diff --git a/backend/migrations/1787600000000_add-background-removal.js b/backend/migrations/1787600000000_add-background-removal.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7d0ee0f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/migrations/1787600000000_add-background-removal.js
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+exports.up = (pgm) => {
+  pgm.sql(`
+    -- The submitter's intent, per submission, because that is how it is
+    -- expressed: one checkbox above the send button, ticked by default.
+    --
+    -- The worker acts on it rather than the intake route. Removing inline
+    -- would make the sender wait, would put a CPU-heavy model run in a path
+    -- anyone holding a link can trigger — the surface #227 exists to bound —
+    -- and would force a choice, when the sidecar is unreachable, between
+    -- failing their submission and silently ignoring what they asked for.
+    --
+    -- NOT NULL DEFAULT true so a row written before this migration, or by any
+    -- path that does not mention the column, behaves like the new default.
+    ALTER TABLE item_drafts
+      ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS remove_background BOOLEAN NOT NULL DEFAULT true;
+
+    -- Where the photo came from, per image, because that is how it is undone.
+    -- Null until a photo has been cut out, so it is also the answer to "can
+    -- this be restored?" — one fact in one place rather than a flag that can
+    -- disagree with a path.
+    --
+    -- Nullable and with no default: an existing image has no original other
+    -- than itself, and claiming otherwise would offer a Restore that swapped a
+    -- photo for a copy of itself.
+    ALTER TABLE item_images
+      ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS original_image_path TEXT;
+  `);
+};
+
+exports.down = (pgm) => {
+  pgm.sql(`
+    ALTER TABLE item_drafts DROP COLUMN IF EXISTS remove_background;
+    ALTER TABLE item_images DROP COLUMN IF EXISTS original_image_path;
+  `);
+};
diff --git a/backend/src/db-drizzle/schema.ts b/backend/src/db-drizzle/schema.ts
index 729744c..21f5c07 100644
--- a/backend/src/db-drizzle/schema.ts
+++ b/backend/src/db-drizzle/schema.ts
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ export const itemImages = pgTable("item_images", {
 	itemId: integer("item_id").notNull(),
 	imagePath: text("image_path").notNull(),
 	sortOrder: integer("sort_order").default(0).notNull(),
+	originalImagePath: text("original_image_path"),
 	createdAt: timestamp("created_at", { withTimezone: true, mode: 'string' }).defaultNow().notNull(),
 }, (table) => [
 	foreignKey({
@@ -233,6 +234,7 @@ export const itemDrafts = pgTable("item_drafts", {
 	itemId: integer("item_id").notNull(),
 	uploadLinkId: integer("upload_link_id"),
 	submitterNote: text("submitter_note"),
+	removeBackground: boolean("remove_background").default(true).notNull(),
 	state: text().default('queued').notNull(),
 	attempts: integer().default(0).notNull(),
 	model: text(),
diff --git a/backend/tests/integration/backgroundRemoval.integration.test.ts b/backend/tests/integration/backgroundRemoval.integration.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4233c07
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/tests/integration/backgroundRemoval.integration.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+import { pool } from '../../src/db';
+import { resetDb, closeDb } from './setup/testDb';
+
+beforeEach(async () => {
+  await resetDb();
+});
+
+afterAll(async () => {
+  await pool.end();
+  await closeDb();
+});
+
+/** An item with a draft row and one image, which is what a submission leaves. */
+export async function seedSubmission(
+  imagePath = '/uploads/photo.jpg'
+): Promise<{ itemId: number; imageId: number }> {
+  const item = await pool.query<{ id: number }>(
+    `INSERT INTO items (name, status) VALUES ('Submission placeholder', 'pending') RETURNING id`
+  );
+  const itemId = item.rows[0]!.id;
+  await pool.query(`INSERT INTO item_drafts (item_id) VALUES ($1)`, [itemId]);
+  const image = await pool.query<{ id: number }>(
+    `INSERT INTO item_images (item_id, image_path, sort_order) VALUES ($1, $2, 0) RETURNING id`,
+    [itemId, imagePath]
+  );
+  return { itemId, imageId: image.rows[0]!.id };
+}
+
+describe('the background-removal columns', () => {
+  // Default true because the submitter's checkbox is ticked by default, and
+  // because a row written by any path that does not mention the column should
+  // behave like the new default rather than needing a backfill.
+  it('defaults remove_background to true', async () => {
+    const { itemId } = await seedSubmission();
+
+    const { rows } = await pool.query<{ remove_background: boolean }>(
+      `SELECT remove_background FROM item_drafts WHERE item_id = $1`,
+      [itemId]
+    );
+    expect(rows[0]?.remove_background).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  // Null is also the answer to "can this be restored?", which is why there is
+  // no separate flag: one fact, one place.
+  it('leaves original_image_path null until a photo has been cut out', async () => {
+    const { imageId } = await seedSubmission();
+
+    const { rows } = await pool.query<{ original_image_path: string | null }>(
+      `SELECT original_image_path FROM item_images WHERE id = $1`,
+      [imageId]
+    );
+    expect(rows[0]?.original_image_path).toBeNull();
+  });
+});