diff --git a/.github/workflows/async-examples.yml b/.github/workflows/async-examples.yml
index 1d992d06f7..caca4b6c32 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/async-examples.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/async-examples.yml
@@ -110,3 +110,81 @@ jobs:
               cat "$f"
             fi
           done
+
+  # Per-certificate non-blocking yield (WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CERT_YIELD): the server
+  # presents a multi-certificate ECC chain (--cert-chain) and the client must
+  # return WC_PENDING_E once per certificate while verifying it.
+  cert_chain_yield:
+    if: ${{ (github.repository_owner == 'wolfssl') && (github.event_name != 'pull_request' || github.event.pull_request.draft == false) }}
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    timeout-minutes: 10
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        async_mode: ['sw', 'cryptocb']
+    name: Per-certificate yield (${{ matrix.async_mode }})
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+        name: Checkout wolfSSL
+
+      - name: Build async examples with WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CERT_YIELD
+        run: |
+          make -C examples/async clean
+          make -j -C examples/async ASYNC_MODE=${{ matrix.async_mode }} \
+            EXTRA_CFLAGS="-DWOLFSSL_ASYNC_CERT_YIELD"
+
+      - name: Run --cert-chain pair and assert per-certificate yield
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          ASYNC_MODE="${{ matrix.async_mode }}"
+          ready="/tmp/wolfssl_cert_chain_ready"
+          rm -f "$ready"
+
+          WOLFSSL_ASYNC_READYFILE="$ready" \
+            ./examples/async/async_server --ecc --cert-chain \
+            > /tmp/cert_chain_server.log 2>&1 &
+          pid=$!
+
+          rc=0
+          WOLFSSL_ASYNC_READYFILE="$ready" \
+            ./examples/async/async_client --ecc --cert-chain 127.0.0.1 11111 \
+            > /tmp/cert_chain_client.log 2>&1 || rc=$?
+
+          kill "$pid" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+          wait "$pid" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+
+          cat /tmp/cert_chain_client.log
+          if [ "$rc" -ne 0 ]; then
+            echo "FAIL: handshake (exit=$rc)"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+          count=$(awk '/WC_PENDING_E count:/ {print $NF}' \
+            /tmp/cert_chain_client.log)
+          # The 2-cert chain (leaf + root) yields once per certificate.
+          # cryptocb mode has no crypto chunking, so the count is just the
+          # per-certificate yields (>= 2: one per intermediate plus the leaf).
+          # sw mode also chunks the SP ECC math, so the count is much larger.
+          if [ "$ASYNC_MODE" = "cryptocb" ]; then
+            if [ -z "$count" ] || [ "$count" -lt 2 ]; then
+              echo "FAIL: expected >= 2 per-certificate yields," \
+                "got ${count:-missing}"
+              exit 1
+            fi
+          else
+            if [ -z "$count" ] || [ "$count" -lt 100 ]; then
+              echo "FAIL: WC_PENDING_E count too low: ${count:-missing}"
+              exit 1
+            fi
+          fi
+          echo "PASS: $ASYNC_MODE per-certificate yield (WC_PENDING_E: $count)"
+
+      - name: Print cert-chain logs
+        if: ${{ failure() }}
+        run: |
+          for f in /tmp/cert_chain_server.log /tmp/cert_chain_client.log; do
+            if [ -f "$f" ]; then
+              echo "==> $f"
+              cat "$f"
+            fi
+          done
diff --git a/.wolfssl_known_macro_extras b/.wolfssl_known_macro_extras
index 101ebf2fa8..3850dc197f 100644
--- a/.wolfssl_known_macro_extras
+++ b/.wolfssl_known_macro_extras
@@ -723,6 +723,7 @@ WOLFSSL_ASCON_UNROLL
 WOLFSSL_ASN_EXTRA
 WOLFSSL_ASN_TEMPLATE_NEED_SET_INT32
 WOLFSSL_ASN_TEMPLATE_TYPE_CHECK
+WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CERT_YIELD
 WOLFSSL_ATECC508
 WOLFSSL_ATECC508A_NOSOFTECC
 WOLFSSL_ATECC508A_TLS
diff --git a/README-async.md b/README-async.md
index 7745066880..2a37dcd842 100644
--- a/README-async.md
+++ b/README-async.md
@@ -28,6 +28,14 @@ Supported hardware backends:
 
 The wolfCrypt backend uses the same API as the hardware backends do. Once an asynchronous operation is initiated with the software backend, subsequent calls to `wolfSSL_AsyncPoll` will call into wolfCrypt to complete the operation. If non-blocking is enabled, for example, for ECC (via `WC_ECC_NONBLOCK`), each `wolfSSL_AsyncPoll` will do a chunk of work for the operation and return, to minimize blocking time.
 
