diff --git a/Gemfile b/Gemfile
index dbd7859a9a..ac767a5319 100644
--- a/Gemfile
+++ b/Gemfile
@@ -56,7 +56,9 @@ gem "lograge"
 
 # For distributed tracing and telemetry
 gem "opentelemetry-exporter-otlp", "~> 0.34.0"
+gem "opentelemetry-exporter-otlp-metrics", "~> 0.10.0"
 gem "opentelemetry-instrumentation-all", "~> 0.94.0"
+gem "opentelemetry-metrics-sdk", "~> 0.15.0"
 gem "opentelemetry-propagator-xray", "~> 0.27.0"
 gem "opentelemetry-sdk", "~> 1.12"
 
diff --git a/Gemfile.lock b/Gemfile.lock
index fbb322f484..97d9774026 100644
--- a/Gemfile.lock
+++ b/Gemfile.lock
@@ -383,6 +383,15 @@ GEM
       opentelemetry-common (~> 0.20)
       opentelemetry-sdk (~> 1.10)
       opentelemetry-semantic_conventions
+    opentelemetry-exporter-otlp-metrics (0.10.0)
+      google-protobuf (>= 3.18, < 5.0)
+      googleapis-common-protos-types (~> 1.3)
+      opentelemetry-api (~> 1.1)
+      opentelemetry-common (~> 0.20)
+      opentelemetry-metrics-api (~> 0.2)
+      opentelemetry-metrics-sdk (~> 0.5)
+      opentelemetry-sdk (~> 1.2)
+      opentelemetry-semantic_conventions
     opentelemetry-helpers-mysql (0.6.0)
       opentelemetry-api (~> 1.7)
       opentelemetry-common (~> 0.21)
@@ -537,6 +546,12 @@ GEM
       opentelemetry-helpers-sql-processor
       opentelemetry-instrumentation-base (~> 0.25)
       opentelemetry-semantic_conventions (>= 1.8.0)
+    opentelemetry-metrics-api (0.6.0)
+      opentelemetry-api (~> 1.0)
+    opentelemetry-metrics-sdk (0.15.0)
+      opentelemetry-api (~> 1.1)
+      opentelemetry-metrics-api (~> 0.2)
+      opentelemetry-sdk (~> 1.2)
     opentelemetry-propagator-xray (0.27.0)
       opentelemetry-api (~> 1.7)
     opentelemetry-registry (0.6.0)
@@ -838,7 +853,9 @@ DEPENDENCIES
   omniauth-auth0
   omniauth-rails_csrf_protection
   opentelemetry-exporter-otlp (~> 0.34.0)
+  opentelemetry-exporter-otlp-metrics (~> 0.10.0)
   opentelemetry-instrumentation-all (~> 0.94.0)
+  opentelemetry-metrics-sdk (~> 0.15.0)
   opentelemetry-propagator-xray (~> 0.27.0)
   opentelemetry-sdk (~> 1.12)
   pagy
@@ -994,6 +1011,7 @@ CHECKSUMS
   opentelemetry-api (1.10.0) sha256=99ee7c829b18381c31a817ee9bf6a160d737542d99cb8da55d443336d266bfa9
   opentelemetry-common (0.25.0) sha256=73915362e58d337fc92acbe1abfdaee1f725442527125fdb2af1420417f1149d
   opentelemetry-exporter-otlp (0.34.0) sha256=3b3cdf4329ba30f4389d849c7f13b8f9f983ecb4a030031c03997dffae1e2a60
+  opentelemetry-exporter-otlp-metrics (0.10.0) sha256=d8cbff9b8a3391eb61486b8be9b6ad74e3b9306a3c60fb4c906b28bc857167c8
   opentelemetry-helpers-mysql (0.6.0) sha256=7eeb5e6950c434775a8cf28b5fde4defc12e8b865c86479ce3119fcf593d9337
   opentelemetry-helpers-sql (0.4.0) sha256=b10e8c3a2cca28a98af951bbb3e4efdc59e68b25ba0825e055574af543420afb
   opentelemetry-helpers-sql-processor (0.5.0) sha256=b199241bc9451fcbd9f00b2f454830af19d4ca27c2219ea379c9b0d53cd0e0f1
@@ -1043,6 +1061,8 @@ CHECKSUMS
   opentelemetry-instrumentation-sidekiq (0.29.0) sha256=b1d2a0cb9041a5e14239fe7c94d99e3dd07f870e2759460ab63592d7cdd8aadc
   opentelemetry-instrumentation-sinatra (0.30.0) sha256=b67301153420f43264a0c68cdb3ca5bd77467cf5054e57b83a2bf891aaaa0361
   opentelemetry-instrumentation-trilogy (0.69.0) sha256=0676dd720eeab284abfa52f273967442156fcac7084a1e1411373cf14ec026ad
+  opentelemetry-metrics-api (0.6.0) sha256=b9300821680a1370684098cb030c18423dd55909ea0206faadfa7bc47362df87
