diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index ecdcc89ef..a71189ad1 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -443,9 +443,10 @@ burst moderation. Maintainers can review exceptions through the moderation alert
 
 Please also keep at most ten PRs open at a time. When you open or reopen a PR
 above that cap, automation closes that PR with a comment explaining the count.
-Existing open PRs remain open, even for authors already above ten. The cap applies
-to every author, including maintainers. Get PRs merged or close the ones you no
-longer need, then reopen.
+PRs already open before this policy update stay open, even for authors above ten.
+A delayed check can close newer excess PRs already open when that check runs.
+The cap applies to every author, including maintainers. Get PRs merged or close
+the ones you no longer need, then reopen.
 Ten open PRs is more than any one reviewer can keep in flight, so this keeps
 review time on the work you care about most.
 
diff --git a/tests/ci/pr-burst-guard-workflow.test.js b/tests/ci/pr-burst-guard-workflow.test.js
index bfc2280da..a3da339c9 100644
--- a/tests/ci/pr-burst-guard-workflow.test.js
+++ b/tests/ci/pr-burst-guard-workflow.test.js
@@ -98,10 +98,9 @@ for (const permission of ['read', 'write']) test(`actual CLI caps ${permission}
   const tmp = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'ecc-pr-cap-'));
   const closedTrigger = permission === 'write';
   const extraNewer = closedTrigger ? 5 : 0;
-  const rows = Array.from({ length: 21 + extraNewer }, (_, i) => ({ number: i < 20 ? i + 1 : 3649 + i - 20,
-    user: { id: 42, login: 'contributor' }, state: 'open',
+  let rows = Array.from({ length: 21 + extraNewer }, (_, i) => ({ number: i < 20 ? i + 1 : 3649 + i - 20,
+    user: { id: 42, login: 'contributor' }, state: closedTrigger && i === 20 ? 'closed' : 'open',
     created_at: new Date(Date.UTC(2026, 9, 1, i, 0, 0)).toISOString() }));
-  if (closedTrigger) rows[20].state = 'closed';
   const mutations = [];
   const server = http.createServer(async (req, res) => {
     const url = new URL(req.url, 'http://localhost');
@@ -116,8 +115,9 @@ for (const permission of ['read', 'write']) test(`actual CLI caps ${permission}
     if (url.pathname.endsWith('/pulls')) return send(rows.filter(pr => url.searchParams.get('state') !== 'open' || pr.state === 'open').reverse());
     if (/\/issues\/\d+\/comments$/.test(url.pathname)) return send(req.method === 'GET' ? [] : {});
     if (/\/pulls\/\d+$/.test(url.pathname) && req.method === 'PATCH') {
-      const pr = rows.find(row => row.number === Number(url.pathname.split('/').pop()));
-      pr.state = body.state; return send(pr);
+      const number = Number(url.pathname.split('/').pop());
+      rows = rows.map(row => row.number === number ? { ...row, state: body.state } : row);
+      return send(rows.find(row => row.number === number));
     }
     res.statusCode = 404; send({ message: 'fixture route missing' });
   });
@@ -139,8 +139,9 @@ for (const permission of ['read', 'write']) test(`actual CLI caps ${permission}
     assert.equal(rows.filter(pr => pr.state === 'open').length, 20);
     assert.deepEqual(mutations.filter(m => m.method === 'PATCH').map(m => m.route),
       expectedExcess.map(number => `/repos/owner/repo/pulls/${number}`));
-    assert.match(mutations.find(m => m.route.endsWith(`/issues/${expectedExcess[0]}/comments`)).body.body,
-      new RegExp(`${21 + extraNewer - Number(closedTrigger)} open pull requests.*limit of 10`));
+    const comment = mutations.find(m => m.route.endsWith(`/issues/${expectedExcess[0]}/comments`)).body.body;
+    assert(comment.includes(`${21 + extraNewer - Number(closedTrigger)} open pull requests`));
+    assert(comment.includes('limit of 10'));
   } finally {
     await new Promise(resolve => server.close(resolve));
     fs.rmSync(tmp, { recursive: true, force: true });