diff --git a/nextcloud_mcp_server/document_processors/escalation.py b/nextcloud_mcp_server/document_processors/escalation.py
index 7e39d765..d85733f6 100644
--- a/nextcloud_mcp_server/document_processors/escalation.py
+++ b/nextcloud_mcp_server/document_processors/escalation.py
@@ -21,11 +21,36 @@ mapping lives in the queue layer, which imports :class:`EscalateError` from here
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+
 # Cheapest-first. ``llm`` is reserved (see base.DocumentProcessor.tier) and not
 # wired yet, so it is intentionally absent from the live ladder.
 TIER_LADDER: tuple[str, ...] = ("fast", "structured", "ocr")
 
 
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class EscalationDecision:
+    """Outcome of the post-parse quality gate (``ProcessorRegistry.evaluate_escalation``).
+
+    ``kind``:
+      * ``"hop"`` — the parse is too poor and a higher tier *can run*; the caller
+        raises :class:`EscalateError` to requeue the document onto ``to_tier``.
+      * ``"suppressed"`` — the parse would escalate to ``to_tier`` (the *ideal*
+        next tier), but that tier is **disabled** (e.g. OCR off). The caller does
+        NOT hop — it indexes the current tier's output as terminal — and records
+        the would-be escalation so operators see the latent demand ("what-if OCR
+        were enabled"). Enabling the tier turns these into real ``"hop"`` events.
+
+    A ``None`` return from ``evaluate_escalation`` (not an instance of this class)
+    means "index as-is, nothing to escalate" — good text, or no higher tier
+    exists at all (no processor registered for it).
+    """
+
+    kind: str  # "hop" | "suppressed"
+    to_tier: str
+    reason: str  # empty_text | low_confidence
+
+
 def next_tier(current: str) -> str | None:
     """The next tier above ``current`` in the ladder, or ``None`` if terminal.
 
diff --git a/nextcloud_mcp_server/document_processors/registry.py b/nextcloud_mcp_server/document_processors/registry.py
index ff4b678e..87f9dce4 100644
--- a/nextcloud_mcp_server/document_processors/registry.py
+++ b/nextcloud_mcp_server/document_processors/registry.py
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ from nextcloud_mcp_server.observability.tracing import trace_operation
 
 from .base import DocumentProcessor, ProcessingResult, ProcessorError
 from .classifier import DocClassification, classify_from_text, image_coverage_per_page
-from .escalation import TIER_LADDER
+from .escalation import TIER_LADDER, EscalationDecision
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -390,22 +390,34 @@ class ProcessorRegistry:
             )
         return classification
 
-    def _tier_available(self, tier: str, settings: Any) -> bool:
-        """Whether ``tier`` can actually run a PDF parse right now.
+    def _tier_available(
+        self, tier: str, settings: Any, *, ignore_enabled: bool = False
+    ) -> bool:
+        """Whether ``tier`` can run a PDF parse right now.
 
         A tier is available when it has a registered PDF processor and is
         enabled; the ``ocr`` tier additionally requires ``DOCUMENT_OCR_ENABLED``
         (so OCR stays opt-in and a misconfigured tenant never escalates to a
         backend it hasn't turned on).
+
+        ``ignore_enabled`` drops only the *enabled* gate (not the registered-
+        processor requirement): it answers "would this tier run if it were turned
+        on?" — used to compute the *ideal* escalation target for the
+        what-if-OCR suppressed-escalation signal.
         """
         if self._pdf_processor_for_tier(tier) is None:
             return False
-        if tier == "ocr" and not settings.document_ocr_enabled:
+        if not ignore_enabled and tier == "ocr" and not settings.document_ocr_enabled:
             return False
         return True
 
     def next_available_tier(
-        self, current_tier: str, settings: Any, *, minimum: str | None = None
+        self,
+        current_tier: str,
+        settings: Any,
+        *,
+        minimum: str | None = None,
+        ignore_enabled: bool = False,
     ) -> str | None:
         """First escalation target above ``current_tier`` that can actually run.
 
