diff --git a/sql/catalyst/src/main/java/org/apache/spark/sql/connector/catalog/Changelog.java b/sql/catalyst/src/main/java/org/apache/spark/sql/connector/catalog/Changelog.java
index 17974eb23fcd4..8e2384b6b1337 100644
--- a/sql/catalyst/src/main/java/org/apache/spark/sql/connector/catalog/Changelog.java
+++ b/sql/catalyst/src/main/java/org/apache/spark/sql/connector/catalog/Changelog.java
@@ -33,12 +33,12 @@
  * <ul>
  *   <li>{@code _change_type} (STRING) — the kind of change: {@code insert}, {@code delete},
  *       {@code update_preimage}, or {@code update_postimage}</li>
- *   <li>{@code _commit_version} — the commit version containing this change. Must be of
- *       an atomic orderable type (e.g. {@code LongType}, {@code StringType},
- *       {@code IntegerType}, {@code TimestampType}); complex types
- *       ({@code ArrayType}, {@code MapType}, {@code StructType}) are rejected.
- *       Spark post-processing sorts rows of a given row identity by this column to
- *       determine the first and last events</li>
+ *   <li>{@code _commit_version} — the commit version containing this change. Must be
+ *       either {@code LongType} or {@code StringType}; all other types are rejected.
+ *       The column's natural ordering (numeric for {@code LongType}, lexicographic for
+ *       {@code StringType}) must match commit order, because the netChanges
+ *       post-processing path sorts rows of a given row identity by this column to
+ *       determine the first and last events.</li>
  *   <li>{@code _commit_timestamp} (TIMESTAMP) -- the timestamp of the commit. All rows
  *       belonging to a single {@code _commit_version} must share the same
  *       {@code _commit_timestamp}. For streaming reads with post-processing enabled,
diff --git a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/analysis/CdcNetChangesStatefulProcessor.scala b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/analysis/CdcNetChangesStatefulProcessor.scala
index f741640d3c0fb..4350d07c5b43c 100644
--- a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/analysis/CdcNetChangesStatefulProcessor.scala
+++ b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/analysis/CdcNetChangesStatefulProcessor.scala
@@ -80,13 +80,10 @@ private[analysis] class CdcNetChangesStatefulProcessor(
   private val changeTypeIdx: Int = inputSchema.fieldIndex("_change_type")
   private val commitVersionIdx: Int = inputSchema.fieldIndex("_commit_version")
 
-  // `_commit_version` is connector-defined and may be any atomic orderable type
-  // (LongType, StringType, IntegerType, TimestampType, BinaryType, ...). To order
-  // rows generically -- without assuming the boxed external Java value is
-  // `Comparable` (e.g. BinaryType -> Array[Byte], which is not) -- we route the
-  // value through Catalyst: convert the external Row value to its Catalyst-internal
-  // form and compare with the type-aware interpreted ordering. This mirrors the
-  // batch path which uses Catalyst's `SortOrder` on the same attribute.
+  // `_commit_version` is connector-defined and is restricted to LongType or StringType
+  // (validated in `ChangelogTable.validateSchema`). We still route through Catalyst's
+  // type-aware interpreted ordering for symmetry with the batch path's `SortOrder` on
+  // the same attribute.
   private val versionDataType = inputSchema(commitVersionIdx).dataType
   private val versionToCatalyst: Any => Any =
     CatalystTypeConverters.createToCatalystConverter(versionDataType)
diff --git a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/execution/datasources/v2/ChangelogTable.scala b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/execution/datasources/v2/ChangelogTable.scala
index ded8324d5a1b5..0a341fe906873 100644
--- a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/execution/datasources/v2/ChangelogTable.scala
+++ b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/execution/datasources/v2/ChangelogTable.scala
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ import org.apache.spark.sql.connector.catalog.{Changelog, ChangelogInfo, Column,
 import org.apache.spark.sql.connector.catalog.TableCapability.{BATCH_READ, MICRO_BATCH_READ}
 import org.apache.spark.sql.connector.read.ScanBuilder
 import org.apache.spark.sql.errors.QueryCompilationErrors
-import org.apache.spark.sql.types.{AtomicType, DataType, StringType, TimestampType}
+import org.apache.spark.sql.types.{DataType, LongType, StringType, TimestampType}
 import org.apache.spark.sql.util.CaseInsensitiveStringMap
 
