diff --git a/pkg/linters/README.md b/pkg/linters/README.md
index b2177d5a05a..f3a8b8e5cbc 100644
--- a/pkg/linters/README.md
+++ b/pkg/linters/README.md
@@ -79,6 +79,7 @@ This package currently provides custom Go analyzers in the following subpackages
 - `typeassertionnil` — reports single-value type assertions to pointer types and recommends the two-value form.
 - `typeassertionokdiscarded` — reports two-value type assertions whose `ok` result is discarded.
 - `uncheckedsliceindex` — reports slice and string indexes without proven bounds checks.
+- `unchecked_deferredclose` — reports deferred `Close()` calls that ignore error return values.
 - `uncheckedtypeassertion` — reports single-value type assertions where unchecked panics are possible.
 - `uncheckedflushreturn` — reports `Flush()` method calls where the error return is discarded, which silently drops buffered data on failure.
 - `wgdonenotdeferred` — reports non-deferred `sync.WaitGroup.Done()` calls that can deadlock on panics or early returns.
@@ -185,6 +186,7 @@ environment variable and gates findings on the recorded execution hit count for
 | `typeassertionnil` | Custom `go/analysis` analyzer that flags single-value type assertions to pointer types and recommends the two-value form |
 | `typeassertionokdiscarded` | Custom `go/analysis` analyzer that flags two-value type assertions whose `ok` result is discarded |
 | `uncheckedsliceindex` | Custom `go/analysis` analyzer that reports slice and string indexes without proven bounds checks |
+| `unchecked_deferredclose` | Custom `go/analysis` analyzer that flags deferred `Close()` calls whose error return is ignored |
 | `uncheckedtypeassertion` | Custom `go/analysis` analyzer that flags unchecked single-value type assertions |
 | `uncheckedflushreturn` | Custom `go/analysis` analyzer that flags `Flush()` method calls where the error return is discarded |
 | `walkfuncerrshadow` | Custom `go/analysis` analyzer that flags `filepath.Walk`/`filepath.WalkDir` callbacks whose `err` parameter shadows an outer `err` variable assigned from the walk call |
@@ -350,6 +352,7 @@ _ = typeassertionnil.Analyzer
 - The package is intentionally organized as a namespace (`pkg/linters/*`) so individual analyzers remain isolated and independently testable.
 - CI enforces selected production analyzers via the native and WebAssembly `LINTER_FLAGS` lists in `.github/workflows/cgo.yml`; `fprintferrorunchecked` is excluded from blocking checks and reported separately as a non-blocking warning on native Go code.
 - `typeassertionnil` is registered but excluded from CI enforcement pending a cross-platform enforcement-readiness audit.
+- `unchecked_deferredclose` is registered but excluded from CI enforcement until existing deferred `Close()` findings are remediated.
 - `excessivefuncparams` exposes a `-max-params` analyzer flag and defaults to `8` parameters (`DefaultMaxParams`).
 - `largefunc` exposes a `-max-lines` analyzer flag, defaults to `60` lines (`DefaultMaxLines`), and skips `_test.go` files.
 - `osexitinlibrary` helps enforce separation between library logic and process-level termination.
diff --git a/pkg/linters/doc.go b/pkg/linters/doc.go
index 2265e75f9bc..39781518934 100644
--- a/pkg/linters/doc.go
+++ b/pkg/linters/doc.go
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 // Package linters is a namespace for gh-aw's custom Go analysis linters.
 //
-// All 78 active analyzers:
+// All 79 active analyzers:
 //
 //   - appendbytestring — flags append(b, []byte(s)...) calls where s is a string that can be simplified to append(b, s...)