@@ -413,6 +425,8 @@ class ProcessorRegistry:
         ``minimum``'s rung, when given) and returns the first
         :meth:`_tier_available` tier. ``None`` means no higher tier can run --
         ``current_tier`` is then terminal and its result is indexed as-is.
+        ``ignore_enabled`` is forwarded to :meth:`_tier_available` to find the
+        *ideal* target ignoring the OCR-enabled gate (see ``evaluate_escalation``).
         """
         try:
             cur_idx = TIER_LADDER.index(current_tier)
@@ -425,7 +439,7 @@ class ProcessorRegistry:
             except ValueError:
                 pass
         for tier in TIER_LADDER[start_idx:]:
-            if self._tier_available(tier, settings):
+            if self._tier_available(tier, settings, ignore_enabled=ignore_enabled):
                 return tier
         return None
 
@@ -475,25 +489,33 @@ class ProcessorRegistry:
         settings: Any,
         *,
         filename: str | None = None,
-    ) -> tuple[str, str] | None:
+    ) -> EscalationDecision | None:
         """Decide whether ``current_tier``'s result must escalate (external path).
 
-        Returns ``(to_tier, reason)`` when the parse is too poor to index and a
-        higher tier can run, else ``None`` (index the result as-is). Reuses the
-        tier-0 classifier as the post-parse quality gate, so the escalation
-        signal is identical to the inline pipeline's.
+        Returns an :class:`EscalationDecision` (``"hop"`` or ``"suppressed"``)
+        when the classifier judges the parse too poor to index, else ``None``
+        (index as-is). Reuses the tier-0 classifier as the post-parse quality
+        gate, so the signal is identical to the inline pipeline's.
 
         A hard parse FAILURE (``result.success`` False) is never escalated: a
         corrupt/encrypted PDF one engine can't open usually defeats the others
         too (OCR reads the same bytes), so the caller marks it failed instead.
 
-        Routing of the target tier:
+        Target-tier routing:
 
         - ``total_chars == 0`` (scanned / no text layer) -> target the ``ocr``
           tier directly. Text-extractor tiers (``structured``) cannot conjure
           text from a pure raster scan, so a structured hop would just be wasted.
         - low-confidence but non-empty layer -> escalate to the next rung, so a
           different in-cluster extractor can try before paying for OCR.
+
+        Hop vs suppressed: if the ideal target tier can run, return a ``"hop"``.
+        If it can't run **only because it's disabled** (OCR off — the *ideal*
+        tier exists ignoring the enabled gate, but the *available* one does not),
+        return ``"suppressed"`` so the caller records the would-be hop and indexes
+        the current tier's output as terminal (OCR stays opt-in + cost-free, but
+        the latent demand is observable). If no higher tier exists *at all* (no
+        processor registered), it's genuinely terminal -> ``None``.
         """
         classification = self._classify_result(
             result,
@@ -508,14 +530,22 @@ class ProcessorRegistry:
         if classification.page_count <= 0:
             return None
         if classification.total_chars == 0:
-            to_tier = self.next_available_tier(current_tier, settings, minimum="ocr")
+            minimum: str | None = "ocr"
             reason = "empty_text"
         else:
-            to_tier = self.next_available_tier(current_tier, settings)
+            minimum = None
             reason = "low_confidence"
-        if to_tier is None:
-            return None
-        return (to_tier, reason)
+        to_tier = self.next_available_tier(current_tier, settings, minimum=minimum)
+        if to_tier is not None:
+            return EscalationDecision("hop", to_tier, reason)
+        # No tier can run as configured. Distinguish "disabled (e.g. OCR off)"
+        # from "no such tier at all" by re-resolving ignoring the enabled gate.
+        ideal = self.next_available_tier(
+            current_tier, settings, minimum=minimum, ignore_enabled=True
+        )
+        if ideal is not None:
+            return EscalationDecision("suppressed", ideal, reason)
+        return None
 
     async def _run_processor(
         self,
diff --git a/nextcloud_mcp_server/observability/metrics.py b/nextcloud_mcp_server/observability/metrics.py
index 74dab2a5..92e87871 100644
--- a/nextcloud_mcp_server/observability/metrics.py
+++ b/nextcloud_mcp_server/observability/metrics.py
@@ -276,6 +276,21 @@ document_escalation_total = Counter(
     ["from_tier", "to_tier", "reason"],
 )
 
