diff --git a/guards/github-guard/rust-guard/src/labels/helpers.rs b/guards/github-guard/rust-guard/src/labels/helpers.rs
index ae9753b0..009df899 100644
--- a/guards/github-guard/rust-guard/src/labels/helpers.rs
+++ b/guards/github-guard/rust-guard/src/labels/helpers.rs
@@ -1310,14 +1310,13 @@ pub fn collaborator_permission_floor(
 /// Rank threshold for writer-level integrity (none=1, reader=2, writer=3, merged=4).
 const WRITER_RANK: u8 = 3;
 
-/// Attempt to elevate integrity for an author in an org-owned repository
+/// Attempt to elevate integrity for an author in a public repository
 /// by checking their effective collaborator permission.
 ///
 /// When `author_association` gives insufficient integrity (below writer level),
 /// this function checks the user's effective permission via the GitHub
-/// collaborator permission API. This correctly handles org owners/admins whose
-/// `author_association` is reported as "NONE" because their access is inherited
-/// through org ownership rather than direct collaboration.
+/// collaborator permission API. This correctly handles owners/admins whose
+/// `author_association` is absent or reported as "NONE".
 ///
 /// Backend calls are cached per-user, so repeated lookups for the same author
 /// across list/search items are inexpensive.
@@ -1346,10 +1345,6 @@ pub fn elevate_via_collaborator_permission(
         Some((o, r)) if !o.is_empty() && !r.is_empty() => (o, r),
         _ => return integrity,
     };
-    let is_org = super::backend::is_repo_org_owned(owner, repo).unwrap_or(false);
-    if !is_org {
-        return integrity;
-    }
     crate::log_debug(&format!(
         "[integrity] {}:{}: author_association floor below writer (rank={}), checking collaborator permission for {}",
         resource_label, resource_id, integrity_rank(repo_full_name, &integrity, ctx), author_login
@@ -1676,8 +1671,23 @@ pub fn commit_integrity(
 
     let mut integrity = author_association_floor(item, repo_full_name, ctx);
 
-    // Collaborator permission fallback for org repos (handles org owners/admins
-    // whose author_association is "NONE" due to inherited org access).
+    // For public personal repositories, commit payloads often omit
+    // `author_association`. Ensure owner-authored commits still get writer floor.
+    if !repo_private {
+        if let Some((owner, _repo)) = repo_full_name.split_once('/') {
+            if author_login.eq_ignore_ascii_case(owner) {
+                integrity = max_integrity(
+                    repo_full_name,
+                    integrity,
+                    writer_integrity(repo_full_name, ctx),
+                    ctx,
+                );
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Collaborator permission fallback for public repos (handles owners/admins
+    // whose author_association is missing or "NONE").
     if !repo_private {
         let sha = item.get("sha").and_then(|v| v.as_str()).unwrap_or("unknown");
         let short_sha = if sha.len() > 8 { &sha[..8] } else { sha };
diff --git a/guards/github-guard/rust-guard/src/labels/mod.rs b/guards/github-guard/rust-guard/src/labels/mod.rs
index 61ee4ee6..ddb36616 100644
--- a/guards/github-guard/rust-guard/src/labels/mod.rs
+++ b/guards/github-guard/rust-guard/src/labels/mod.rs
@@ -826,6 +826,20 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn test_commit_integrity_owner_on_public_personal_repo_without_association() {
+        let ctx = default_ctx();
+        let repo = "ahmadabdalla/example";
+        let owner_commit = json!({
+            "author": {"login": "ahmadabdalla"}
+        });
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            commit_integrity(&owner_commit, repo, false, false, &ctx),
+            writer_integrity(repo, &ctx)
+        );
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn test_trusted_first_party_bot_detection() {
         use super::helpers::is_trusted_first_party_bot;
@@ -5187,9 +5201,7 @@ mod tests {
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn test_elevate_via_collab_permission_no_elevation_non_org_repo() {
-        // In test mode, is_repo_org_owned returns None (no cache) → unwrap_or(false)
-        // so the function should return integrity unchanged
+    fn test_elevate_via_collab_permission_lookup_failure_keeps_integrity() {
         let ctx = default_ctx();
         let repo = "github/copilot";
         let none = none_integrity(repo, &ctx);
@@ -5197,7 +5209,7 @@ mod tests {
             "dsyme", repo, "issue", "github/copilot#42",
             none.clone(), &ctx,
         );
-        assert_eq!(result, none, "should return unchanged when repo is not org-owned (cache miss → false)");
+        assert_eq!(result, none, "should return unchanged when collaborator lookup yields no result");
     }
 
     #[test]