diff --git a/src/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.TwinCAT.Contracts/TwinCATEquipmentTagParser.cs b/src/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.TwinCAT.Contracts/TwinCATEquipmentTagParser.cs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..09e0e41c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.TwinCAT.Contracts/TwinCATEquipmentTagParser.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+using System.Text.Json;
+
+namespace ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.TwinCAT;
+
+/// <summary>Parses an equipment tag's <c>TagConfig</c> JSON (the shape authored by the AdminUI
+/// <c>TwinCATTagConfigModel</c>) into a transient <see cref="TwinCATTagDefinition"/> whose
+/// <see cref="TwinCATTagDefinition.Name"/> equals the reference string itself, so a value the
+/// driver publishes back keys the runtime's forward router correctly.</summary>
+public static class TwinCATEquipmentTagParser
+{
+    /// <summary>Attempts to parse an equipment-tag reference into a transient definition.</summary>
+    /// <param name="reference">The equipment tag's TagConfig JSON (also used as the def identity).</param>
+    /// <param name="def">The transient definition when parsing succeeds.</param>
+    /// <returns><see langword="true"/> when <paramref name="reference"/> is a TwinCAT symbol object.</returns>
+    public static bool TryParse(string reference, out TwinCATTagDefinition def)
+    {
+        def = null!;
+        // Authored tag names never start with '{' (AdminUI name validation), so a leading brace marks an equipment-tag TagConfig blob.
+        if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(reference) || reference[0] != '{') return false;
+        try
+        {
+            using var doc = JsonDocument.Parse(reference);
+            var root = doc.RootElement;
+            if (root.ValueKind != JsonValueKind.Object
+                || !root.TryGetProperty("symbolPath", out var symbol)
+                || symbol.ValueKind != JsonValueKind.String)
+                return false;
+            var symbolPath = symbol.GetString();
+            if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(symbolPath)) return false;
+            var deviceHostAddress = ReadString(root, "deviceHostAddress");
+            var dataType = ReadEnum(root, "dataType", TwinCATDataType.DInt);
+            def = new TwinCATTagDefinition(
+                Name: reference, DeviceHostAddress: deviceHostAddress, SymbolPath: symbolPath,
+                DataType: dataType, Writable: true);
+            return true;
+        }
+        catch (JsonException) { return false; }
+        catch (FormatException) { return false; }
+        catch (InvalidOperationException) { return false; }
+    }
+
+    private static TEnum ReadEnum<TEnum>(JsonElement o, string name, TEnum fallback) where TEnum : struct, Enum
+        => o.TryGetProperty(name, out var e) && e.ValueKind == JsonValueKind.String
+           && Enum.TryParse<TEnum>(e.GetString(), ignoreCase: true, out var v) ? v : fallback;
+
+    private static string ReadString(JsonElement o, string name)
+        => o.TryGetProperty(name, out var e) && e.ValueKind == JsonValueKind.String
+           ? e.GetString() ?? "" : "";
+}
diff --git a/src/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.TwinCAT/TwinCATDriver.cs b/src/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.TwinCAT/TwinCATDriver.cs
index 89feddc4..37c61c8d 100644
--- a/src/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.TwinCAT/TwinCATDriver.cs
+++ b/src/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.TwinCAT/TwinCATDriver.cs
@@ -27,6 +27,12 @@ public sealed class TwinCATDriver : IDriver, IReadable, IWritable, ITagDiscovery
         new(StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
     private readonly ConcurrentDictionary<string, TwinCATTagDefinition> _tagsByName =
         new(StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
+
+    // Resolves a read/write/subscribe fullReference to a tag definition, bridging the two
+    // authoring models: an authored tag-table entry (by name) OR an equipment tag whose
+    // reference is its raw TagConfig JSON (parsed once via TwinCATEquipmentTagParser, cached).
+    private readonly EquipmentTagRefResolver<TwinCATTagDefinition> _resolver;
+
     private DriverHealth _health = new(DriverState.Unknown, null, null);
 
     /// <summary>Occurs when a subscribed tag value changes.</summary>
@@ -50,6 +56,9 @@ public sealed class TwinCATDriver : IDriver, IReadable, IWritable, ITagDiscovery
         _driverInstanceId = driverInstanceId;
         _clientFactory = clientFactory ?? new AdsTwinCATClientFactory();
         _logger = logger ?? NullLogger<TwinCATDriver>.Instance;
+        _resolver = new EquipmentTagRefResolver<TwinCATTagDefinition>(
+            r => _tagsByName.TryGetValue(r, out var t) ? t : null,
+            r => TwinCATEquipmentTagParser.TryParse(r, out var d) ? d : null);
         _poll = new PollGroupEngine(
             reader: ReadAsync,
             onChange: (handle, tagRef, snapshot) =>
@@ -151,6 +160,7 @@ public sealed class TwinCATDriver : IDriver, IReadable, IWritable, ITagDiscovery
         }
         _devices.Clear();
         _tagsByName.Clear();
+        _resolver.Clear(); // drop transient equipment-tag parses so a config change re-parses
         _health = new DriverHealth(DriverState.Unknown, _health.LastSuccessfulRead, null);
     }
 
