diff --git a/.github/extensions/external-plugin-review-board/lib/state.mjs b/.github/extensions/external-plugin-review-board/lib/state.mjs
index 86d47c17e..39fe6f5dd 100644
--- a/.github/extensions/external-plugin-review-board/lib/state.mjs
+++ b/.github/extensions/external-plugin-review-board/lib/state.mjs
@@ -43,6 +43,14 @@ function applyFirstPartyFastTrack(item) {
     return true;
 }
 
+function clearFirstPartyFastTrack(item) {
+    if (item.labels?.includes(FIRST_PARTY_LABEL) || !item.review?.fastTracked || item.reviewStatus === "queued") {
+        return;
+    }
+    item.review = null;
+    if (!item.decision && !item.manualColumn) item.reviewStatus = "unreviewed";
+}
+
 function newQueueId() {
     return randomBytes(6).toString("base64url");
 }
@@ -151,7 +159,9 @@ export class BoardStore {
                 };
                 added.push(issue.number);
             }
-            if (applyFirstPartyFastTrack(this.state.items[key])) fastTracked.push(issue.number);
+            const item = this.state.items[key];
+            if (applyFirstPartyFastTrack(item)) fastTracked.push(issue.number);
+            else clearFirstPartyFastTrack(item);
         }
         for (const key of Object.keys(this.state.items)) {
             if (!incoming.has(key)) {
diff --git a/.github/extensions/external-plugin-review-board/review-guidance.md b/.github/extensions/external-plugin-review-board/review-guidance.md
index e90c60820..a961f3b16 100644
--- a/.github/extensions/external-plugin-review-board/review-guidance.md
+++ b/.github/extensions/external-plugin-review-board/review-guidance.md
@@ -75,8 +75,10 @@ and read the `/approve` / `/reject` comments on the most recent ones.
 Intake labels submissions by who owns the plugin repository:
 
 - `first party` — owned by a Microsoft/GitHub organization (Microsoft, GitHub, Azure, dotnet, MicrosoftDocs,
-  microsoftgraph). The board fast-tracks these straight to `accept` without an AI review. If one is sent for
-  review anyway, recommend `accept` unless there is a hard failure (broken/missing plugin contents,
-  security concern, or something that would have failed intake validation).
+  microsoftgraph). The board fast-tracks these straight to `accept` without an AI review. If a maintainer
+  explicitly moves one to `Unreviewed`, that opts it out of the fast-track: review it using the same procedure,
+  maintainer decision pattern, and recommendation buckets as any other submission. Assess its repo fit,
+  usefulness, duplication, and content quality on their merits; first-party ownership is not a reason to
+  recommend `accept`.
 - `third party` — owned by another organization. This is a signal only; apply the normal decision pattern.
 - No ownership label — owned by a user account (or ownership couldn't be determined).
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 505e6993d..2056c09c1 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ The public-submission policy builds on those rules and also requires `license` p
 
 1. **Open an issue** using the external plugin issue form. Automation applies the `external-plugin` and `awaiting-review` labels.
 2. **Automated intake validation** checks that the required fields are present and correctly formatted for a GitHub-hosted plugin. Invalid submissions are labeled `requires-submitter-fixes` with a comment explaining what must be fixed before maintainer review.
-   Intake also checks the repository owner's type using the GitHub API. Organization-owned repositories receive `first party` for the `Microsoft`, `GitHub`, `Azure`, `dotnet`, `MicrosoftDocs`, or `microsoftgraph` organizations (case-insensitive), or `third party` for any other organization. User-owned repositories receive neither label. Ownership labels are informational only and are updated on each intake pass.
+   Intake also checks the repository owner's type using the GitHub API. Organization-owned repositories receive `first party` for the `Microsoft`, `GitHub`, `Azure`, `dotnet`, `MicrosoftDocs`, or `microsoftgraph` organizations (case-insensitive), or `third party` for any other organization. User-owned repositories receive neither label. On the triage board, `first party` skips AI review and creates an `Accept` recommendation with `/approve`; this is only a triage recommendation. Submissions must still pass automated validation and quality gates, and a human maintainer must review and approve them before listing. Ownership labels are updated on each intake pass.
 3. **Automated quality gates** run after metadata validation:
    - `vally lint` against the submitted plugin path/ref/sha
    - install smoke test via Copilot CLI against an ephemeral marketplace entry generated from the submission
diff --git a/eng/external-plugin-review-board-state.test.mjs b/eng/external-plugin-review-board-state.test.mjs
index c3f126e22..b52ae9537 100644
--- a/eng/external-plugin-review-board-state.test.mjs
+++ b/eng/external-plugin-review-board-state.test.mjs
@@ -46,6 +46,47 @@ test("fast-track applies when an existing card gains the first party label", asy
   assert.equal(effectiveColumn(store.getItem(1)), "accept");
 });
 
+test("removing the first-party label clears the synthetic fast-track", async (t) => {
+  const store = await createStore(t);
+  await store.syncIssues([issue(1, ["first party"])]);
+
+  await store.syncIssues([issue(1, ["third party"])]);
+
+  const item = store.getItem(1);
+  assert.equal(item.review, null);
+  assert.equal(item.reviewStatus, "unreviewed");
+  assert.equal(effectiveColumn(item), "unreviewed");
+  assert.deepEqual(store.pendingReview().map((pending) => pending.number), [1]);
+});
+
+test("removing the first-party label preserves decisions, manual buckets, and queued re-reviews", async (t) => {
+  const store = await createStore(t);
+  await store.syncIssues([
+    issue(1, ["first party"]),
+    issue(2, ["first party"]),
+    issue(3, ["first party"]),
+  ]);
+  await store.recordDecision(1, { kind: "approve", at: new Date().toISOString() });
+  await store.moveItem(2, "probably-reject");
+  await store.markQueued([3], { rereviewGuidance: "Re-check the submission." });
+  const queued = store.getItem(3);
+  const queueId = queued.queueId;
+  const queuedReview = queued.review;
+
+  await store.syncIssues([issue(1, ["third party"]), issue(2, ["third party"]), issue(3, ["third party"])]);
+
+  assert.equal(store.getItem(1).review, null);
+  assert.equal(store.getItem(1).decision.kind, "approve");
+  assert.equal(effectiveColumn(store.getItem(1)), "actioned");
+  assert.equal(store.getItem(2).review, null);
+  assert.equal(store.getItem(2).manualColumn, "probably-reject");
+  assert.equal(effectiveColumn(store.getItem(2)), "probably-reject");
+  assert.equal(store.getItem(3).reviewStatus, "queued");
+  assert.equal(store.getItem(3).queueId, queueId);
+  assert.equal(store.getItem(3).rereviewGuidance, "Re-check the submission.");
+  assert.deepEqual(store.getItem(3).review, queuedReview);
+});
+
 test("fast-track does not override an existing review or manual bucket", async (t) => {
   const store = await createStore(t);
   await store.syncIssues([issue(1), issue(2)]);