diff --git a/crates/switchyard-translation/src/codecs/anthropic/stream.rs b/crates/switchyard-translation/src/codecs/anthropic/stream.rs
index 135fb645c..f958f9cf3 100644
--- a/crates/switchyard-translation/src/codecs/anthropic/stream.rs
+++ b/crates/switchyard-translation/src/codecs/anthropic/stream.rs
@@ -25,6 +25,10 @@ impl StreamCodec for AnthropicMessagesStreamCodec {
         event.get("type").and_then(Value::as_str) == Some("message_stop")
     }
 
+    fn stops_at_terminal_event(&self) -> bool {
+        true
+    }
+
     fn sse_done_is_terminal(&self) -> bool {
         false
     }
diff --git a/crates/switchyard-translation/src/codecs/responses/stream.rs b/crates/switchyard-translation/src/codecs/responses/stream.rs
index 7a450b535..d2c49754d 100644
--- a/crates/switchyard-translation/src/codecs/responses/stream.rs
+++ b/crates/switchyard-translation/src/codecs/responses/stream.rs
@@ -37,6 +37,10 @@ impl StreamCodec for OpenAiResponsesStreamCodec {
         )
     }
 
+    fn stops_at_terminal_event(&self) -> bool {
+        true
+    }
+
     fn sse_done_is_terminal(&self) -> bool {
         true
     }
diff --git a/crates/switchyard-translation/src/codecs/stream.rs b/crates/switchyard-translation/src/codecs/stream.rs
index 145679abf..68d99af6d 100644
--- a/crates/switchyard-translation/src/codecs/stream.rs
+++ b/crates/switchyard-translation/src/codecs/stream.rs
@@ -172,6 +172,13 @@ pub trait StreamCodec: Send + Sync {
     /// Returns whether a JSON event establishes stream completion.
     fn is_terminal_event(&self, event: &Value) -> bool;
 
+    /// Returns whether decoding stops after yielding a terminal JSON event.
+    ///
+    /// The default keeps reading so codecs can emit trailing events, such as usage.
+    fn stops_at_terminal_event(&self) -> bool {
+        false
+    }
+
     /// Returns whether the SSE `[DONE]` marker establishes stream completion.
     ///
     /// The marker ends consumption even when this returns `false`; a terminal JSON event
diff --git a/crates/switchyard-translation/src/engine.rs b/crates/switchyard-translation/src/engine.rs
index f70d06725..fd715d132 100644
--- a/crates/switchyard-translation/src/engine.rs
+++ b/crates/switchyard-translation/src/engine.rs
@@ -483,8 +483,9 @@ impl TranslationEngine {
     /// buffered across chunks (a partial frame waits for its boundary); the source
     /// stream codec is resolved once and reused for every frame.
     ///
-    /// The decoder tracks the source format's protocol-specific terminal event. If
-    /// EOF arrives without that required event, the stream yields a deferred
+    /// Codecs can opt in to stopping after the decoder yields a terminal JSON event.
+    /// Other codecs keep reading to include trailing events before `[DONE]` or EOF.
+    /// If EOF arrives without a required terminal event, the stream yields a deferred
     /// [`LlmClientError::ResponseTranslation`] error after any valid decoded events.
     pub fn decode_stream<S>(
         &self,
@@ -545,6 +546,9 @@ impl TranslationEngine {
                                 value,
                                 normalized,
                             );
+                            if saw_terminal && codec.stops_at_terminal_event() {
+                                break;
+                            }
                         }
                     }
                 } else {
diff --git a/crates/switchyard-translation/tests/extension_points.rs b/crates/switchyard-translation/tests/extension_points.rs
index e3a9f497d..abd3a1856 100644
--- a/crates/switchyard-translation/tests/extension_points.rs
+++ b/crates/switchyard-translation/tests/extension_points.rs
@@ -155,6 +155,40 @@ fn custom_whole_streams_use_registered_codecs_and_outlive_the_engine() -> TestRe
     Ok(())
 }
 
+// A custom codec can report completion before it sends its last event.
+#[test]
+fn custom_stream_keeps_events_after_terminal_json() -> TestResult {
+    let mut registry = StreamCodecRegistry::new();
+    registry.register(CustomStreamCodec);
+    let engine = TranslationEngine::with_registries(FormatRegistry::new(), registry);
+    let raw = [
+        json!({"kind": "done"}),
+        json!({"kind": "delta", "text": "trailing"}),
+    ];
+    let bytes = stream::iter(
+        raw.clone()
+            .map(|event| Ok(format!("data: {event}\n\n").into_bytes())),
+    );
+    let events = block_on(
+        engine
+            .decode_stream("custom_stream", bytes)?
+            .try_collect::<Vec<_>>(),
+    )?;
+
+    assert_eq!(events.len(), 2);
+    for (event, expected) in events.iter().zip(raw) {
+        assert_eq!(event.preservation().unwrap().raw(), &expected);
+    }
+    assert_eq!(
+        events[1].normalized(),
+        &[LlmResponseChunk::TextDelta {
+            index: 0,
+            text: "trailing".into(),
+        }]
+    );
+    Ok(())
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn custom_stream_completion_uses_the_codec_rules() -> TestResult {
     let mut registry = StreamCodecRegistry::new();
diff --git a/tests/test_translation_terminal.py b/tests/test_translation_terminal.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a52591041
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_translation_terminal.py
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+import json
+
+import pytest
+
+from switchyard.translation import TranslationEngine
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    ("protocol", "terminal"),
+    [
+        ("anthropic_messages", {"type": "message_stop"}),
+        ("openai_responses", {"type": "response.completed", "response": {}}),
+        ("openai_responses", {"type": "response.incomplete", "response": {}}),
+        ("openai_responses", {"type": "response.failed", "response": {}}),
+    ],
+)
+async def test_decoder_stops_at_terminal_event(protocol, terminal):
+    """The decoder yields the terminal event without polling upstream again."""
+
+    async def upstream():
+        """The iterator raises if the decoder reads beyond the terminal event."""
+        yield f"data: {json.dumps(terminal)}\n\n".encode()
+        raise AssertionError("The decoder read after the terminal event.")
+
+    async with TranslationEngine().decode_stream(protocol, upstream()) as decoded:
+        assert [event["preservation"]["raw"] async for event in decoded] == [terminal]
+
+
+async def test_chat_decoder_yields_usage_after_finish_reason():
+    """The decoder keeps Chat Completions usage that follows finish_reason."""
+    usage = {"prompt_tokens": 2, "completion_tokens": 3, "total_tokens": 5}
+
+    async def upstream():
+        """The iterator sends usage after finish_reason and raises after [DONE]."""
+        yield b'data: {"choices":[{"delta":{},"finish_reason":"stop"}]}\n\n'
+        yield f"data: {json.dumps({'choices': [], 'usage': usage})}\n\n".encode()
+        yield b"data: [DONE]\n\n"
+        raise AssertionError("The decoder read after [DONE].")
+
+    async with TranslationEngine().decode_stream("openai_chat", upstream()) as decoded:
+        events = [event async for event in decoded]
+    assert events[-1]["preservation"]["raw"]["usage"] == usage
+    decoded_usage = next(chunk["Usage"] for chunk in events[-1]["normalized"] if "Usage" in chunk)
+    assert decoded_usage["input_tokens"] == 2
+    assert decoded_usage["output_tokens"] == 3
+    assert decoded_usage["total_tokens"] == 5