diff --git a/cmd/root/otel_test.go b/cmd/root/otel_test.go
index 341e1ae924..d66ab9ce17 100644
--- a/cmd/root/otel_test.go
+++ b/cmd/root/otel_test.go
@@ -1,19 +1,104 @@
 package root
 
 import (
+	"context"
+	"io"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"os"
 	"testing"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
-	semconv "go.opentelemetry.io/otel/semconv/v1.43.0"
+	coltracepb "go.opentelemetry.io/proto/otlp/collector/trace/v1"
+	"google.golang.org/protobuf/proto"
 )
 
+// A literal, not semconv.SchemaURL, so a semconv bump is an explicit,
+// reviewed change. NoError also guards against ErrSchemaURLConflict if
+// resource.Default()'s semconv version diverges.
 func TestNewOTelResourceUsesCurrentSchemaURL(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 
 	res, err := newOTelResource()
 	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, semconv.SchemaURL, res.SchemaURL())
+	assert.Equal(t, "https://opentelemetry.io/schemas/1.43.0", res.SchemaURL())
+}
+
+// TestTraceExportEmitsResourceSchemaURL verifies the schema URL on the
+// wire: the OTLP payload's resource schema_url must be the documented
+// literal, while the scope schema_url stays empty because docker-agent
+// sets none on its own tracers.
+func TestTraceExportEmitsResourceSchemaURL(t *testing.T) {
+	// Not parallel: t.Setenv. Clear env that would alter sampling or
+	// body encoding; endpoint env vars are already overridden by the
+	// explicit WithEndpointURL.
+	for _, key := range []string{
+		"OTEL_TRACES_SAMPLER",
+		"OTEL_TRACES_SAMPLER_ARG",
+		"OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_COMPRESSION",
+		"OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_COMPRESSION",
+	} {
+		t.Setenv(key, "")
+		os.Unsetenv(key)
+	}
+
+	// Empty ExportTraceServiceResponse: the full-success OTLP reply.
+	respBody, err := proto.Marshal(&coltracepb.ExportTraceServiceResponse{})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	type export struct {
+		path    string
+		body    []byte
+		readErr error
+	}
+	exports := make(chan export, 4)
+
+	// No assertions here — the handler runs on a server goroutine.
+	srv := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		body, readErr := io.ReadAll(r.Body)
+		select {
+		case exports <- export{path: r.URL.Path, body: body, readErr: readErr}:
+		default:
+		}
+		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/x-protobuf")
+		_, _ = w.Write(respBody)
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
+
+	res, err := newOTelResource()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	tp, err := newTracerProvider(t.Context(), res, srv.URL)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		// t.Context() is already canceled in cleanup; WithoutCancel
+		// detaches it so shutdown still gets a bounded 5s window.
+		ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.WithoutCancel(t.Context()), 5*time.Second)
+		defer cancel()
+		_ = tp.Shutdown(ctx)
+	})
+
+	_, span := tp.Tracer("test").Start(t.Context(), "schema-url-probe")
+	span.End()
+	require.NoError(t, tp.ForceFlush(t.Context()))
+
+	var got export
+	select {
+	case got = <-exports:
+	case <-time.After(10 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatal("no OTLP trace export received")
+	}
+	require.NoError(t, got.readErr)
+	assert.Equal(t, "/v1/traces", got.path)
+
+	var req coltracepb.ExportTraceServiceRequest
+	require.NoError(t, proto.Unmarshal(got.body, &req))
+	require.Len(t, req.ResourceSpans, 1)
+	rs := req.ResourceSpans[0]
+	assert.Equal(t, "https://opentelemetry.io/schemas/1.43.0", rs.SchemaUrl)
+	require.Len(t, rs.ScopeSpans, 1)
+	assert.Empty(t, rs.ScopeSpans[0].SchemaUrl)
 }
 
 // TestProvidersWithoutEndpoint verifies all three providers build cleanly
diff --git a/docs/community/opentelemetry/index.md b/docs/community/opentelemetry/index.md
index ae6b3c9a13..7f273601d6 100644
--- a/docs/community/opentelemetry/index.md
+++ b/docs/community/opentelemetry/index.md
@@ -90,6 +90,23 @@ docker agent run agent.yaml --otel
 >
 > Both backends accept the traces signal only. Docker Agent also wires metric and log exporters at the same endpoint, so their periodic exports return `404` against trace-only backends. This is harmless to traces but appears in the debug log. Point a full OTLP collector at the endpoint if you also want metrics and logs.
 
