diff --git a/EssentialCSharp.Web.Tests/McpApiTokenServiceTests.cs b/EssentialCSharp.Web.Tests/McpApiTokenServiceTests.cs
index 06065bab..f60ee7dd 100644
--- a/EssentialCSharp.Web.Tests/McpApiTokenServiceTests.cs
+++ b/EssentialCSharp.Web.Tests/McpApiTokenServiceTests.cs
@@ -45,10 +45,30 @@ public async Task CreateTokenAsync_WithExpiryBeyondSixMonths_Throws()
 
         using var scope = factory.Services.CreateScope();
         var tokenService = scope.ServiceProvider.GetRequiredService<McpApiTokenService>();
-        DateTime requestedExpiry = McpApiTokenService.GetDefaultExpirationUtc(DateTime.UtcNow).AddDays(1);
+        DateTime requestedExpiry = McpApiTokenService.GetDefaultExpirationUtc(DateTime.UtcNow).AddDays(2);
 
         await Assert.That(() => tokenService.CreateTokenAsync(userId, "too-long", requestedExpiry))
             .Throws<ArgumentOutOfRangeException>()
-            .WithMessageContaining("6 months");
+            .WithMessageContaining(McpApiTokenService.MaxExpiryValidationMessage);
+    }
+
+    [Test]
+    public async Task CreateTokenAsync_WithExplicitCreatedAt_UsesReferenceTimeForDefaultExpiry()
+    {
+        string userId = await McpTestHelper.CreateUserAsync(factory, "mcp-explicit-created-at");
+
+        using var scope = factory.Services.CreateScope();
+        var tokenService = scope.ServiceProvider.GetRequiredService<McpApiTokenService>();
+        DateTime createdAtUtc = new(2026, 4, 30, 23, 59, 59, DateTimeKind.Utc);
+
+        (_, var entity) = await tokenService.CreateTokenAsync(
+            userId,
+            "explicit-created-at",
+            createdAtUtc: createdAtUtc);
+
+        await Assert.That(entity.CreatedAt).IsEqualTo(createdAtUtc);
+        await Assert.That(entity.ExpiresAt).IsNotNull();
+        await Assert.That(entity.ExpiresAt!.Value)
+            .IsEqualTo(McpApiTokenService.GetDefaultExpirationUtc(createdAtUtc));
     }
 }
diff --git a/EssentialCSharp.Web/Areas/Identity/Pages/Account/Manage/McpAccess.cshtml b/EssentialCSharp.Web/Areas/Identity/Pages/Account/Manage/McpAccess.cshtml
index d6316448..0b245d60 100644
--- a/EssentialCSharp.Web/Areas/Identity/Pages/Account/Manage/McpAccess.cshtml
+++ b/EssentialCSharp.Web/Areas/Identity/Pages/Account/Manage/McpAccess.cshtml
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 @page
 @model McpAccessModel
 @using EssentialCSharp.Web.Models
+@using EssentialCSharp.Web.Services
 @{
     ViewData["Title"] = "MCP Access";
     ViewData["ActivePage"] = ManageNavPages.McpAccess;
@@ -61,7 +62,7 @@
                     <label asp-for="ExpiresOn" class="form-label">Expiry Date</label>
                     <input asp-for="ExpiresOn" type="date" class="form-control" max="@Model.MaxExpiresOn.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd")" />
                     <span asp-validation-for="ExpiresOn" class="text-danger"></span>
-                    <div class="form-text">MCP tokens default to 6 months and cannot exceed 6 months from today. The token expires at end of day (23:59:59) UTC on the selected date.</div>
+                    <div class="form-text">MCP tokens expire after @McpApiTokenService.DefaultLifetimeMonths months by default, with a maximum lifetime of @McpApiTokenService.DefaultLifetimeMonths months from today. The token expires at end of day (UTC) on the selected date.</div>
                 </div>
                 <button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary">Create Token</button>
             </form>
diff --git a/EssentialCSharp.Web/Areas/Identity/Pages/Account/Manage/McpAccess.cshtml.cs b/EssentialCSharp.Web/Areas/Identity/Pages/Account/Manage/McpAccess.cshtml.cs
index cd5b9495..e6789774 100644
--- a/EssentialCSharp.Web/Areas/Identity/Pages/Account/Manage/McpAccess.cshtml.cs
+++ b/EssentialCSharp.Web/Areas/Identity/Pages/Account/Manage/McpAccess.cshtml.cs
@@ -33,7 +33,8 @@ public class McpAccessModel(
     public async Task<IActionResult> OnGetAsync()
     {
         DisableCaching();
-        InitializeExpiryBounds();
+        DateTime nowUtc = DateTime.UtcNow;
+        InitializeExpiryBounds(nowUtc);
         ApplyDefaultExpiryIfMissing();
         string? userId = userManager.GetUserId(User);
         if (userId is null) return Challenge();
@@ -44,7 +45,9 @@ public async Task<IActionResult> OnGetAsync()
     public async Task<IActionResult> OnPostCreateAsync()
     {
         DisableCaching();
-        InitializeExpiryBounds();
+        DateTime nowUtc = DateTime.UtcNow;
+        DateOnly todayUtc = DateOnly.FromDateTime(nowUtc);
+        InitializeExpiryBounds(nowUtc);
         ApplyDefaultExpiryIfMissing();
         string? userId = userManager.GetUserId(User);
         if (userId is null) return Challenge();
@@ -54,7 +57,7 @@ public async Task<IActionResult> OnPostCreateAsync()
 