+# Would-be escalations SUPPRESSED because the target tier is disabled (Deck
+# #324). The cost-sensitive ``ocr`` tier is opt-in (DOCUMENT_OCR_ENABLED): when
+# it's off, a doc the classifier would route to OCR is indexed at the pre-OCR
+# tier instead of hopping, and that intent is counted here rather than on
+# document_escalation_total. This is the "what-if OCR were enabled" signal —
+# escalation_suppressed_total{to_tier="ocr"} is the latent OCR demand an operator
+# weighs before enabling OCR; enabling it converts these into real
+# document_escalation_total{to_tier="ocr"} hops.
+document_escalation_suppressed_total = Counter(
+    "astrolabe_document_escalation_suppressed_total",
+    "Would-be tier escalations suppressed because the target tier is disabled",
+    # reason: low_confidence | empty_text
+    ["from_tier", "to_tier", "reason"],
+)
+
 # Hard parse failures: the parse now runs in an isolated subprocess, so a
 # timeout/OOM that kills the worker is caught here. This is distinct from
 # ``document_parse_total{status="error"}`` (an in-process exception): a hard
@@ -746,6 +761,20 @@ def record_document_escalation(from_tier: str, to_tier: str, reason: str) -> Non
     ).inc()
 
 
+def record_document_escalation_suppressed(
+    from_tier: str, to_tier: str, reason: str
+) -> None:
+    """Record a would-be escalation suppressed because ``to_tier`` is disabled.
+
+    The "what-if OCR were enabled" signal (Deck #324): the document is indexed at
+    ``from_tier`` (terminal) rather than hopped, because the ideal next tier
+    (typically ``ocr``) is turned off. See ``document_escalation_suppressed_total``.
+    """
+    document_escalation_suppressed_total.labels(
+        from_tier=from_tier, to_tier=to_tier, reason=reason
+    ).inc()
+
+
 def record_document_parse_failed(reason: str) -> None:
     """Record a hard parse failure from the isolated worker.
 
diff --git a/nextcloud_mcp_server/vector/processor.py b/nextcloud_mcp_server/vector/processor.py
index 05619b18..0423550e 100644
--- a/nextcloud_mcp_server/vector/processor.py
+++ b/nextcloud_mcp_server/vector/processor.py
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ from nextcloud_mcp_server.models.deck import DeckCard
 from nextcloud_mcp_server.observability.metrics import (
     record_document_chunks,
     record_document_escalation,
+    record_document_escalation_suppressed,
     record_document_parse_failed,
     record_embedding,
     record_embedding_tokens,
@@ -156,17 +157,35 @@ async def _parse_pdf_tier(
         decision = registry.evaluate_escalation(
             result, content, tier, settings, filename=filename
         )
-        if decision is not None:
-            to_tier, reason = decision
-            record_document_escalation(tier, to_tier, reason)
+        if decision is not None and decision.kind == "suppressed":
+            # The ideal next tier (e.g. ocr) is disabled, so we do NOT hop: index
+            # this tier's output as terminal and record the would-be escalation
+            # so operators see the latent demand ("what-if OCR enabled"; #324).
+            record_document_escalation_suppressed(
+                tier, decision.to_tier, decision.reason
+            )
+            logger.info(
+                "Escalation suppressed for %s %s->%s (reason=%s; %s disabled), "
+                "indexing at %s",
+                filename or "<bytes>",
+                tier,
+                decision.to_tier,
+                decision.reason,
+                decision.to_tier,
+                tier,
+            )
+        elif decision is not None:
+            record_document_escalation(tier, decision.to_tier, decision.reason)
             logger.info(
                 "Escalating %s %s->%s (reason=%s)",
                 filename or "<bytes>",
                 tier,
-                to_tier,
-                reason,
+                decision.to_tier,
+                decision.reason,
+            )
+            raise EscalateError(
+                from_tier=tier, to_tier=decision.to_tier, reason=decision.reason
             )
-            raise EscalateError(from_tier=tier, to_tier=to_tier, reason=reason)
     return result
 
 
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_registry_tiering.py b/tests/unit/test_registry_tiering.py
index 7c343b14..0fa38a82 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_registry_tiering.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_registry_tiering.py
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ from nextcloud_mcp_server.document_processors.base import (
     DocumentProcessor,
     ProcessingResult,
 )
+from nextcloud_mcp_server.document_processors.escalation import EscalationDecision
 from nextcloud_mcp_server.document_processors.registry import ProcessorRegistry
 
 pytestmark = pytest.mark.unit
@@ -334,7 +335,7 @@ def test_evaluate_escalation_empty_jumps_to_ocr(monkeypatch):
         processor="fast",
     )
     decision = r.evaluate_escalation(res, b"%PDF", "fast", _Settings(ocr=True))
-    assert decision == ("ocr", "empty_text")
+    assert decision == EscalationDecision("hop", "ocr", "empty_text")
 