+## Per-certificate Yield During Chain Verification (`WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CERT_YIELD`)
+
+By default the TLS handshake verifies every certificate in the peer's chain in a single `wolfSSL_connect()` / `wolfSSL_accept()` call. On a cooperative, single-threaded scheduler a long chain can therefore hold the CPU long enough to trip a watchdog. Building with `WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CRYPT` and the opt-in `WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CERT_YIELD` makes `ProcessPeerCerts()` return `WC_PENDING_E` to the caller after each chain certificate (and after the peer/leaf certificate) is verified, so the application's loop regains control between certificates and can service its watchdog or run other tasks before re-entering. This is independent of `WC_ECC_NONBLOCK`: you get one yield per certificate even when each signature verify is a single blocking call. `WC_ECC_NONBLOCK` additionally subdivides each verify into smaller chunks. The macro is registered with the example/test in `examples/async` (run the client/server with `--cert-chain`).
+
+Important: these per-certificate yields return `WC_PENDING_E` WITHOUT enqueuing an async device event (`ssl->asyncDev` stays NULL, the event queue stays empty). They are intended for cooperative schedulers that unconditionally re-call `wolfSSL_connect()` / `wolfSSL_accept()` (optionally after a best-effort `wolfSSL_AsyncPoll()`, which simply returns 0 events). They are NOT suitable for event-loop callers that block waiting on the async device file descriptor for a hardware completion, because no such completion is delivered for these yields and the caller would stall during peer certificate processing. Leave `WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CERT_YIELD` undefined (the default) for fd/event-driven async usage.
+
+If a handshake is abandoned after a per-certificate yield rather than driven to completion, call `wolfSSL_clear()` (or free and recreate the `WOLFSSL` object) before reusing it; `wolfSSL_clear()` clears the pending-yield state so the next handshake starts cleanly.
+
 ## API's
 
 ### ```wolfSSL_AsyncPoll```
diff --git a/examples/async/async_client.c b/examples/async/async_client.c
index c94a208d4d..510857ebdf 100644
--- a/examples/async/async_client.c
+++ b/examples/async/async_client.c
@@ -158,7 +158,8 @@ static int posix_net_connect(const char* host, int port)
 /* ------------------------------------------------------------------ */
 static void usage(const char* prog)
 {
-    printf("usage: %s [--ecc|--x25519] [--mutual] [--tls12] [host] [port]\n",
+    printf("usage: %s [--ecc|--x25519] [--mutual] [--cert-chain] [--tls12] "
+        "[host] [port]\n",
         prog);
 }
 
@@ -175,7 +176,8 @@ static const char* group_name(word16 group)
 }
 
 static int parse_client_args(int argc, char** argv,
-    const char** host, int* port, word16* group, int* mutual, int* tls12)
+    const char** host, int* port, word16* group, int* mutual, int* tls12,
+    int* certChain)
 {
     int i;
     int host_set = 0;
@@ -186,6 +188,7 @@ static int parse_client_args(int argc, char** argv,
     *group = WOLFSSL_ECC_SECP256R1;
     *mutual = 0;
     *tls12 = 0;
+    *certChain = 0;
 
     for (i = 1; i < argc; i++) {
         if (XSTRCMP(argv[i], "--ecc") == 0) {
@@ -197,6 +200,10 @@ static int parse_client_args(int argc, char** argv,
         else if (XSTRCMP(argv[i], "--mutual") == 0) {
             *mutual = 1;
         }
+        else if (XSTRCMP(argv[i], "--cert-chain") == 0) {
+            /* Verify the server's multi-certificate ECC chain (leaf + root). */
+            *certChain = 1;
+        }
         else if (XSTRCMP(argv[i], "--tls12") == 0) {
             *tls12 = 1;
         }
@@ -216,6 +223,11 @@ static int parse_client_args(int argc, char** argv,
         }
     }
 
