diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 9171961..5e56db0 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -10,5 +10,5 @@ Agents should treat these areas independently so changes can be reasoned about a
 ## Working Guidelines
 - Keep shared instructions in this file minimal; place deeper guidance in `input/AGENTS.md` or `output/AGENTS.md` as appropriate.
 - When making automated edits, avoid touching both `input/` and `output/` in the same change set unless the work explicitly spans both pipelines.
-- Resume conversion templates live under `input/templates`. Output services mount them read-only; update templates from the input side and verify with a fresh conversion run.
+- Resume conversion templates live under `output/templates`. Copy the `.example` files to matching names (without the suffix) when you need local overrides, and verify with a fresh conversion run.
 - Use conventional commits (`<type>(scope): <message>`) to signal which side of the system a change targets, e.g., `feat(output): add failed-processing bucket`.
diff --git a/output/AGENTS.md b/output/AGENTS.md
index 7e05134..87875e8 100644
--- a/output/AGENTS.md
+++ b/output/AGENTS.md
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ Operate the output pipeline that turns one approved Markdown resume at a time in
 ## Guardrails (Do Not Cross)
 - Treat `ForRelease/outbox` and `ForRelease/processed` as immutable history managed exclusively by the human. Only append new artifacts when explicitly directed; never delete, move, rename, reorganize, or even contemplate cleanup, retention, or consolidation actions.
 - Refrain from generating additional files outside the described workflow. All job-specific Markdown arrives from the human, and all cleanup decisions belong to the human.
-- Leave shared templates mounted from `input/templates` untouched; template maintenance happens in the input system.
+- Leave shared templates under `templates/` untouched unless the human provides explicit replacements (copy `.example` files to matching names without the suffix to override).
 - Do not queue multiple Markdown files or attempt parallel conversions. This pipeline is intentionally single-job at any moment.
 - Escalate irregularities (missing templates, repeated failures, permission issues) to the human instead of improvising fixes.
 
diff --git a/output/Docker/docker-compose.yml b/output/Docker/docker-compose.yml
index 2426f63..fa4119e 100644
--- a/output/Docker/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/output/Docker/docker-compose.yml
@@ -16,4 +16,4 @@ services:
       - ../ForRelease/outbox:/data/outbox
       - ../ForRelease/processed:/data/processed
       - ../ForRelease/failed:/data/failed
-      - ../../input/templates:/templates:ro
+      - ../templates:/templates:ro
diff --git a/output/Docker/watch_and_convert.py b/output/Docker/watch_and_convert.py
index 6fcd414..72064c1 100755
--- a/output/Docker/watch_and_convert.py
+++ b/output/Docker/watch_and_convert.py
@@ -20,17 +20,39 @@ OUTBOX = Path("/data/outbox")
 PROCESSED = Path("/data/processed")
 FAILED = Path("/data/failed")
 TEMPLATES = Path("/templates")
+TEMPLATE_CACHE = Path("/tmp/templates")
 
 DOCX_TEMPLATE = TEMPLATES / "resume-reference.docx"
+DOCX_TEMPLATE_EXAMPLE = TEMPLATES / "resume-reference.docx.example"
 TEX_TEMPLATE = TEMPLATES / "resume-template.tex"
+TEX_TEMPLATE_EXAMPLE = TEMPLATES / "resume-template.tex.example"
+
+RESOLVED_DOCX_TEMPLATE: Path | None = None
+RESOLVED_TEX_TEMPLATE: Path | None = None
 
 POLL_INTERVAL_SECONDS = 5
 
 
+def resolve_template(primary: Path, example: Path, cache_dir: Path) -> Path:
+    """Return the template path, copying .example into a writable cache if needed."""
+    if primary.exists():
+        return primary
+
+    if example.exists():
+        cache_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        cached = cache_dir / primary.name
+        shutil.copy(example, cached)
+        return cached
+
+    raise FileNotFoundError(f"Template missing: {primary} (no example found)")
+
+
 def ensure_environment() -> None:
     """Verify required files and directories exist before processing starts."""
+    global RESOLVED_DOCX_TEMPLATE, RESOLVED_TEX_TEMPLATE
+
     missing = []
-    for path in (INBOX, OUTBOX, PROCESSED, FAILED, DOCX_TEMPLATE, TEX_TEMPLATE):
+    for path in (INBOX, OUTBOX, PROCESSED, FAILED, TEMPLATES):
         if not path.exists():
             missing.append(str(path))
 