 //   - appendoneelement — flags append(s, []T{x}...) calls where a single-element slice literal is spread and can be simplified to append(s, x)
@@ -75,6 +75,7 @@
 //   - typeassertionnil — flags single-value type assertions to pointer types and recommends the two-value form
 //   - typeassertionokdiscarded — flags two-value type assertions whose ok result is discarded
 //   - uncheckedsliceindex — reports slice and string indexes without proven bounds
+//   - unchecked_deferredclose — reports defer Close() calls that ignore error return values
 //   - uncheckedtypeassertion — flags unchecked single-value type assertions
 //   - uncheckedflushreturn — flags Flush() method calls where the error return is discarded
 //   - walkfuncerrshadow — flags filepath.Walk/WalkDir callbacks whose err parameter shadows an outer err variable assigned from the walk call
diff --git a/pkg/linters/doc_sync_test.go b/pkg/linters/doc_sync_test.go
index 12c804a08d9..e3231b9e4e2 100644
--- a/pkg/linters/doc_sync_test.go
+++ b/pkg/linters/doc_sync_test.go
@@ -17,8 +17,8 @@ import (
 )
 
 var (
-	docBulletRe   = regexp.MustCompile(`^//\s+-\s+([a-z0-9-]+)\s+—`)
-	readmeTableRe = regexp.MustCompile(`^\|\s+` + "`" + `([a-z0-9-]+)` + "`" + `\s+\|`)
+	docBulletRe   = regexp.MustCompile(`^//\s+-\s+([a-z0-9_-]+)\s+—`)
+	readmeTableRe = regexp.MustCompile(`^\|\s+` + "`" + `([a-z0-9_-]+)` + "`" + `\s+\|`)
 	linterFlagsRe = regexp.MustCompile(`LINTER_FLAGS="([^"]+)"`)
 )
 
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ var notYetEnforced = map[string]string{
 	"stringsconcatloop":           "has not yet completed an enforcement-readiness audit",
 	"typeassertionnil":            "needs a cross-platform enforcement-readiness audit before CI enables it",
 	"typeassertionokdiscarded":    "existing production violations need remediation before enforcement; nolint suppression already works",
+	"unchecked_deferredclose":     "existing deferred Close() findings need remediation before CI enforcement",
 	"uncheckedsliceindex":         "existing production violations need remediation before enforcement; nolint suppression already works",
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/linters/registry.go b/pkg/linters/registry.go
index 17699e244d8..e02891d77b1 100644
--- a/pkg/linters/registry.go
+++ b/pkg/linters/registry.go
@@ -75,6 +75,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/github/gh-aw/pkg/linters/trimleftright"
 	"github.com/github/gh-aw/pkg/linters/typeassertionnil"
 	"github.com/github/gh-aw/pkg/linters/typeassertionokdiscarded"
+	unchecked_deferredclose "github.com/github/gh-aw/pkg/linters/unchecked-deferred-close"
 	uncheckedsliceindex "github.com/github/gh-aw/pkg/linters/unchecked-slice-index"
 	"github.com/github/gh-aw/pkg/linters/uncheckedflushreturn"
 	"github.com/github/gh-aw/pkg/linters/uncheckedtypeassertion"
@@ -166,6 +167,7 @@ var allAnalyzers = []*analysis.Analyzer{
 	typeassertionnil.Analyzer,
 	typeassertionokdiscarded.Analyzer,
 	uncheckedsliceindex.Analyzer,
+	unchecked_deferredclose.Analyzer,
 	uncheckedtypeassertion.Analyzer,
 	uncheckedflushreturn.Analyzer,
 	walkfuncerrshadow.Analyzer,
diff --git a/pkg/linters/spec_test.go b/pkg/linters/spec_test.go
index 75a777f865a..48196b77653 100644
--- a/pkg/linters/spec_test.go
+++ b/pkg/linters/spec_test.go
@@ -83,6 +83,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/github/gh-aw/pkg/linters/trimleftright"
 	"github.com/github/gh-aw/pkg/linters/typeassertionnil"
 	"github.com/github/gh-aw/pkg/linters/typeassertionokdiscarded"
+	unchecked_deferredclose "github.com/github/gh-aw/pkg/linters/unchecked-deferred-close"
 	uncheckedsliceindex "github.com/github/gh-aw/pkg/linters/unchecked-slice-index"
 	"github.com/github/gh-aw/pkg/linters/uncheckedflushreturn"
 	"github.com/github/gh-aw/pkg/linters/uncheckedtypeassertion"
@@ -104,7 +105,7 @@ type docAnalyzer struct {
 }
 
 // documentedAnalyzers returns the analyzer subpackages documented in the README
-// "Public API > Subpackages" table. The README documents 78 analyzer
+// "Public API > Subpackages" table. The README documents 79 analyzer
 // subpackages (the non-analyzer `internal` helper subpackage is excluded because
 // it exposes no Analyzer).