+    /* --cert-chain verifies an ECC certificate chain; it is ECC-only. */
+    if (*certChain && *group == WOLFSSL_ECC_X25519) {
+        return -1;
+    }
+
     return 0;
 }
 
@@ -252,9 +264,10 @@ int client_async_test(int argc, char** argv)
     const char* mode = NULL;
     int mutual = 0;
     int tls12 = 0;
+    int certChain = 0;
 
     if (parse_client_args(argc, argv, &host, &port, &group, &mutual,
-            &tls12) != 0) {
+            &tls12, &certChain) != 0) {
         usage(argv[0]);
         return 0;
     }
@@ -383,6 +396,17 @@ int client_async_test(int argc, char** argv)
         }
         wolfSSL_CTX_set_verify(ctx, WOLFSSL_VERIFY_PEER, NULL);
     }
+    else if (certChain) {
+        /* Verify the server's multi-certificate ECC chain (leaf + root)
+         * against the root CA, without presenting a client certificate. */
+        ret = wolfSSL_CTX_load_verify_buffer(ctx, ca_ecc_cert_der_256,
+            sizeof_ca_ecc_cert_der_256, WOLFSSL_FILETYPE_ASN1);
+        if (ret != WOLFSSL_SUCCESS) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "ERROR: failed to load ECC CA cert.\n");
+            goto out;
+        }
+        wolfSSL_CTX_set_verify(ctx, WOLFSSL_VERIFY_PEER, NULL);
+    }
     else {
         wolfSSL_CTX_set_verify(ctx, WOLFSSL_VERIFY_NONE, NULL);
     }
diff --git a/examples/async/async_server.c b/examples/async/async_server.c
index 0c7b936fab..9d745fbeea 100644
--- a/examples/async/async_server.c
+++ b/examples/async/async_server.c
@@ -117,7 +117,8 @@ static int posix_set_nonblocking(int fd)
 /* ------------------------------------------------------------------ */
 static void usage(const char* prog)
 {
-    printf("usage: %s [--ecc|--x25519] [--mutual] [--tls12] [port]\n", prog);
+    printf("usage: %s [--ecc|--x25519] [--mutual] [--cert-chain] [--tls12] "
+        "[port]\n", prog);
 }
 
 static const char* group_name(word16 group)
@@ -133,7 +134,7 @@ static const char* group_name(word16 group)
 }
 
 static int parse_server_args(int argc, char** argv, int* port, word16* group,
-    int* mutual, int* tls12)
+    int* mutual, int* tls12, int* certChain)
 {
     int i;
     int port_set = 0;
@@ -142,6 +143,7 @@ static int parse_server_args(int argc, char** argv, int* port, word16* group,
     *group = WOLFSSL_ECC_SECP256R1;
     *mutual = 0;
     *tls12 = 0;
+    *certChain = 0;
 
     for (i = 1; i < argc; i++) {
         if (XSTRCMP(argv[i], "--ecc") == 0) {
@@ -153,6 +155,12 @@ static int parse_server_args(int argc, char** argv, int* port, word16* group,
         else if (XSTRCMP(argv[i], "--mutual") == 0) {
             *mutual = 1;
         }
+        else if (XSTRCMP(argv[i], "--cert-chain") == 0) {
+            /* Present a multi-certificate ECC chain (leaf + root) so the peer
+             * exercises per-certificate processing (and, with
+             * WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CERT_YIELD, the per-cert non-blocking yield). */
+            *certChain = 1;
+        }
         else if (XSTRCMP(argv[i], "--tls12") == 0) {
             *tls12 = 1;
         }
@@ -168,6 +176,11 @@ static int parse_server_args(int argc, char** argv, int* port, word16* group,
         }
     }
 
+    /* --cert-chain assembles an ECC certificate chain; it is ECC-only. */
+    if (*certChain && *group == WOLFSSL_ECC_X25519) {
+        return -1;
+    }
+
     return 0;
 }
 
@@ -187,6 +200,7 @@ int server_async_test(int argc, char** argv)
     const char*        mode = NULL;
     int                mutual = 0;
     int                tls12 = 0;
+    int                certChain = 0;
 #ifdef WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CRYPT
     int devId = INVALID_DEVID;
 #endif
@@ -216,7 +230,8 @@ int server_async_test(int argc, char** argv)
     }
 #endif
 
