diff --git a/docs/content/docs/reconcile.mdx b/docs/content/docs/reconcile.mdx
index 5a786e744..49a060477 100644
--- a/docs/content/docs/reconcile.mdx
+++ b/docs/content/docs/reconcile.mdx
@@ -85,6 +85,12 @@ Because the file is the full list, `spec: []` removes every platform user. The b
 service account is the exception: it is never removed. Keep `app.admin.bootstrap` configured,
 since that account is the recovery path if a file ever empties the list.
 
+Disabled users are out of scope. A disabled user does not appear in the platform-user
+listing the reconciler reads, so it cannot see or manage their platform access: a disabled
+admin is not exported, and an empty file does not remove their grant. Do not list a disabled
+user in the file. Re-enable them first if you need to reconcile their access. This only
+concerns users. Service users cannot be disabled today, so they are always listed.
+
 ## The Permission kind
 
 A permission is an identity: a `service/resource` namespace plus a verb. There is nothing
diff --git a/internal/reconcile/platformuser_reconciler.go b/internal/reconcile/platformuser_reconciler.go
index 46a0a0191..5f26ff646 100644
--- a/internal/reconcile/platformuser_reconciler.go
+++ b/internal/reconcile/platformuser_reconciler.go
@@ -120,6 +120,12 @@ func (r *PlatformUserReconciler) Export(ctx context.Context) (any, error) {
 	return specs, nil
 }
 
+// fetchCurrent lists the platform principals the reconciler manages. Disabled
+// users are out of scope: ListPlatformUsers resolves users through a store
+// query that filters out disabled accounts, so a disabled admin never appears
+// here. It is therefore neither exported nor removed by an empty file, and a file
+// that lists a disabled user cannot converge. Re-enable the user to manage their
+// platform access. Service users cannot be disabled today, so they are always listed.
 func (r *PlatformUserReconciler) fetchCurrent(ctx context.Context) ([]platformPrincipal, error) {
 	resp, err := r.client.ListPlatformUsers(ctx, authReq(&frontierv1beta1.ListPlatformUsersRequest{}, r.header))
 	if err != nil {