diff --git a/.github/workflows/allowlist_approval_rerun.yml b/.github/workflows/allowlist_approval_rerun.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4ce7e2664
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/allowlist_approval_rerun.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+#
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+# or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+# distributed with this work for additional information
+# regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+# to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+# "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+# with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+# software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+# "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+# KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+# specific language governing permissions and limitations
+# under the License.
+#
+# When a review makes the `approval` check pass, re-run the PR's earlier
+# failed `approval` run from the `pull_request` event.  The ruleset keeps
+# blocking the merge on that stale failure otherwise, even though the
+# review-triggered run is green.
+#
+# A review on a fork PR only gets a read-only token, so the re-run cannot
+# happen in allowlist_approval.yml itself.  `workflow_run` runs this file
+# from the default branch with the token below; it reads nothing from the
+# PR except the head commit SHA, which the script validates.
+name: Allowlist Maintainer Approval Re-run
+
+on:
+  # Runs default-branch code, reads only the head SHA, and can only re-run
+  # the approval workflow's own failed run.
+  workflow_run:  # zizmor: ignore[dangerous-triggers]
+    workflows: ["Allowlist Maintainer Approval"]
+    types: [completed]
+
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+
+jobs:
+  rerun:
+    if: >-
+      github.event.workflow_run.event == 'pull_request_review' &&
+      github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'success'
+    runs-on: ubuntu-slim
+    timeout-minutes: 5
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      actions: write
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1  # v7.0.1
+        with:
+          persist-credentials: false
+
+      - name: Re-run the stale approval check
+        run: python3 scripts/rerun_allowlist_approval.py --repo "${REPO}" --head-sha "${HEAD_SHA}"
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+          REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
+          HEAD_SHA: ${{ github.event.workflow_run.head_sha }}
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 6e952b587..8aa61972e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -363,6 +363,7 @@ The workflows below run on PRs that touch the allow list, so the verification an
 - **`check_action_tags` job in `check_action_tags.yml`** — triggers when `actions.yml`, `approved_patterns.yml`, the generated Dependabot composite action, the update workflow, or gateway verification code changes. It verifies that configured action SHAs exist and, when a `tag` is recorded, that the SHA is reachable from that Git tag or branch.
 
 - **`approval` job in `allowlist_approval.yml`** — runs on every PR and on every review submitted, edited or dismissed. If the PR touches `actions.yml`, `approved_patterns.yml` or the generated Dependabot composite action, it fails until at least one maintainer (a reviewer with write access to this repository) has approved; only each reviewer's latest approve / request-changes / dismissal counts. Other PRs pass immediately. The check is required on `main` by the `Required checks` ruleset in `.asf.yaml`, so an allow-list PR cannot be merged unapproved. People with write access can deliberately merge past it ("bypass rules" on the PR), but cannot push past it; repository admins bypass it outright, which is how `update.yml`'s sync commit, pushed as the admin `asfgit`, still lands. The logic lives in `scripts/check_allowlist_approval.py`, which the job runs from the PR's base commit so a PR cannot rewrite its own gate.
+- **`rerun` job in `allowlist_approval_rerun.yml`** — when a review makes the `approval` check pass, re-runs the PR's earlier failed `approval` run from the `pull_request` event. Without it the ruleset keeps blocking the merge on that stale failure, although the review-triggered run is green. It is a `workflow_run` workflow because a review on a fork PR only gets a read-only token; it runs from the default branch, takes nothing from the PR but the head commit SHA, and only re-runs the latest `pull_request` run of the check, through `scripts/rerun_allowlist_approval.py`.
 
 These workflows use regular `pull_request` (and `pull_request_review`) triggers with read-only permissions and no PR comments — pass/fail is surfaced through the status check. They do not auto-approve or merge; a human reviewer must still approve.
 