+  opentelemetry-metrics-sdk (0.15.0) sha256=611a9cd9f473c461095c7401b8c25f9774160d286a1acbfcbf044da2972aeada
   opentelemetry-propagator-xray (0.27.0) sha256=753f756c7ad3146f182d428b06041084eecc77769edfd280f365e0bc09b9c4d1
   opentelemetry-registry (0.6.0) sha256=5d3ed32ab9eee0fbdb30d4f0d0bb61ad11a4040b267b475ae815b80a8498a728
   opentelemetry-sdk (1.12.0) sha256=a224abe0c59023d41cb7ac1c634d9d28843907efcd045ed1ae320796c48b864b
diff --git a/app/services/metrics/form_count_service.rb b/app/services/metrics/form_count_service.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c94a137f85
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/services/metrics/form_count_service.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+module Metrics
+  class FormCountService
+    class ExportError < StandardError; end
+
+    METRIC_NAME = "FormCount".freeze
+    METER_NAME = "forms-admin".freeze
+    METER_VERSION = "1.0".freeze
+    UNKNOWN_ORG = "Unknown".freeze
+    METRIC_STATES = %w[draft live archived].freeze
+
+    def publish_form_counts
+      metric_count = 0
+
+      form_counts_by_org_and_state.each do |(org, state), count|
+        form_count_gauge.record(count, attributes: metric_attributes(org:, state:))
+        metric_count += 1
+      end
+
+      export_metrics!
+
+      Rails.logger.info "Published #{metric_count} form count metrics via OpenTelemetry"
+    rescue StandardError => e
+      Sentry.capture_exception(e)
+      raise
+    end
+
+  private
+
+    def form_counts_by_org_and_state
+      totals = counted_form_totals
+      organisation_names.each { |org_name| ensure_all_metric_states(totals, org_name) }
+      ensure_all_metric_states(totals, UNKNOWN_ORG) if totals.keys.any? { |(org, _state)| org == UNKNOWN_ORG }
+      totals
+    end
+
+    def counted_form_totals
+      counts_by_org_and_state = Form
+        .where.not(state: :deleted)
+        .left_joins(group_form: { group: :organisation })
+        .group(Organisation.arel_table[:name], Form.arel_table[:state], Organisation.arel_table[:internal])
+        .count
+
+      counts_by_org_and_state.each_with_object(Hash.new(0)) do |((org_name, state, internal), count), totals|
+        next if internal == true # Skip internal organisations for metrics
+
+        totals[[org_name || UNKNOWN_ORG, metric_state(state)]] += count
+      end
+    end
+
+    def organisation_names
+      Organisation.where(internal: false).pluck(:name)
+    end
+
+    def ensure_all_metric_states(totals, org_name)
+      METRIC_STATES.each { |state| totals[[org_name, state]] += 0 }
+    end
+
+    def metric_state(state)
+      case state
+      when "live", "live_with_draft" then "live"
+      when "archived", "archived_with_draft" then "archived"
+      when "draft" then "draft"
+      end
+    end
+
+    def metric_attributes(org:, state:)
+      {
+        "Environment" => Settings.forms_env.downcase,
+        "Org" => org,
+        "State" => state,
+      }
+    end
+
+    def form_count_gauge
+      @form_count_gauge ||= meter.create_gauge(
+        METRIC_NAME,
+        unit: "1",
+        description: "Count of forms grouped by organisation and state",
+      )
+    end
+
+    def meter
+      OpenTelemetry.meter_provider.meter(METER_NAME, version: METER_VERSION)
+    end
+
+    def export_metrics!
