procurement',  value: 'procurement' },
-        { label: 'Legal',        value: 'legal' },
-        { label: 'Finance',      value: 'finance' },
-        { label: 'Operations',   value: 'operations' },
-        { label: 'People / HR',  value: 'people' },
-        { label: 'IT',           value: 'it' },
-        { label: 'Other',        value: 'other' },
+      description: 'The department that launched the contract. The choices are the department-kind business units in Setup → Business Units. Sharing contracts by department is a customer-specific extension, not part of the standard product.',
+      // The picker offers active departments only, never a company, division,
+      // office or cost centre. The picker is the only check on kind: a write
+      // that bypasses it may name a unit of another kind (measured on 18.1.0,
+      // 200), while an id that names no unit is refused by the engine
+      // (`reference_not_found`). No write-side rule like `our_entity`'s
+      // `contract_entity_is_active_company` exists for it (#109 reports why).
+      lookupFilters: [
+        { field: 'kind', operator: 'eq', value: 'department' },
+        { field: 'active', operator: 'eq', value: true },
       ],
     }),
     // `owner_id` is the platform ownership anchor — the one column the private
diff --git a/src/translations/en/app.ts b/src/translations/en/app.ts
index efae19a..6db7179 100644
--- a/src/translations/en/app.ts
+++ b/src/translations/en/app.ts
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ export const appSurface: Pick<TranslationData, 'apps' | 'dashboards' | 'datasets
         direction: {
           label: 'Direction',
         },
-        department: {
+        department_name: {
           label: 'Requesting Department',
         },
         currency_code: {
diff --git a/src/translations/en/flows.ts b/src/translations/en/flows.ts
index 28e3df0..8c9bb6a 100644
--- a/src/translations/en/flows.ts
+++ b/src/translations/en/flows.ts
@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@ export const flowSurface: Pick<TranslationData, 'flows'> = {
           fields: {
             intakeFields: { label: 'Intake fields' },
             title: { label: 'Title', placeholder: 'e.g. Mutual NDA with Acme' },
-            department: { label: 'Requesting department', options: contractOptions('department') },
             amount: { label: 'Contract amount' },
             currency_code: { label: 'Currency', options: contractOptions('currency_code') },
             is_amount_estimated: { label: 'Amount is an estimate' },
diff --git a/src/translations/en/objects.contract.ts b/src/translations/en/objects.contract.ts
index e778ccf..e0750e2 100644
--- a/src/translations/en/objects.contract.ts
+++ b/src/translations/en/objects.contract.ts
@@ -96,17 +96,7 @@ export const contract: Record<string, ObjectTranslationData> = {
       },
       department: {
         label: 'Requesting Department',
-        help: 'The business unit that launched the contract. Sharing contracts by department is a customer-specific extension, not part of the standard product.',
-        options: {
-          sales: 'Sales',
-          procurement: 'Procurement',
-          legal: 'Legal',
-          finance: 'Finance',
-          operations: 'Operations',
-          people: 'People / HR',
-          it: 'IT',
-          other: 'Other',
-        },
+        help: 'The department that launched the contract. The choices are the department-kind business units in Setup → Business Units. Sharing contracts by department is a customer-specific extension, not part of the standard product.',
       },
       owner_id: {
         label: 'Business Owner',
@@ -370,6 +360,7 @@ export const contract: Record<string, ObjectTranslationData> = {
           },
           department: {
             label: 'Requesting department',
+            helpText: 'The department launching this contract.',
           },
           amount: {
             label: 'Contract amount',
diff --git a/src/translations/zh-CN/app.ts b/src/translations/zh-CN/app.ts
index 30c292f..ddec8aa 100644
--- a/src/translations/zh-CN/app.ts
+++ b/src/translations/zh-CN/app.ts
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ export const appSurface: Pick<TranslationData, 'apps' | 'dashboards' | 'datasets
         direction: {
           label: '方向',
         },
-        department: {
+        department_name: {
           label: '发起部门',
         },
         currency_code: {
diff --git a/src/translations/zh-CN/flows.ts b/src/translations/zh-CN/flows.ts
index 90d6d96..056ec02 100644
--- a/src/translations/zh-CN/flows.ts
+++ b/src/translations/zh-CN/flows.ts
@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@ export const flowSurface: Pick<TranslationData, 'flows'> = {
           fields: {
             intakeFields: { label: '发起时填写的字段' },
             title: { label: '标题', placeholder: '例如：与 Acme 的双向保密协议' },
-            department: { label: '发起部门', options: contractOptions('department') },
             amount: { label: '合同金额' },
             currency_code: { label: '币种', options: contractOptions('currency_code') },
             is_amount_estimated: { label: '金额为估算值' },
diff --git a/src/translations/zh-CN/objects.contract.ts b/src/translations/zh-CN/objects.contract.ts
index 9bc3a8a..711e69c 100644
--- a/src/translations/zh-CN/objects.contract.ts
+++ b/src/translations/zh-CN/objects.contract.ts
@@ -96,17 +96,7 @@ export const contract: Record<string, ObjectTranslationData> = {
       },
       department: {
         label: '发起部门',
-        help: '发起这份合同的业务部门。按部门共享合同属于客户定制，标准品不提供。',
-        options: {
-          sales: '销售',
-          procurement: '采购',
-          legal: '法务',
-          finance: '财务',
-          operations: '运营',
-          people: '人力资源',
-          it: '信息技术',
-          other: '其他',
-        },
+        help: '发起这份合同的业务部门。可选项是「设置 → 业务单元」中类型为部门的业务单元。按部门共享合同属于客户定制，标准品不提供。',
       },
       owner_id: {
         label: '业务承办人',
@@ -370,6 +360,7 @@ export const contract: Record<string, ObjectTranslationData> = {
           },
           department: {
             label: '发起部门',
+            helpText: '发起这份合同的部门。',
           },
           amount: {
             label: '合同金额',