diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 1bf45f3ed..be8502080 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/).
 * `Sandbox` lives in the private `sandbox::initialized` module and is reached
   through `hyperlight_host::Sandbox` or `hyperlight_host::sandbox::Sandbox`.
   `sandbox::initialized_multi_use` remains as a deprecated public path.
+* C guests may omit `c_guest_dispatch_function` when they do not need custom
+  fallback dispatch.
 * Support overriding the guest log level when building or restoring initialized
   snapshots.
 * `Snapshot::save` now writes the guest memory blob sparsely, skipping all-zero
diff --git a/docs/how-to-build-a-hyperlight-guest-binary.md b/docs/how-to-build-a-hyperlight-guest-binary.md
index b48e2ea1e..7730e690b 100644
--- a/docs/how-to-build-a-hyperlight-guest-binary.md
+++ b/docs/how-to-build-a-hyperlight-guest-binary.md
@@ -101,16 +101,19 @@ The macros are optional. A guest can define the underlying symbols directly,
 which is useful for advanced setup work or custom dispatch logic (for example
 the WIT-based guests in `src/tests/rust_guests/witguest`).
 
-The host expects two guest symbols:
+The runtime provides weak default definitions for two guest symbols. A guest
+can override either definition:
 
 * `pub extern "C" fn hyperlight_main()` runs once at guest startup. Use it to
   register functions or initialize global state.
-* `pub extern "Rust" fn guest_dispatch_function(function_call: FunctionCall) -> Result<Vec<u8>, HyperlightGuestError>`
-  is invoked when the host calls a function name that is not registered.
+* `pub extern "Rust" fn guest_dispatch_function(function_call: FunctionCall) -> Result<Vec<u8>>`
+  handles calls that do not match a registered guest function. Its default
+  implementation returns `GuestFunctionNotFound`.
 
 `hyperlight-guest-bin` exposes `#[main]` and `#[dispatch]` macros that generate
 these symbols from a regular Rust function, so most "advanced" guests still use
-the macros rather than writing the raw `extern "C"` items themselves.
+the macros rather than defining the symbols directly. A generated or direct
+definition overrides the runtime's weak default.
 
 If you mix the manual form with `#[guest_function]`, registrations from the
 macro still happen automatically. Your `hyperlight_main` only needs to do
@@ -143,6 +146,19 @@ C API library.
 The `hyperlight_guest.h` header contains the corresponding APIs to register
 guest functions and call host functions from within the guest.
 
+Registered guest functions are checked first. When no registered function
+matches, the runtime calls:
+
+```c
+hl_ReturnValue *c_guest_dispatch_function(const hl_FunctionCall *function_call);
+```
+
+The C API provides a weak default implementation that returns `NULL`, which the
+runtime reports as `GuestFunctionNotFound`. Define this function only when the
+guest needs custom dynamic dispatch. The guest definition overrides the weak
+default and must return either `NULL` or a value created by an
+`hl_result_from_*` function.
+
 See [src/tests/c_guests/c_simpleguest/main.c](../src/tests/c_guests/c_simpleguest/main.c)
 for a complete example.
 
diff --git a/src/hyperlight_guest_capi/src/dispatch.rs b/src/hyperlight_guest_capi/src/dispatch.rs
index 6799bcf93..648ef73f7 100644
--- a/src/hyperlight_guest_capi/src/dispatch.rs
+++ b/src/hyperlight_guest_capi/src/dispatch.rs
@@ -26,6 +26,19 @@ static mut LAST_HOST_RESULT: Option<Result<ReturnValue>> = None;
 
 type CGuestFunc = extern "C" fn(&FfiFunctionCall) -> *mut FfiReturnValue;
 
+core::arch::global_asm!(
+    ".weak c_guest_dispatch_function",
+    ".set c_guest_dispatch_function, {}",
+    sym c_guest_dispatch_function_default,
+);
+
+extern "C" fn c_guest_dispatch_function_default(
+    _function_call: &FfiFunctionCall,
+) -> *mut FfiReturnValue {
+    // Null surfaces as ErrorCode::GuestFunctionNotFound
+    core::ptr::null_mut()
+}
+
 unsafe extern "C" {
     // The C guest supplies this fallback. Non-null results come from hl_result_from_*.
     fn c_guest_dispatch_function(function_call: &FfiFunctionCall) -> *mut FfiReturnValue;