+      return if OpenTelemetry.meter_provider.metric_readers.empty?
+
+      result = OpenTelemetry.meter_provider.force_flush
+      return if result == OpenTelemetry::SDK::Metrics::Export::SUCCESS
+
+      raise ExportError, "OpenTelemetry metrics export failed with result code #{result}"
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/config/initializers/opentelemetry.rb b/config/initializers/opentelemetry.rb
index eda8872b3e..0e2009569a 100644
--- a/config/initializers/opentelemetry.rb
+++ b/config/initializers/opentelemetry.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 require "opentelemetry/sdk"
 require "opentelemetry/instrumentation/all"
+require "opentelemetry-metrics-sdk"
+require "opentelemetry/exporter/otlp_metrics"
 
 return unless ENV["ENABLE_OTEL"] == "true"
 
@@ -15,3 +17,6 @@
   # Disable logging for Rake tasks to avoid cluttering output
   c.logger = Logger.new(File::NULL) if Rails.const_defined?(:Rake) && Rake.application.top_level_tasks.any?
 end
+
+# Metrics are configured automatically by opentelemetry-metrics-sdk via OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER
+# (defaults to "otlp"), pushing to the collector sidecar at OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT.
diff --git a/lib/tasks/metrics.rake b/lib/tasks/metrics.rake
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4adf733089
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/tasks/metrics.rake
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+namespace :metrics do
+  desc "Export form counts as OpenTelemetry metrics grouped by organisation and state"
+  task export_form_counts: :environment do
+    Metrics::FormCountService.new.publish_form_counts
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/lib/tasks/metrics.rake_spec.rb b/spec/lib/tasks/metrics.rake_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..37e0df3b71
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/lib/tasks/metrics.rake_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+require "rails_helper"
+
+RSpec.describe "metrics.rake", type: :task do
+  describe "metrics:export_form_counts" do
+    subject(:task) do
+      Rake::Task["metrics:export_form_counts"]
+    end
+
+    it "publishes form counts via Metrics::FormCountService" do
+      service = instance_double(Metrics::FormCountService)
+      allow(Metrics::FormCountService).to receive(:new).and_return(service)
+      expect(service).to receive(:publish_form_counts)
+
+      task.invoke
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/services/metrics/form_count_service_spec.rb b/spec/services/metrics/form_count_service_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..36de466d74
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/services/metrics/form_count_service_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+require "rails_helper"
+require "opentelemetry-metrics-sdk"
+
+describe Metrics::FormCountService do
+  subject(:service) { described_class.new }
+
+  let(:forms_env) { "test" }
+  let(:metric_exporter) { OpenTelemetry::SDK::Metrics::Export::InMemoryMetricPullExporter.new }
+  let(:organisation) { create(:organisation, name: "Department for Testing") }
+  let(:group) { create(:group, organisation:) }
+  let!(:original_meter_provider) { OpenTelemetry.meter_provider }
+
+  before do
+    allow(Settings).to receive(:forms_env).and_return(forms_env)
+
+    provider = OpenTelemetry::SDK::Metrics::MeterProvider.new
+    periodic_reader = OpenTelemetry::SDK::Metrics::Export::PeriodicMetricReader.new(
+      export_interval_millis: 60_000,
+      exporter: metric_exporter,
+    )
+    provider.add_metric_reader(periodic_reader)
+    OpenTelemetry.meter_provider = provider
+  end
+
+  after do
+    OpenTelemetry.meter_provider.shutdown
+    OpenTelemetry.meter_provider = original_meter_provider
+  end
+
+  around do |example|
+    travel_to(Time.zone.local(2026, 6, 3, 12, 0, 0)) do
+      example.run
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe "#publish_form_counts" do
+    before do
+      Form.destroy_all
+
+      # Use explicit states instead of :live/:archived traits — those pull in :with_pages,
+      # and each page factory creates its own :form, inflating counts.