 /**
@@ -66,14 +66,19 @@ object ChangelogTable {
       }
     }
     check("_change_type", StringType)
-    // `_commit_version` is connector-defined but must be an atomic orderable type. Both
-    // the batch (Catalyst `SortOrder`) and the streaming netChanges (typed Comparable
-    // ordering inside the stateful processor) paths require an orderable scalar.
+    // `_commit_version` must be either `LongType` or `StringType`. Connectors must
+    // additionally guarantee that the column's natural ordering (numeric /
+    // lexicographic) matches commit order, because the netChanges post-processing path
+    // sorts rows by this column. These two types cover every realistic CDC source;
+    // broader atomic types like `IntegerType` are strict subsets of `LongType`, and
+    // `TimestampType` duplicates the role of `_commit_timestamp`. The narrower
+    // contract can always be relaxed later (relaxing is non-breaking; restricting is
+    // not).
     val versionCol = byName.getOrElse("_commit_version",
       throw QueryCompilationErrors.changelogMissingColumnError(cl.name, "_commit_version"))
-    if (!versionCol.dataType.isInstanceOf[AtomicType]) {
+    if (versionCol.dataType != LongType && versionCol.dataType != StringType) {
       throw QueryCompilationErrors.changelogInvalidColumnTypeError(
-        cl.name, "_commit_version", "an atomic orderable type", versionCol.dataType.sql)
+        cl.name, "_commit_version", "BIGINT or STRING", versionCol.dataType.sql)
     }
     check("_commit_timestamp", TimestampType)
 
diff --git a/sql/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/connector/ChangelogResolutionSuite.scala b/sql/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/connector/ChangelogResolutionSuite.scala
index 155d4ae8d65b7..0d8f573cc4483 100644
--- a/sql/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/connector/ChangelogResolutionSuite.scala
+++ b/sql/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/connector/ChangelogResolutionSuite.scala
@@ -380,17 +380,21 @@ class ChangelogResolutionSuite extends SharedSparkSession {
       parameters = wrongType("_commit_timestamp", "TIMESTAMP", "BIGINT"))
   }
 
-  test("ChangelogTable - _commit_version accepts any atomic orderable type") {
-    Seq(LongType, IntegerType, StringType, TimestampType).foreach { versionType =>
+  test("ChangelogTable - _commit_version accepts LongType and StringType") {
+    Seq(LongType, StringType).foreach { versionType =>
       ChangelogTable(
         cl("any_cl", validChangeType, "_commit_version" -> versionType, validTimestamp),
         stubInfo())
     }
   }
 
-  test("ChangelogTable - non-atomic _commit_version data type throws") {
+  test("ChangelogTable - _commit_version rejects all other data types") {
     val structVersion = StructType(Seq(StructField("v", LongType)))
     Seq[(org.apache.spark.sql.types.DataType, String)](
+      // Other atomic types previously allowed under the AtomicType contract.
+      IntegerType -> "INT",
+      TimestampType -> "TIMESTAMP",
+      // Complex types (always rejected).
       ArrayType(LongType) -> "ARRAY<BIGINT>",
       MapType(StringType, LongType) -> "MAP<STRING, BIGINT>",
       structVersion -> structVersion.sql).foreach { case (versionType, sql) =>
@@ -401,7 +405,7 @@ class ChangelogResolutionSuite extends SharedSparkSession {
             stubInfo())
         },
         condition = "INVALID_CHANGELOG_SCHEMA.INVALID_COLUMN_TYPE",
-        parameters = wrongType("_commit_version", "an atomic orderable type", sql))
+        parameters = wrongType("_commit_version", "BIGINT or STRING", sql))
     }
   }