+## Schema URL
+
+Every OTLP export — traces, metrics, and logs — carries a resource `schema_url` that declares which version of the [semantic conventions](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/specs/semconv/) the resource attributes follow. Docker Agent emits:
+
+```text
+https://opentelemetry.io/schemas/1.43.0
+```
+
+The URL resolves to the published [1.43.0 schema](https://opentelemetry.io/schemas/1.43.0) and identifies the conventions the data was produced under. Docker Agent sets no schema URL on its own tracer, meter, or logger scopes, so their instrumentation-scope `schema_url` fields are empty. Bundled instrumentation can set one — the ADK tracer (`gcp.vertex.agent`, active when serving A2A) declares `1.36.0` on its scope. A non-empty scope `schema_url` applies only to that scope's data and is independent of the resource `schema_url`.
+
+For most consumers this is pass-through metadata: collectors and backends that ingest or forward OTLP need no changes when the version advances. Schema-aware consumers can use the URL to translate telemetry between convention versions.
+
+> [!NOTE]
+> **Pipelines that validate or translate schemas**
+>
+> If your pipeline checks schema URLs against an allowlist or translates telemetry from bundled schema definitions (for example the Collector's schema processor), add `1.43.0` to its supported versions when upgrading Docker Agent — before the OTel SDK 1.45 migration, Docker Agent emitted `https://opentelemetry.io/schemas/1.41.0`. No published schema transformation applies to Docker Agent telemetry in the move from `1.41.0` to `1.43.0`: the `1.42.0` schema's only transform renames a `v8js` metric Docker Agent does not emit, and `1.43.0` lists no transforms.
+
 ## Inspecting traces locally
 
 Use `--debug` to print telemetry activity to the debug log (`~/.cagent/cagent.debug.log` by default) without standing up a backend:
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 1fa72dc116..ef74c20490 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -80,6 +80,7 @@ require (
 	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk/log v0.21.0
 	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk/metric v1.45.0
 	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.45.0
+	go.opentelemetry.io/proto/otlp v1.11.0
 	go.yaml.in/yaml/v4 v4.0.0-rc.6
 	golang.org/x/image v0.45.0
 	golang.org/x/net v0.58.0
@@ -89,6 +90,7 @@ require (
 	golang.org/x/term v0.45.0
 	google.golang.org/adk/v2 v2.2.1-0.20260818092052-16e33673bc9e
 	google.golang.org/genai v1.69.0
+	google.golang.org/protobuf v1.36.11
 	gopkg.in/dnaeon/go-vcr.v4 v4.0.7
 	gotest.tools/v3 v3.5.2
 	modernc.org/sqlite v1.57.0
@@ -213,7 +215,6 @@ require (
 	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/otlp/otlpmetric/otlpmetricgrpc v1.40.0 // indirect
 	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/otlp/otlptrace v1.45.0 // indirect
 	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/otlp/otlptrace/otlptracegrpc v1.40.0 // indirect
-	go.opentelemetry.io/proto/otlp v1.11.0 // indirect
 	go.yaml.in/yaml/v3 v3.0.5 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/crypto v0.55.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/mod v0.38.0 // indirect
@@ -224,7 +225,6 @@ require (
 	google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/api v0.0.0-20260803160001-6ac0973c030d // indirect
 	google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/rpc v0.0.0-20260803160001-6ac0973c030d // indirect
 	google.golang.org/grpc v1.83.0 // indirect
-	google.golang.org/protobuf v1.36.11 // indirect
 	gopkg.in/warnings.v0 v0.1.2 // indirect
 	gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1 // indirect
 	modernc.org/libc v1.74.4 // indirect