 
 def test_evaluate_escalation_lowconf_goes_to_structured(monkeypatch):
@@ -357,7 +358,7 @@ def test_evaluate_escalation_lowconf_goes_to_structured(monkeypatch):
         processor="fast",
     )
     decision = r.evaluate_escalation(res, b"%PDF", "fast", _Settings(ocr=True))
-    assert decision == ("structured", "low_confidence")
+    assert decision == EscalationDecision("hop", "structured", "low_confidence")
 
 
 def test_evaluate_escalation_failure_not_escalated(monkeypatch):
@@ -419,4 +420,65 @@ def test_evaluate_escalation_lowconf_to_ocr_when_no_structured(monkeypatch):
         processor="fast",
     )
     decision = r.evaluate_escalation(res, b"%PDF", "fast", _Settings(ocr=True))
-    assert decision == ("ocr", "low_confidence")
+    assert decision == EscalationDecision("hop", "ocr", "low_confidence")
+
+
+def test_evaluate_escalation_suppressed_when_ocr_disabled(monkeypatch):
+    """OCR off: a scanned doc does NOT hop to ocr; it returns a 'suppressed'
+    decision (the what-if-OCR signal) so the caller indexes at the current tier."""
+    monkeypatch.setattr(reg_mod, "record_document_classification", MagicMock())
+    r = _registry((_Fake("fast", "fast"), 20), (_Fake("ocr", "ocr"), 5))
+    res = ProcessingResult(
+        text="",
+        metadata={
+            "page_count": 1,
+            "page_boundaries": [{"page": 1, "start_offset": 0, "end_offset": 0}],
+        },
+        processor="fast",
+    )
+    decision = r.evaluate_escalation(res, b"%PDF", "fast", _Settings(ocr=False))
+    assert decision == EscalationDecision("suppressed", "ocr", "empty_text")
+
+
+def test_evaluate_escalation_lowconf_suppressed_when_only_ocr_disabled(monkeypatch):
+    """fast+ocr only, OCR off, junk text: the next rung is the disabled ocr, so
+    the would-be hop is suppressed (not a structured hop, which isn't registered)."""
+    monkeypatch.setattr(reg_mod, "record_document_classification", MagicMock())
+    junk = "q" * 40
+    r = _registry((_Fake("fast", "fast"), 20), (_Fake("ocr", "ocr"), 5))
+    res = ProcessingResult(
+        text=junk,
+        metadata={
+            "page_count": 1,
+            "page_boundaries": [
+                {"page": 1, "start_offset": 0, "end_offset": len(junk)}
+            ],
+        },
+        processor="fast",
+    )
+    decision = r.evaluate_escalation(res, b"%PDF", "fast", _Settings(ocr=False))
+    assert decision == EscalationDecision("suppressed", "ocr", "low_confidence")
+
+
+def test_evaluate_escalation_structured_hop_not_suppressed_when_ocr_off(monkeypatch):
+    """OCR off but structured available + junk text → real hop to structured
+    (not suppressed): the in-cluster rung can still run."""
+    monkeypatch.setattr(reg_mod, "record_document_classification", MagicMock())
+    junk = "w" * 40
+    r = _registry(
+        (_Fake("fast", "fast"), 20),
+        (_Fake("structured", "structured"), 10),
+        (_Fake("ocr", "ocr"), 5),
+    )
+    res = ProcessingResult(
+        text=junk,
+        metadata={
+            "page_count": 1,
+            "page_boundaries": [
+                {"page": 1, "start_offset": 0, "end_offset": len(junk)}
+            ],
+        },
+        processor="fast",
+    )
+    decision = r.evaluate_escalation(res, b"%PDF", "fast", _Settings(ocr=False))
+    assert decision == EscalationDecision("hop", "structured", "low_confidence")
diff --git a/tests/unit/vector/test_parse_pdf_tier.py b/tests/unit/vector/test_parse_pdf_tier.py
index cc445ea3..48e90b26 100644
--- a/tests/unit/vector/test_parse_pdf_tier.py
+++ b/tests/unit/vector/test_parse_pdf_tier.py
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
-"""Unit tests for the per-tier PDF parse + escalation gate (Deck #323).
+"""Unit tests for the per-tier PDF parse + escalation gate (Deck #323/#324).
 
