diff --git a/scripts/repo-scan.py b/scripts/repo-scan.py
index 6bea156..6146041 100644
--- a/scripts/repo-scan.py
+++ b/scripts/repo-scan.py
@@ -24,9 +24,11 @@ PRUNE = {".git", ".venv", ".collections", ".ansible", ".worktrees",
 SKIP_PREFIX = os.path.join("docs", "reviews")  # don't scan our own reports
 SOURCE_EXTS = {".yml", ".yaml", ".j2", ".py", ".sh", ".md", ".tf", ".cfg", ".ini"}
 
-# Marker words, but NOT when part of a regex alternation `(TODO|...)` or a filename
-# like `TODO.md` / `docs/TODO.md`.
-MARKER_RE = re.compile(r"(?<![(|/])\b(TODO|FIXME|XXX|HACK)\b(?![|)]|\.\w)")
+# Marker words, but NOT when part of a regex alternation `(TODO|...)`, a filename
+# like `TODO.md` / `docs/TODO.md`, or a numbered backlog reference like `TODO 8.2`
+# / `TODO item 16` / `TODO #3` (those point at the backlog, they are not code markers).
+MARKER_RE = re.compile(
+    r"(?<![(|/])\b(TODO|FIXME|XXX|HACK)\b(?![|)]|\.\w|[\s\-]*\(?\s*(?:item\s+)?#?\d)")
 ADR_REF_RE = re.compile(r"\bADR-(\d{3})\b")
 PATH_REF_RE = re.compile(r"(?:docs|scripts|roles|inventories|terraform|playbooks)/[\w./-]+")
 PLACEHOLDER = set("<>*${}")
@@ -198,6 +200,15 @@ def scan():
                 ref = pm.group(0).rstrip(".,);:`'\"")
                 if any(c in ref for c in PLACEHOLDER):
                     continue
+                # Skip template / generated-report paths — not real broken refs:
+                #  - a placeholder (<service>, ${x}) immediately follows the matched path
+                #    (the regex stops at the placeholder, so it isn't caught above)
+                #  - a date-template token (YYYY-MM-DD) appears in the path
+                #  - the path is under a generated-report `reviews/` directory
+                if (cand[pm.end():pm.end() + 1] in PLACEHOLDER
+                        or re.search(r"YYYY|MM-DD", ref)
+                        or re.search(r"(?:^|/)reviews/", ref)):
+                    continue
                 if not os.path.exists(os.path.join(ROOT, ref)):
                     findings.append({"check": "broken-path-ref", "severity": "medium", "path": rpath,
                                      "line": i, "detail": f"references '{ref}' which does not exist"})