 //
@@ -116,7 +117,7 @@ type docAnalyzer struct {
 //	logfatallibrary, manualmutexunlock, manualpathconcat, mapclearloop, mapdeletecheck, nilctxpassed, osexitinlibrary, osgetenvlibrary, ossetenvlibrary, packagelevelmutableslicemap, panic-in-library-code, rawloginlib,
 //	reflectdeepequalusage, regexpcompileinfunction, regexpdynamicpattern, seenmapbool, slicemakezerolength, sortslice, sprintferrdot, sprintferrorsnew, sprintfbool, sprintfint, ssljson,
 //	strconvparseignorederror, stringbytesroundtrip, stringreplaceminusone, stringsconcatloop, stringscountcontains, stringsindexcontains, stringsindexhasprefix, stringsjoinone, timeafterleak, timesleepnocontext, timenowsub,
-//	tolowerequalfold, trimleftright, typeassertionnil, typeassertionokdiscarded, uncheckedflushreturn, uncheckedsliceindex, uncheckedtypeassertion, walkfuncerrshadow, wgdonenotdeferred, writebytestring
+//	tolowerequalfold, trimleftright, typeassertionnil, typeassertionokdiscarded, unchecked_deferredclose, uncheckedflushreturn, uncheckedsliceindex, uncheckedtypeassertion, walkfuncerrshadow, wgdonenotdeferred, writebytestring
 func documentedAnalyzers() []docAnalyzer {
 	return []docAnalyzer{
 		{"appendbytestring", appendbytestring.Analyzer},
@@ -191,6 +192,7 @@ func documentedAnalyzers() []docAnalyzer {
 		{"trimleftright", trimleftright.Analyzer},
 		{"typeassertionnil", typeassertionnil.Analyzer},
 		{"typeassertionokdiscarded", typeassertionokdiscarded.Analyzer},
+		{"unchecked_deferredclose", unchecked_deferredclose.Analyzer},
 		{"uncheckedsliceindex", uncheckedsliceindex.Analyzer},
 		{"uncheckedtypeassertion", uncheckedtypeassertion.Analyzer},
 		{"uncheckedflushreturn", uncheckedflushreturn.Analyzer},
diff --git a/pkg/linters/unchecked-deferred-close/testdata/src/basic/bad.go b/pkg/linters/unchecked-deferred-close/testdata/src/basic/bad.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c1cd46bf95d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/linters/unchecked-deferred-close/testdata/src/basic/bad.go
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+package basic
+
+import (
+	"io"
+	"os"
+)
+
+type NamedCloser interface {
+	io.Closer
+}
+
+type EmbeddedCloser struct {
+	io.Closer
+}
+
+type GenericCloser interface {
+	Close() error
+}
+
+func bad(filename string) error {
+	f, err := os.Open(filename)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	defer f.Close() // want "defer close\\(\\) call ignores error return value"
+	// ... use f
+	return nil
+}
+
+func badIOCloser(c io.Closer) {
+	defer c.Close() // want "defer close\\(\\) call ignores error return value"
+}
+
+func badNamedInterface(c NamedCloser) {
+	defer c.Close() // want "defer close\\(\\) call ignores error return value"
+}
+
+func badEmbeddedCloser(c EmbeddedCloser) {
+	defer c.Close() // want "defer close\\(\\) call ignores error return value"
+}
+
+func badTypeParameter[T GenericCloser](c T) {
+	defer c.Close() // want "defer close\\(\\) call ignores error return value"
+}
diff --git a/pkg/linters/unchecked-deferred-close/testdata/src/basic/good.go b/pkg/linters/unchecked-deferred-close/testdata/src/basic/good.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d8b18f75ad0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/linters/unchecked-deferred-close/testdata/src/basic/good.go
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+package basic
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+)
+
+func good(filename string) error {
+	f, err := os.Open(filename)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	defer func() {
+		if err := f.Close(); err != nil {
+			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "close error: %v\n", err)
+		}
+	}()
+	// ... use f
+	return nil
+}
+
+// NoReturnClose is a mock type that has Close() with no error return
+type NoReturnClose struct{}
+
+func (n *NoReturnClose) Close() {}
+
+func goodNoError() {
+	n := &NoReturnClose{}
+	defer n.Close() // OK: Close() returns nothing
+}
diff --git a/pkg/linters/unchecked-deferred-close/unchecked_deferredclose.go b/pkg/linters/unchecked-deferred-close/unchecked_deferredclose.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..03a73ce9f40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/linters/unchecked-deferred-close/unchecked_deferredclose.go
@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+// Package unchecked deferredclose implements a Go analysis linter that flags
+// defer close() calls without error checking, which can hide resource cleanup failures.