-``processor._parse_pdf_tier`` runs one tier and either returns the result to
-index or raises ``EscalateError`` (a queue-hop). These exercise the decision
-without standing up the full ingest pipeline.
+``processor._parse_pdf_tier`` runs one tier and either indexes the result,
+raises ``EscalateError`` (a real queue-hop), or — when the ideal next tier is
+disabled (OCR off) — records a suppressed escalation and indexes as terminal.
+These exercise the decision without standing up the full ingest pipeline.
 """
 
 from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, MagicMock
@@ -10,7 +11,10 @@ from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, MagicMock
 import pytest
 
 from nextcloud_mcp_server.document_processors.base import ProcessingResult
-from nextcloud_mcp_server.document_processors.escalation import EscalateError
+from nextcloud_mcp_server.document_processors.escalation import (
+    EscalateError,
+    EscalationDecision,
+)
 from nextcloud_mcp_server.vector import processor
 
 pytestmark = pytest.mark.unit
@@ -25,7 +29,9 @@ def _registry(result: ProcessingResult, decision):
 
 async def test_good_parse_returns_result(monkeypatch):
     rec = MagicMock()
+    sup = MagicMock()
     monkeypatch.setattr(processor, "record_document_escalation", rec)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(processor, "record_document_escalation_suppressed", sup)
     result = ProcessingResult(text="clean", metadata={}, processor="fast")
     reg = _registry(result, decision=None)
     out = await processor._parse_pdf_tier(
@@ -33,13 +39,14 @@ async def test_good_parse_returns_result(monkeypatch):
     )
     assert out is result
     rec.assert_not_called()
+    sup.assert_not_called()
 
 
 async def test_low_quality_parse_raises_escalate(monkeypatch):
     rec = MagicMock()
     monkeypatch.setattr(processor, "record_document_escalation", rec)
     result = ProcessingResult(text="", metadata={}, processor="fast")
-    reg = _registry(result, decision=("ocr", "empty_text"))
+    reg = _registry(result, decision=EscalationDecision("hop", "ocr", "empty_text"))
     with pytest.raises(EscalateError) as ei:
         await processor._parse_pdf_tier(
             reg, b"%PDF", "application/pdf", "f.pdf", "fast", settings=object()
@@ -51,16 +58,37 @@ async def test_low_quality_parse_raises_escalate(monkeypatch):
     rec.assert_called_once_with("fast", "ocr", "empty_text")
 
 
+async def test_suppressed_decision_indexes_without_hop(monkeypatch):
+    """OCR-off (suppressed): index this tier's result, record the would-be hop,
+    do NOT raise EscalateError."""
+    rec = MagicMock()
+    sup = MagicMock()
+    monkeypatch.setattr(processor, "record_document_escalation", rec)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(processor, "record_document_escalation_suppressed", sup)
+    result = ProcessingResult(text="junk", metadata={}, processor="fast")
+    reg = _registry(
+        result, decision=EscalationDecision("suppressed", "ocr", "empty_text")
+    )
+    out = await processor._parse_pdf_tier(
+        reg, b"%PDF", "application/pdf", "f.pdf", "fast", settings=object()
+    )
+    assert out is result  # indexed as terminal, no hop
+    sup.assert_called_once_with("fast", "ocr", "empty_text")
+    rec.assert_not_called()
+
+
 async def test_hard_failure_returns_result_without_escalating(monkeypatch):
     rec = MagicMock()
+    sup = MagicMock()
     monkeypatch.setattr(processor, "record_document_escalation", rec)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(processor, "record_document_escalation_suppressed", sup)
     result = ProcessingResult(
         text="",
         metadata={"parse_failed_reason": "oversize"},
         processor="size_guard",
         success=False,
     )
-    reg = _registry(result, decision=("ocr", "empty_text"))
+    reg = _registry(result, decision=EscalationDecision("hop", "ocr", "empty_text"))
     out = await processor._parse_pdf_tier(
         reg, b"%PDF", "application/pdf", "big.pdf", "fast", settings=object()
     )
@@ -68,3 +96,4 @@ async def test_hard_failure_returns_result_without_escalating(monkeypatch):
     assert out is result
     reg.evaluate_escalation.assert_not_called()
     rec.assert_not_called()
+    sup.assert_not_called()