-    if (parse_server_args(argc, argv, &port, &group, &mutual, &tls12) != 0) {
+    if (parse_server_args(argc, argv, &port, &group, &mutual, &tls12,
+            &certChain) != 0) {
         usage(argv[0]);
         return 0;
     }
@@ -378,6 +393,42 @@ int server_async_test(int argc, char** argv)
         goto exit;
     #endif
     }
+    else if (certChain) {
+        /* Present a 2-cert ECC chain (leaf + root) assembled from the bundled
+         * buffers so the peer verifies a multi-certificate chain. With
+         * WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CERT_YIELD this exercises the per-certificate
+         * non-blocking yield in ProcessPeerCerts(). Kept static to avoid a
+         * >1KB stack buffer on the small-stack targets this example targets. */
+        static byte eccChain[sizeof_serv_ecc_der_256 +
+                             sizeof_ca_ecc_cert_der_256];
+        XMEMCPY(eccChain, serv_ecc_der_256, sizeof_serv_ecc_der_256);
+        XMEMCPY(eccChain + sizeof_serv_ecc_der_256, ca_ecc_cert_der_256,
+            sizeof_ca_ecc_cert_der_256);
+        ret = wolfSSL_CTX_use_certificate_chain_buffer_format(ctx, eccChain,
+            (long)sizeof(eccChain), WOLFSSL_FILETYPE_ASN1);
+        if (ret != WOLFSSL_SUCCESS) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "ERROR: failed to load ECC server cert chain.\n");
+            goto exit;
+        }
+
+        ret = wolfSSL_CTX_use_PrivateKey_buffer(ctx, ecc_key_der_256,
+            sizeof_ecc_key_der_256, WOLFSSL_FILETYPE_ASN1);
+        if (ret != WOLFSSL_SUCCESS) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "ERROR: failed to load ECC server key buffer.\n");
+            goto exit;
+        }
+
+        if (mutual) {
+            /* client-ecc-cert is self-signed, so load it as its own CA */
+            ret = wolfSSL_CTX_load_verify_buffer(ctx, cliecc_cert_der_256,
+                sizeof_cliecc_cert_der_256, WOLFSSL_FILETYPE_ASN1);
+            if (ret != WOLFSSL_SUCCESS) {
+                fprintf(stderr,
+                    "ERROR: failed to load ECC client CA cert.\n");
+                goto exit;
+            }
+        }
+    }
     else {
         ret = wolfSSL_CTX_use_certificate_buffer(ctx, serv_ecc_der_256,
             sizeof_serv_ecc_der_256, WOLFSSL_FILETYPE_ASN1);
diff --git a/src/internal.c b/src/internal.c
index fed9d370de..c010b1facf 100644
--- a/src/internal.c
+++ b/src/internal.c
@@ -8765,6 +8765,13 @@ void FreeAsyncCtx(WOLFSSL* ssl, byte freeAsync)
             ssl->async->freeArgs(ssl, ssl->async->args);
             ssl->async->freeArgs = NULL;
         }
+#if defined(WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CRYPT) && defined(WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CERT_YIELD)
+        /* The per-certificate yield flag is tied to an in-progress
+         * ProcessPeerCerts context (which only persists across a yield, never
+         * across this teardown). Clear it here so a later, freshly-allocated
+         * ssl->async can never resume on a stale flag. */
+        ssl->options.certYieldPending = 0;
+#endif
 #if defined(WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CRYPT) && !defined(WOLFSSL_NO_TLS12)
         if (ssl->options.buildArgsSet) {
             FreeBuildMsgArgs(ssl, &ssl->async->buildArgs);
@@ -16032,6 +16039,17 @@ int ProcessPeerCerts(WOLFSSL* ssl, byte* input, word32* inOutIdx,
         if (ret < 0)
             goto exit_ppc;
     }
+#ifdef WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CERT_YIELD
+    /* Re-entry after a deliberate per-certificate yield. No async crypto event
+     * was queued, so AsyncPop returns WC_NO_PENDING_E; keep the saved state and
+     * resume cert processing instead of resetting. The flag lives in
+     * ssl->options (zero-initialized) so this never fires on a fresh entry with
+     * a stale args scratch buffer. */
+    else if (ssl->options.certYieldPending) {
+        ssl->options.certYieldPending = 0;
+        ret = 0;
+    }
+#endif
     else
 #endif /* WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CRYPT */
 #ifdef WOLFSSL_NONBLOCK_OCSP
@@ -16755,6 +16773,23 @@ int ProcessPeerCerts(WOLFSSL* ssl, byte* input, word32* inOutIdx,
                     FreeDecodedCert(args->dCert);
                     args->dCertInit = 0;
                     args->count--;
+
+                #if defined(WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CRYPT) && \
+                    defined(WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CERT_YIELD)
+                    /* return WC_PENDING_E after each chain certificate is
+                     * verified so a cooperative scheduler regains control
+                     * between certificates. The verify above has fully
+                     * completed for this certificate; no async crypto event is
+                     * queued, so the certYieldPending flag tells the re-entry
+                     * path to resume the loop at the next certificate. */
+                    if (ret == 0) {
+                        WOLFSSL_MSG("Yielding WC_PENDING_E between chain "
+                                    "certificate verifies");
+                        ssl->options.certYieldPending = 1;
+                        ret = WC_PENDING_E;
+                        goto exit_ppc;
+                    }
+                #endif
                 } /* while (count > 1 && !args->haveTrustPeer) */
             } /* if (count > 0) */
 