diff --git a/scripts/rerun_allowlist_approval.py b/scripts/rerun_allowlist_approval.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..61bca93dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/rerun_allowlist_approval.py
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+#
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+# or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+# distributed with this work for additional information
+# regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+# to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+# "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+# with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+# software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+# "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+# KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+# specific language governing permissions and limitations
+# under the License.
+#
+# /// script
+# requires-python = ">=3.11"
+# dependencies = []
+# ///
+#
+"""Re-run a PR's failed ``approval`` check once a maintainer has approved it.
+
+The ``approval`` job runs on ``pull_request`` and again on each review.  The
+review-triggered run passes once a maintainer approves, but the run from the
+``pull_request`` event keeps its earlier failure, and the ``Required checks``
+ruleset keeps blocking the merge on it.  Re-running that failed run makes it
+evaluate the PR again, now with the approval in place.
+
+Only the latest ``pull_request`` run for the head commit is considered, and
+only if it finished with a failure: a passing, running or queued run already
+reflects the current state, or soon will.
+
+The decision logic is a pure function for unit testing; ``main`` lists the
+runs and requests the re-run through ``gh api``.
+
+Usage:
+    GH_TOKEN=... python3 scripts/rerun_allowlist_approval.py --repo OWNER/REPO --head-sha SHA
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+import json
+import re
+import subprocess
+import sys
+from collections.abc import Iterable
+
+WORKFLOW_FILE = "allowlist_approval.yml"
+
+# Conclusions a re-run can turn green.  ``cancelled`` covers a run cut short
+# by the workflow's own concurrency group.
+RERUNNABLE = frozenset({"failure", "cancelled", "timed_out"})
+
+SHA_RE = re.compile(r"^[0-9a-f]{40}$")
+
+
+def run_to_rerun(runs: Iterable[dict]) -> int | None:
+    """Id of the latest ``pull_request`` run if it needs a re-run, else None.
+
+    ``runs`` are workflow runs for one head commit, in any order.
+    """
+    pr_runs = [r for r in runs if r["event"] == "pull_request"]
+    if not pr_runs:
+        return None
+    latest = max(pr_runs, key=lambda r: (r["created_at"], r["id"]))
+    if latest["status"] == "completed" and latest["conclusion"] in RERUNNABLE:
+        return latest["id"]
+    return None
+
+
+def _gh(*args: str) -> str:
+    return subprocess.run(
+        ["gh", "api", *args], check=True, capture_output=True, text=True
+    ).stdout
+
+
+def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description=__doc__.splitlines()[0])
+    parser.add_argument("--repo", required=True, help="OWNER/REPO")
+    parser.add_argument("--head-sha", required=True, help="PR head commit")
+    args = parser.parse_args(argv)
+    if not SHA_RE.match(args.head_sha):
+        print(f"::error::Not a commit SHA: {args.head_sha!r}")
+        return 1
+
+    out = _gh(
+        f"repos/{args.repo}/actions/workflows/{WORKFLOW_FILE}/runs"
+        f"?head_sha={args.head_sha}&per_page=100",
+        "--jq",
+        ".workflow_runs[] | {id, event, status, conclusion, created_at} | @json",
+    )
+    runs = [json.loads(line) for line in out.splitlines() if line]
+    run_id = run_to_rerun(runs)
+    if run_id is None:
+        print("No failed pull_request run of the approval check to re-run.")
+        return 0
+    _gh("-X", "POST", f"repos/{args.repo}/actions/runs/{run_id}/rerun-failed-jobs")
+    print(f"Re-running the approval check from run {run_id}.")
+    return 0
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    sys.exit(main())
diff --git a/scripts/test_rerun_allowlist_approval.py b/scripts/test_rerun_allowlist_approval.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d47c1ccae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/test_rerun_allowlist_approval.py
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+#
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+# or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+# distributed with this work for additional information
+# regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+# to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+# "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+# with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+# software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+# "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+# KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+# specific language governing permissions and limitations
+# under the License.
+#
+import importlib.util
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+_spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location(
+    "rerun_allowlist_approval", Path(__file__).with_name("rerun_allowlist_approval.py")
+)
+raa = importlib.util.module_from_spec(_spec)
+assert _spec and _spec.loader
+sys.modules["rerun_allowlist_approval"] = raa
+_spec.loader.exec_module(raa)
+
+
+def _run(run_id, event, conclusion, created_at, status="completed"):
+    return {
+        "id": run_id,
+        "event": event,
+        "status": status,
+        "conclusion": conclusion,
+        "created_at": created_at,
+    }
+
+
+def test_failed_pull_request_run_is_rerun():
+    runs = [
+        _run(1, "pull_request", "failure", "2026-10-21T19:22:00Z"),
+        _run(2, "pull_request_review", "success", "2026-10-22T15:00:00Z"),
+    ]
+    assert raa.run_to_rerun(runs) == 1
+
+
+def test_only_the_latest_pull_request_run_counts():
+    runs = [
+        _run(1, "pull_request", "failure", "2026-10-21T19:22:00Z"),
+        _run(3, "pull_request", "success", "2026-10-22T16:00:00Z"),
+    ]
+    assert raa.run_to_rerun(runs) is None
+
+
+def test_running_pull_request_run_is_left_alone():
+    runs = [_run(1, "pull_request", None, "2026-10-21T19:22:00Z", status="in_progress")]
+    assert raa.run_to_rerun(runs) is None
+
+
+def test_cancelled_pull_request_run_is_rerun():
+    assert raa.run_to_rerun([_run(4, "pull_request", "cancelled", "2026-10-21T19:22:00Z")]) == 4
+
+
+def test_review_runs_alone_need_nothing():
+    assert raa.run_to_rerun([_run(2, "pull_request_review", "failure", "2026-10-22T15:00:00Z")]) is None
+
+
+def test_main_rejects_a_non_sha(capsys):
+    assert raa.main(["--repo", "apache/infrastructure-actions", "--head-sha", "main; rm -rf /"]) == 1
+    assert "Not a commit SHA" in capsys.readouterr().out