@@ -201,7 +211,7 @@ public sealed class TwinCATDriver : IDriver, IReadable, IWritable, ITagDiscovery
         for (var i = 0; i < fullReferences.Count; i++)
         {
             var reference = fullReferences[i];
-            if (!_tagsByName.TryGetValue(reference, out var def))
+            if (!_resolver.TryResolve(reference, out var def))
             {
                 results[i] = new DataValueSnapshot(null, TwinCATStatusMapper.BadNodeIdUnknown, null, now);
                 continue;
@@ -258,7 +268,7 @@ public sealed class TwinCATDriver : IDriver, IReadable, IWritable, ITagDiscovery
         for (var i = 0; i < writes.Count; i++)
         {
             var w = writes[i];
-            if (!_tagsByName.TryGetValue(w.FullReference, out var def))
+            if (!_resolver.TryResolve(w.FullReference, out var def))
             {
                 results[i] = new WriteResult(TwinCATStatusMapper.BadNodeIdUnknown);
                 continue;
@@ -412,7 +422,7 @@ public sealed class TwinCATDriver : IDriver, IReadable, IWritable, ITagDiscovery
         {
             foreach (var reference in fullReferences)
             {
-                if (!_tagsByName.TryGetValue(reference, out var def)) continue;
+                if (!_resolver.TryResolve(reference, out var def)) continue;
                 if (!_devices.TryGetValue(def.DeviceHostAddress, out var device)) continue;
 
                 var client = await EnsureConnectedAsync(device, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
@@ -655,6 +665,7 @@ public sealed class TwinCATDriver : IDriver, IReadable, IWritable, ITagDiscovery
         }
         _devices.Clear();
         _tagsByName.Clear();
+        _resolver.Clear(); // drop transient equipment-tag parses so a config change re-parses
         _health = new DriverHealth(DriverState.Unknown, _health.LastSuccessfulRead, null);
     }
 
diff --git a/tests/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.TwinCAT.Tests/TwinCATEquipmentTagTests.cs b/tests/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.TwinCAT.Tests/TwinCATEquipmentTagTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2b2090b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.TwinCAT.Tests/TwinCATEquipmentTagTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+using Shouldly;
+using Xunit;
+using ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.TwinCAT;
+
+namespace ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.TwinCAT.Tests;
+
+[Trait("Category", "Unit")]
+public class TwinCATEquipmentTagTests
+{
+    [Fact]
+    public void Parses_equipment_tagconfig_into_a_transient_definition()
+    {
+        var json = """{"deviceHostAddress":"ads://5.23.91.23.1.1:851","symbolPath":"MAIN.Speed","dataType":"DInt"}""";
+        TwinCATEquipmentTagParser.TryParse(json, out var def).ShouldBeTrue();
+        def!.Name.ShouldBe(json);
+        def.SymbolPath.ShouldBe("MAIN.Speed");
+        def.DeviceHostAddress.ShouldBe("ads://5.23.91.23.1.1:851");
+        def.DataType.ShouldBe(TwinCATDataType.DInt);
+        def.Writable.ShouldBeTrue();
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Defaults_optional_fields_when_only_symbol_path_is_present()
+    {
+        TwinCATEquipmentTagParser.TryParse("""{"symbolPath":"GVL.X"}""", out var def).ShouldBeTrue();
+        def!.SymbolPath.ShouldBe("GVL.X");
+        def.DeviceHostAddress.ShouldBe("");        // absent host → empty
+        def.DataType.ShouldBe(TwinCATDataType.DInt); // enum default
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Rejects_a_non_address_blob()
+        => TwinCATEquipmentTagParser.TryParse("""{"FullName":"x"}""", out _).ShouldBeFalse();
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Rejects_garbage()
+        => TwinCATEquipmentTagParser.TryParse("not json", out _).ShouldBeFalse();
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Rejects_blank_reference()
+        => TwinCATEquipmentTagParser.TryParse("   ", out _).ShouldBeFalse();
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Rejects_symbol_path_as_a_non_string()
+        => TwinCATEquipmentTagParser.TryParse("""{"symbolPath":42}""", out _).ShouldBeFalse();
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Ignores_a_non_string_data_type_and_falls_back_to_default()
+    {
+        // dataType as a number is not a String enum — the guard ignores it and keeps the default.
+        TwinCATEquipmentTagParser.TryParse("""{"symbolPath":"MAIN.X","dataType":3}""", out var def).ShouldBeTrue();
+        def!.DataType.ShouldBe(TwinCATDataType.DInt);
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    ///     End-to-end driver-level proof: a TwinCAT driver with NO authored tags can still read an
+    ///     equipment-tag ref (the raw TagConfig JSON) — the resolver parses it into a transient
+    ///     definition (with a deviceHostAddress matching a configured device) and the read reaches
+    ///     the fake client instead of returning BadNodeIdUnknown.
+    /// </summary>
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task Driver_resolves_an_equipment_ref_and_reads_instead_of_BadNodeIdUnknown()
+    {
+        var host = "ads://5.23.91.23.1.1:851";
+        var json = $$"""{"deviceHostAddress":"{{host}}","symbolPath":"MAIN.Speed","dataType":"DInt"}""";
+        var factory = new FakeTwinCATClientFactory { Customise = () => new FakeTwinCATClient { Values = { ["MAIN.Speed"] = 4242 } } };
+        var drv = new TwinCATDriver(new TwinCATDriverOptions
+        {
+            Devices = [new TwinCATDeviceOptions(host)],
+            Tags = [], // no authored tags — resolution must come from the equipment-ref parser
+            Probe = new TwinCATProbeOptions { Enabled = false },
+        }, "twincat-eq", factory);
+        await drv.InitializeAsync("{}", CancellationToken.None);
+
+        var r = await drv.ReadAsync([json], CancellationToken.None);
+
+        r[0].StatusCode.ShouldBe(TwinCATStatusMapper.Good);
+        r[0].StatusCode.ShouldNotBe(TwinCATStatusMapper.BadNodeIdUnknown);
+        r[0].Value.ShouldBe(4242);
+    }
+}