+      create(:form, :with_group, group:, state: :draft)
+      create(:form, :with_group, group:, state: :live, pages: [])
+      create(:form, :with_group, group:, state: :live_with_draft, pages: [])
+      create(:form, :with_group, group:, state: :archived, pages: [])
+      create(:form, :with_group, group:, state: :archived_with_draft, pages: [])
+      create(:form, state: :draft)
+    end
+
+    it "publishes grouped form counts via OpenTelemetry" do
+      service.publish_form_counts
+
+      expect(exported_data_points).to contain_exactly(
+        metric_data_point(org: organisation.name, state: "draft", count: 1),
+        metric_data_point(org: organisation.name, state: "live", count: 2),
+        metric_data_point(org: organisation.name, state: "archived", count: 2),
+        metric_data_point(org: "Unknown", state: "draft", count: 1),
+        metric_data_point(org: "Unknown", state: "live", count: 0),
+        metric_data_point(org: "Unknown", state: "archived", count: 0),
+      )
+    end
+
+    context "when an organisation has no forms" do
+      let(:empty_organisation) { create(:organisation, name: "Empty Org", slug: "empty-org") }
+
+      before { empty_organisation }
+
+      it "publishes zero counts for each state" do
+        service.publish_form_counts
+
+        expect(exported_data_points).to contain_exactly(
+          metric_data_point(org: organisation.name, state: "draft", count: 1),
+          metric_data_point(org: organisation.name, state: "live", count: 2),
+          metric_data_point(org: organisation.name, state: "archived", count: 2),
+          metric_data_point(org: empty_organisation.name, state: "draft", count: 0),
+          metric_data_point(org: empty_organisation.name, state: "live", count: 0),
+          metric_data_point(org: empty_organisation.name, state: "archived", count: 0),
+          metric_data_point(org: "Unknown", state: "draft", count: 1),
+          metric_data_point(org: "Unknown", state: "live", count: 0),
+          metric_data_point(org: "Unknown", state: "archived", count: 0),
+        )
+      end
+    end
+
+    context "when an organisation is internal" do
+      let(:internal_organisation) { create(:organisation, name: "Internal Org", slug: "internal-org", internal: true) }
+      let(:internal_group) { create(:group, organisation: internal_organisation) }
+
+      before do
+        create(:form, :with_group, group: internal_group, state: :draft)
+        create(:form, :with_group, group: internal_group, state: :live, pages: [])
+      end
+
+      it "excludes forms belonging to internal organisations" do
+        service.publish_form_counts
+
+        expect(exported_data_points).to contain_exactly(
+          metric_data_point(org: organisation.name, state: "draft", count: 1),
+          metric_data_point(org: organisation.name, state: "live", count: 2),
+          metric_data_point(org: organisation.name, state: "archived", count: 2),
+          metric_data_point(org: "Unknown", state: "draft", count: 1),
+          metric_data_point(org: "Unknown", state: "live", count: 0),
+          metric_data_point(org: "Unknown", state: "archived", count: 0),
+        )
+      end
+    end
+
+    context "when OpenTelemetry export fails" do
+      before do
+        allow(OpenTelemetry.meter_provider).to receive(:force_flush)
+          .and_return(OpenTelemetry::SDK::Metrics::Export::FAILURE)
+      end
+
+      it "captures the exception and re-raises" do
+        expect(Sentry).to receive(:capture_exception).with(instance_of(Metrics::FormCountService::ExportError))
+
+        expect { service.publish_form_counts }.to raise_error(Metrics::FormCountService::ExportError)
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  def exported_data_points
+    metric_exporter.metric_snapshots.flat_map(&:data_points)
+  end
+
+  def metric_data_point(org:, state:, count:)
+    have_attributes(
+      attributes: {
+        "Environment" => forms_env,
+        "Org" => org,
+        "State" => state,
+      },
+      value: count,
+    )
+  end
+end