+package unchecked_deferredclose
+
+import (
+	"go/ast"
+	"go/types"
+
+	"golang.org/x/tools/go/analysis"
+
+	"github.com/github/gh-aw/pkg/linters/internal/analyzerutil"
+	"github.com/github/gh-aw/pkg/linters/internal/filecheck"
+	"github.com/github/gh-aw/pkg/linters/internal/nolint"
+)
+
+// Analyzer is the unchecked-deferred-close analysis pass.
+var Analyzer = analyzerutil.New("unchecked_deferredclose", "reports defer close() calls without error checking that may hide resource cleanup failures", run)
+
+var builtinErrorType = types.Universe.Lookup("error").Type()
+
+func run(pass *analysis.Pass) (any, error) {
+	noLintIndex, generatedFiles, err := analyzerutil.Indexes(pass)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	nodeFilter := []ast.Node{(*ast.DeferStmt)(nil)}
+	return analyzerutil.Preorder(pass, nodeFilter, func(n ast.Node) {
+		analyzeDeferClose(pass, n, generatedFiles, noLintIndex)
+	})
+}
+
+// analyzeDeferClose checks for defer close() calls that don't handle errors.
+func analyzeDeferClose(pass *analysis.Pass, n ast.Node, generatedFiles filecheck.GeneratedIndex, noLintIndex nolint.DirectiveIndex) {
+	deferStmt, ok := n.(*ast.DeferStmt)
+	if !ok {
+		return
+	}
+
+	// The defer statement's Call is already a *CallExpr
+	callExpr := deferStmt.Call
+	if callExpr == nil {
+		return
+	}
+
+	// Check if the call is to a Close() method
+	selector, ok := callExpr.Fun.(*ast.SelectorExpr)
+	if !ok || selector.Sel.Name != "Close" {
+		return
+	}
+
+	// Ensure it has no arguments
+	if len(callExpr.Args) != 0 {
+		return
+	}
+
+	position := pass.Fset.PositionFor(deferStmt.Pos(), false)
+	if filecheck.ShouldSkipFilename(position.Filename, generatedFiles) {
+		return
+	}
+
+	if nolint.HasDirectiveForLinter(position, noLintIndex, "unchecked_deferredclose") {
+		return
+	}
+
+	if pass.TypesInfo == nil {
+		return
+	}
+
+	selection := pass.TypesInfo.Selections[selector]
+	if selection == nil || selection.Kind() != types.MethodVal {
+		return
+	}
+
+	sig, ok := selection.Obj().Type().(*types.Signature)
+	if !ok || !closeReturnsError(sig) {
+		return
+	}
+
+	// Report: defer close() ignores error return
+	pass.Reportf(
+		deferStmt.Pos(),
+		"defer close() call ignores error return value; consider handling errors explicitly",
+	)
+}
+
+func closeReturnsError(sig *types.Signature) bool {
+	if sig.Results() == nil || sig.Results().Len() == 0 {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	lastResult := sig.Results().At(sig.Results().Len() - 1)
+	return lastResult.Type() == builtinErrorType
+}
diff --git a/pkg/linters/unchecked-deferred-close/unchecked_deferredclose_test.go b/pkg/linters/unchecked-deferred-close/unchecked_deferredclose_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..037cd9b8911
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/linters/unchecked-deferred-close/unchecked_deferredclose_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+//go:build !integration
+
+// Package unchecked_deferredclose_test provides tests for the unchecked_deferredclose analyzer.
+package unchecked_deferredclose_test
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"golang.org/x/tools/go/analysis/analysistest"
+
+	unchecked_deferredclose "github.com/github/gh-aw/pkg/linters/unchecked-deferred-close"
+)
+
+func TestUncheckedDeferredClose(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	analysistest.Run(t, analysistest.TestData(), unchecked_deferredclose.Analyzer, "basic")
+}