@@ -39,6 +61,9 @@ def ensure_environment() -> None:
             "Required paths are missing inside the container: " + ", ".join(missing)
         )
 
+    RESOLVED_DOCX_TEMPLATE = resolve_template(DOCX_TEMPLATE, DOCX_TEMPLATE_EXAMPLE, TEMPLATE_CACHE)
+    RESOLVED_TEX_TEMPLATE = resolve_template(TEX_TEMPLATE, TEX_TEMPLATE_EXAMPLE, TEMPLATE_CACHE)
+
 
 def run_pandoc(input_md: Path, output_docx: Path, output_pdf: Path) -> None:
     """Invoke pandoc twice to create DOCX and PDF artifacts."""
@@ -51,7 +76,7 @@ def run_pandoc(input_md: Path, output_docx: Path, output_pdf: Path) -> None:
             "--to",
             "docx",
             "--reference-doc",
-            str(DOCX_TEMPLATE),
+            str(RESOLVED_DOCX_TEMPLATE),
             "--output",
             str(output_docx),
         ],
@@ -67,7 +92,7 @@ def run_pandoc(input_md: Path, output_docx: Path, output_pdf: Path) -> None:
             "--pdf-engine",
             "xelatex",
             "--template",
-            str(TEX_TEMPLATE),
+            str(RESOLVED_TEX_TEMPLATE),
             "--output",
             str(output_pdf),
         ],
diff --git a/output/README.md b/output/README.md
index b41f523..8ae6634 100644
--- a/output/README.md
+++ b/output/README.md
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ This directory houses the post-processing side of ResumeCustomizer. It accepts o
 - `ForRelease/processed/YYYY/MM/DD/HHMM` – timestamped archives of Markdown files that converted successfully.
 - `ForRelease/failed` – holding area for Markdown files that Pandoc could not render.
 - `Docker/` – Dockerfile, compose stack, watcher script, and wrapper used to run the conversion container.
+- `templates/` – default Pandoc assets (`*.example`) the watcher copies into `/tmp` at runtime; copy any `.example` file without the suffix to override it locally (ignored by git).
 
 All `ForRelease` subdirectories include `.gitkeep` and `.gitignore` so artifacts stay local and never reach version control.
 
@@ -23,7 +24,7 @@ The wrapper auto-detects the Docker Compose plugin or legacy `docker-compose`, f
 
 ## Conversion Flow
 1. The watcher polls `ForRelease/inbox` every few seconds for exactly one Markdown resume.
-2. Pandoc renders DOCX and PDF using the shared templates.
+2. Pandoc renders DOCX and PDF using the shared templates (and auto-falls back to the bundled `.example` files if no overrides exist).
 3. Artifacts land in a timestamped folder under `ForRelease/outbox`.
 4. The source Markdown moves into the matching timestamp folder under `ForRelease/processed`.
 5. On Pandoc failure, the Markdown shifts into `ForRelease/failed` for human review before retrying.
@@ -32,7 +33,7 @@ Outbox and processed directories are append-only historical records managed sole
 
 ## Prerequisites
 - Docker Engine with the Compose plugin (`docker compose`) or the standalone `docker-compose` binary.
-- Template assets mounted read-only from `input/templates`.
+- Template assets mounted read-only from `templates/` (copy `.example` files to matching names without the suffix to customize them).
 
 Stop or inspect the stack with:
 
diff --git a/output/templates/.gitignore b/output/templates/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8ce1143
--- /dev/null
+++ b/output/templates/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+*.docx
+*.tex
+!*.docx.example
+!*.tex.example
diff --git a/input/templates/resume-reference.docx b/output/templates/resume-reference.docx.example
similarity index 100%
rename from input/templates/resume-reference.docx
rename to output/templates/resume-reference.docx.example
diff --git a/input/templates/resume-template.tex b/output/templates/resume-template.tex.example
similarity index 100%
rename from input/templates/resume-template.tex
rename to output/templates/resume-template.tex.example