diff --git a/freelancer-edit/index.html b/freelancer-edit/index.html
index 2dfb519..01be887 100644
--- a/freelancer-edit/index.html
+++ b/freelancer-edit/index.html
@@ -146,6 +146,9 @@
       }
     </style>
 
+    <!-- The 15-point rule, in ONE copy for both forms (this one and the application form). -->
+    <script src="/static/focus-rule.js"></script>
+
     <!-- 1) Read the credential, then take it OUT of the address bar.
        The hash arrives as ?has=... or ?hash=... (both spellings accepted, 'has' first — the
        same list the answer page reads, so the two emailed links behave identically). The page
@@ -186,7 +189,7 @@
           functional: "Functional", system: "System", modules: "Modules",
           integration: "Integration", ai: "AI"
         },
-        focusTotal: 15,
+        focusTotal: window.O4PFocus.TOTAL,
         focusMax: 5,
         focusMaxChars: 70,
         descMaxChars: 230,
@@ -256,6 +259,7 @@
     <script>
       (function () {
         var C = window.O4E;
+        var CG = window.O4PFocus; // the shared 15-point rule (static/focus-rule.js)
         var app = document.getElementById("app");
         var hash = window.__EDIT_HASH || "";
         var rec = null; // this person's record, once loaded
@@ -496,7 +500,9 @@
           // The five axes. An axis the record does not carry keeps the application form's
           // default of 3, so the block always totals 15 and can be saved.
           var axesSet = el("fieldset", "");
-          axesSet.appendChild(el("legend", "", "Skill areas"));
+          axesSet.appendChild(el("legend", "", CG.LEGEND));
+          // The same directive the application form carries, so both forms state the rule.
+          axesSet.appendChild(el("p", "hint", CG.DIRECTIVE));
           C.focusAxes.forEach(function (axis) {
             var v = readField(record, axis);
             if (v === undefined || v === null || v === "") v = 3; // → the block totals 15
@@ -556,8 +562,7 @@
             if (focusSum() !== C.focusTotal) {
               var sum = focusSum();
               line.className = "status state-err";
-              line.textContent = "The five skill numbers total " + sum + ". They must total exactly " +
-                C.focusTotal + " before this can be saved.";
+              line.textContent = CG.message(sum); // names the direction: remove / add / place all
               focusTotalLine.setAttribute("data-bad", "1");
               return;
             }
diff --git a/odoo-community-developers/index.html b/odoo-community-developers/index.html
index 5c4851c..e4bc26c 100644
--- a/odoo-community-developers/index.html
+++ b/odoo-community-developers/index.html
@@ -1949,6 +1949,7 @@
     </footer>
 
     <script defer src="/static/lang.js"></script>
+    <script src="/static/focus-rule.js"></script>
     <script>
       /* ============================================================================
          Odoo freelancer directory — page script.
@@ -1994,8 +1995,8 @@
       // The five self-assessed focus axes — each a SEPARATE numeric field (0-5) on the
       // wire, no CSV, no encoding. They must total exactly FOCUS_TOTAL.
       var FOCUS_AXES = ["functional", "system", "modules", "integration", "ai"];
-      var FOCUS_TOTAL = 15;
-      var FOCUS_MAX = 5;
+      var FOCUS_TOTAL = O4PFocus.TOTAL; // the shared rule (static/focus-rule.js)
+      var FOCUS_MAX = O4PFocus.MAX;
       var FOCUS_AXIS_LABELS = {
         functional: "Functional", system: "System", modules: "Modules",
         integration: "Integration", ai: "AI"
@@ -2089,22 +2090,17 @@
          savable — an all-zero block is simply left unsent). */
       function focusError(form, required) {
         var sum = focusSum(form);
-        if (sum === 0) {
-          return required
-            ? "Distribute all 15 points across the five areas — they cannot all be 0."
-            : "";
-        }
-        if (sum !== FOCUS_TOTAL) {
-          return "Your five focus numbers total " + sum + ". They must total exactly " +
-            FOCUS_TOTAL + ".";
-        }
-        return "";
+        if (sum === 0) return required ? O4PFocus.DIRECTIVE : "";
+        return O4PFocus.message(sum); // "" when right; names the direction when not
       }
 
       /* Wire one form's sliders: five <input type=range> with an adjacent <output>, a
          live running total, and a live warning while the number is wrong. */
       function initFocusUI(form, warnId, totalId) {
         if (!form) return;
+        // The legend text comes from the shared rule (static/focus-rule.js), not the markup.
+        var legendEl = form.querySelector(".focus-field legend");
+        if (legendEl) legendEl.textContent = O4PFocus.LEGEND;
         var wraps = form.querySelectorAll(".focus-field");
         Array.prototype.forEach.call(wraps, function (w) {
           var hidden = w.querySelector(".focus-sliders");
@@ -2125,12 +2121,7 @@
             el.setAttribute("aria-valuetext", n + " of " + FOCUS_MAX);
           });
           if (total) total.textContent = sum + " of " + FOCUS_TOTAL + " points";
-          if (warn) {
-            warn.textContent = sum === FOCUS_TOTAL
-              ? ""
-              : (sum === 0 ? "You have 0 of 15 — place all 15 points."
-                           : "You have " + sum + " of 15. The five must total exactly 15.");
-          }
+          if (warn) warn.textContent = O4PFocus.message(sum);
         }
         Array.prototype.forEach.call(form.querySelectorAll(".focus-field input"), function (el) {
           el.addEventListener("input", refresh);
diff --git a/static/focus-rule.js b/static/focus-rule.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8a07a0a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/static/focus-rule.js
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+/* The ONE source of truth for the "skill profile" rule — the 15-point budget.
+   Two forms render this rule: the directory application form
+   (/odoo-community-developers/) and the private self-service edit form
+   (/freelancer-edit/). Both take the legend, the directive and the wrong-total
+   message from here, so the two cannot word the same rule differently again.
+   Loaded before each page's own script. */
+(function () {
+  var TOTAL = 15;
+  window.O4PFocus = {
+    TOTAL: TOTAL,
+    MAX: 5,
+    LEGEND: "Skill profile — 15 points to distribute",
+    DIRECTIVE: "Distribute all 15 points across the five areas — they cannot all be 0.",
+    /* The wrong-total message, naming the direction to move. "" when the sum is right. */
+    message: function (sum) {
+      if (sum === TOTAL) return "";
+      if (sum === 0) return "You have 0 of " + TOTAL + " — place all " + TOTAL + " points.";
+      if (sum > TOTAL) return "You have " + sum + " of " + TOTAL + " — remove " + (sum - TOTAL) + ".";
+      return "You have " + sum + " of " + TOTAL + " — add " + (TOTAL - sum) + ".";
+    }
+  };
+})();