@@ -16970,6 +17005,21 @@ int ProcessPeerCerts(WOLFSSL* ssl, byte* input, word32* inOutIdx,
 
             /* Advance state and proceed */
             ssl->options.asyncState = TLS_ASYNC_VERIFY;
+
+        #if defined(WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CRYPT) && defined(WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CERT_YIELD)
+            /* Opt-in (WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CERT_YIELD): yield once more after the peer
+             * (leaf) certificate is verified, before OCSP/CRL and finalization.
+             * The state has already advanced to TLS_ASYNC_VERIFY, so the
+             * certYieldPending re-entry path resumes there rather than
+             * re-processing the leaf. */
+            if (ret == 0 && args->count > 0) {
+                WOLFSSL_MSG("Yielding WC_PENDING_E after peer certificate "
+                            "verify");
+                ssl->options.certYieldPending = 1;
+                ret = WC_PENDING_E;
+                goto exit_ppc;
+            }
+        #endif
         } /* case TLS_ASYNC_DO */
         FALL_THROUGH;
 
diff --git a/src/ssl.c b/src/ssl.c
index c2a5827c9d..32270d930a 100644
--- a/src/ssl.c
+++ b/src/ssl.c
@@ -7901,6 +7901,13 @@ size_t wolfSSL_get_client_random(const WOLFSSL* ssl, unsigned char* out,
         ssl->options.acceptState  = ACCEPT_BEGIN;
         ssl->options.handShakeState  = NULL_STATE;
         ssl->options.handShakeDone = 0;
+#if defined(WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CRYPT) && defined(WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CERT_YIELD)
+        /* A per-certificate yield (WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CERT_YIELD) sets this and it is
+         * normally cleared on the next ProcessPeerCerts re-entry. Clear it here
+         * so reusing this object after abandoning a yielded handshake cannot
+         * skip the ProcessPeerCerts state reset on the next fresh entry. */
+        ssl->options.certYieldPending = 0;
+#endif
         ssl->recordSzOverhead = 0;
         ssl->options.processReply = 0; /* doProcessInit */
         ssl->options.havePeerVerify = 0;
diff --git a/wolfssl/internal.h b/wolfssl/internal.h
index 3cd37c739b..987636aff1 100644
--- a/wolfssl/internal.h
+++ b/wolfssl/internal.h
@@ -5294,6 +5294,14 @@ struct Options {
 #endif
     word16            returnOnGoodCh:1;
     word16            disableRead:1;
+#if defined(WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CRYPT) && defined(WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CERT_YIELD)
+    /* Opt-in (WOLFSSL_ASYNC_CERT_YIELD): set when we deliberately returned
+     * WC_PENDING_E between peer certificate verifies so a cooperative scheduler
+     * can run. Lives in (zero-initialized, persistent) ssl->options so the
+     * fresh-entry vs. resume decision in ProcessPeerCerts is reliable; the
+     * transient ProcPeerCertArgs scratch buffer is not zeroed on alloc. */
+    word16            certYieldPending:1;
+#endif
 
 #ifdef WOLFSSL_EARLY_DATA
     word16            clientInEarlyData:1; /* Client is in wolfSSL_read_early_data */