         if (ExpiresOn.HasValue)
         {
-            if (ExpiresOn.Value < DateOnly.FromDateTime(DateTime.UtcNow))
+            if (ExpiresOn.Value < todayUtc)
                 ModelState.AddModelError(nameof(ExpiresOn), "Expiry date must be today or in the future.");
             if (ExpiresOn.Value > MaxExpiresOn)
                 ModelState.AddModelError(nameof(ExpiresOn), McpApiTokenService.MaxExpiryValidationMessage);
@@ -69,7 +72,11 @@ public async Task<IActionResult> OnPostCreateAsync()
         // Convert date-only boundary to end-of-day UTC instant before persisting
         DateTime? expiresAt = ExpiresOn?.ToDateTime(TimeOnly.MaxValue, DateTimeKind.Utc);
 
-        var (rawToken, entity) = await tokenService.CreateTokenAsync(userId, TokenName.Trim(), expiresAt);
+        var (rawToken, entity) = await tokenService.CreateTokenAsync(
+            userId,
+            TokenName.Trim(),
+            expiresAt,
+            createdAtUtc: nowUtc);
         GeneratedToken = rawToken;
         GeneratedTokenEntity = entity;
         UserTokens = await tokenService.GetUserTokensAsync(userId);
@@ -97,9 +104,9 @@ private void DisableCaching()
         Response.Headers.Expires = "0";
     }
 
-    private void InitializeExpiryBounds()
+    private void InitializeExpiryBounds(DateTime nowUtc)
     {
-        MaxExpiresOn = McpApiTokenService.GetDefaultExpiryDate();
+        MaxExpiresOn = McpApiTokenService.GetDefaultExpiryDate(nowUtc);
     }
 
     private void ApplyDefaultExpiryIfMissing()
diff --git a/EssentialCSharp.Web/Controllers/McpTokenController.cs b/EssentialCSharp.Web/Controllers/McpTokenController.cs
index a8383f3d..f047c563 100644
--- a/EssentialCSharp.Web/Controllers/McpTokenController.cs
+++ b/EssentialCSharp.Web/Controllers/McpTokenController.cs
@@ -26,11 +26,13 @@ public async Task<IActionResult> CreateToken(
         if (name.Length > 256)
             return BadRequest(new { Error = "Token name must be 256 characters or fewer." });
 
+        DateTime nowUtc = DateTime.UtcNow;
+        DateOnly todayUtc = DateOnly.FromDateTime(nowUtc);
         DateTime? expiresAt = null;
-        DateOnly maxExpiresOn = McpApiTokenService.GetDefaultExpiryDate();
+        DateOnly maxExpiresOn = McpApiTokenService.GetDefaultExpiryDate(nowUtc);
         if (request?.ExpiresOn is DateOnly expiresOn)
         {
-            if (expiresOn < DateOnly.FromDateTime(DateTime.UtcNow))
+            if (expiresOn < todayUtc)
                 return BadRequest(new { Error = "ExpiresOn must be today or in the future." });
             if (expiresOn > maxExpiresOn)
                 return BadRequest(new { Error = McpApiTokenService.MaxExpiryValidationMessage });
@@ -39,7 +41,11 @@ public async Task<IActionResult> CreateToken(
         }
 
         var (rawToken, entity) = await tokenService.CreateTokenAsync(
-            userId, name, expiresAt, cancellationToken);
+            userId,
+            name,
+            expiresAt,
+            createdAtUtc: nowUtc,
+            cancellationToken: cancellationToken);
 
         return Ok(new
         {
diff --git a/EssentialCSharp.Web/Services/McpApiTokenService.cs b/EssentialCSharp.Web/Services/McpApiTokenService.cs
index c88417b3..7e6a2466 100644
--- a/EssentialCSharp.Web/Services/McpApiTokenService.cs
+++ b/EssentialCSharp.Web/Services/McpApiTokenService.cs
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ namespace EssentialCSharp.Web.Services;
 public class McpApiTokenService(EssentialCSharpWebContext db)
 {
     public const int DefaultLifetimeMonths = 6;
-    public const string MaxExpiryValidationMessage = "MCP tokens can expire at most 6 months from today.";
+    public static readonly string MaxExpiryValidationMessage = $"MCP tokens can expire at most {DefaultLifetimeMonths} months from today.";
 
     public sealed record ResolvedMcpApiToken(Guid TokenId, string UserId);
 
@@ -36,10 +36,11 @@ public static string GenerateRawToken()
         string userId,
         string name,
         DateTime? expiresAt = null,
+        DateTime? createdAtUtc = null,
         CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
         string raw = GenerateRawToken();
-        DateTime createdAt = DateTime.UtcNow;
+        DateTime createdAt = createdAtUtc ?? DateTime.UtcNow;
         DateTime effectiveExpiration = ResolveExpiration(expiresAt, createdAt);
 
         var entity = new McpApiToken