diff --git a/.github/workflows/pr-risk.yml b/.github/workflows/pr-risk.yml
index d62bb4d..7e1fda2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pr-risk.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pr-risk.yml
@@ -114,8 +114,9 @@ name: PR Risk Grade (reusable)
 # last-writer-wins with still EXACTLY ONE `risk:*` label — possibly the staler tier, which gates
 # nothing meanwhile and which the next grade re-syncs (on the LAST push there is no next grade, so
 # re-dispatch on `pr_number` if a final grade looks wrong). It can no longer leave two contradictory
-# labels on a PR under one `label_map`; remapping `label_map` orphans the old names, which is a
-# one-time repo-side cleanup. What the shape does cost is a narrower residual: the PUT is built from
+# labels on a PR under one `label_map`; the first remapped grade retires the default
+# `risk:R0`..`risk:R3` and `risk:ungraded` labels. Custom names from an older map still need cleanup.
+# What the shape does cost is a narrower residual: the PUT is built from
 # a snapshot read, so a NON-owned label added by someone else in the read→PUT window is dropped
 # (`risk-dispute` included) and one removed in it is resurrected. That window opens only on a run
 # that actually changes the grade and is roughly one API round-trip — about three on the first
diff --git a/docs/callers/pr-risk.md b/docs/callers/pr-risk.md
index 4c3c5fd..24fb855 100644
--- a/docs/callers/pr-risk.md
+++ b/docs/callers/pr-risk.md
@@ -122,6 +122,12 @@ fail the caller's next run at startup.
 | `repo_map_path` | `.github/risk.json` | Consumer risk-map override, read from the PR **base ref**. |
 | `repo_runbooks_path` | `.github/risk-runbooks.json` | Consumer runbook-registry override, read from the PR **base ref**. |
 
+To show `risk:low` through `risk:xhigh`, pass this `label_map` in the caller:
+`R0=risk:low,R1=risk:medium,R2=risk:high,R3=risk:xhigh,unknown=risk:unknown`.
+The next grade removes a default `risk:R0`..`risk:R3` or `risk:ungraded` label
+and leaves only the mapped label. Custom names from an older map still need
+one-time cleanup.
+
 ## Gotchas
 
 **Fork PRs need `pull_request_target`, not `pull_request`.** A fork PR under a
diff --git a/scripts/pr-risk/README.md b/scripts/pr-risk/README.md
index 2a4cbd7..8334a99 100644
--- a/scripts/pr-risk/README.md
+++ b/scripts/pr-risk/README.md
@@ -198,11 +198,9 @@ Operational caveats for a backfill:
   invisible: GitHub records it on the PR timeline as an `unlabeled` event by the
   grader token. Dispatch when the queue is quiet, and use `pr_number` when you
   want the per-PR group to serialize a re-grade against event runs.
-- **Remapping `label_map` orphans the old names.** Ownership is defined by the
-  *current* map, so labels applied under a previous one are no longer owned:
-  they ride through every future PUT beside the new target and no re-grade will
-  clear them. Delete the retired label names repo-side once, as part of the
-  remap.
+- **Remapping retires the default `risk:R0`..`risk:R3` and `risk:ungraded`
+  labels.** The first re-grade removes the old default and leaves one mapped
+  label. Custom names from an older map still need one-time repo-side cleanup.
 - **The pre-grader reads retry.** Rate limits are global, not per-PR, so the
   base-ref and override reads — the first hop for every target — retry a
   transient failure with backoff, as the grader already does. Without it one
diff --git a/scripts/pr-risk/apply-risk-label.sh b/scripts/pr-risk/apply-risk-label.sh
index b413a6d..56f0e45 100755
--- a/scripts/pr-risk/apply-risk-label.sh
+++ b/scripts/pr-risk/apply-risk-label.sh
@@ -36,11 +36,9 @@
 # before-snapshot and the after-read, so the diff that would have to catch it is empty by
 # construction.
 #
-# ONE MORE LIMIT, on a different axis: ownership is defined by the CURRENT LABEL_MAP. Change a
-# caller's `label_map` and labels applied under the old map are, by definition, no longer owned —
-# they are carried through every future PUT beside the new target, and nothing here will clean them
-# up. Remapping is a one-time repo-side cleanup (delete the retired label names), not something a
-# re-grade heals.
+# ONE MORE LIMIT, on a different axis: ownership is defined by the CURRENT LABEL_MAP plus the five
+# default labels. A remap retires those defaults on the first re-grade. Custom names from an
+# older map are unknowable and still need one-time repo-side cleanup.
 #
 # The label is applied with the plain GITHUB_TOKEN on purpose: GITHUB_TOKEN-applied labels do
 # not fire `labeled` workflow triggers, which makes the shadow check incapable of starting a
@@ -107,6 +105,7 @@ for t in R0 R1 R2 R3 unknown; do
   [ -n "$l" ] || die "LABEL_MAP maps tier '$t' to an empty label"
   OWNED+=("$l")
 done
+OWNED+=("risk:R0" "risk:R1" "risk:R2" "risk:R3" "risk:ungraded")
 TARGET="$(label_for "$TIER")"
 
 # Colors keyed by TIER (not label text, which callers may remap): green .. red, gray unknown.
diff --git a/scripts/pr-risk/tests/test_apply_risk_label.sh b/scripts/pr-risk/tests/test_apply_risk_label.sh
index 78ab30f..d46010f 100755
--- a/scripts/pr-risk/tests/test_apply_risk_label.sh
+++ b/scripts/pr-risk/tests/test_apply_risk_label.sh
@@ -33,6 +33,8 @@ echo "— caller remap (a 1-indexed R1..R4 scheme is one input) —"
 MAP='R0=risk:R1,R1=risk:R2,R2=risk:R3,R3=risk:R4,unknown=risk:ungraded'
 eq "R0 remaps to risk:R1" "risk:R1" "$(run R0 "$MAP")"
 eq "R3 remaps to risk:R4" "risk:R4" "$(run R3 "$MAP")"
+NAMED_MAP='R0=risk:low,R1=risk:medium,R2=risk:high,R3=risk:xhigh,unknown=risk:unknown'
+eq "unknown remaps to risk:unknown" "risk:unknown" "$(run unknown "$NAMED_MAP")"
 
 echo "— validation refuses bad input before any write —"
 run R7 >/dev/null 2>&1;                              eq "bad tier exits 2" 2 "$?"
@@ -203,6 +205,15 @@ eq "the extra owned label is squashed down to the one target" \
    "api -X PUT repos/test/repo/issues/7/labels -f labels[]=keep-me -f labels[]=risk:R2" \
    "$putheal"
 
+echo "— a remap retires the default grade label instead of keeping both —"
+: > "$GH_LOG"; printf 'risk:R2\nrisk:ungraded\nkeep-me\n' > "$CURRENT_LABELS"
+PATH="$SANDBOX/bin:$PATH" REPO=test/repo PR_NUMBER=7 TIER=R2 LABEL_MAP="$NAMED_MAP" \
+  bash "$SCRIPT" >/dev/null 2>&1
+putremap="$(grep -- '-X PUT repos/test/repo/issues/7/labels ' "$GH_LOG")"
+eq "the old defaults are replaced by the mapped label" \
+   "api -X PUT repos/test/repo/issues/7/labels -f labels[]=keep-me -f labels[]=risk:high" \
+   "$putremap"
+
 # Already-correct label: no write at all beyond the read.
 : > "$GH_LOG"; printf 'risk:R2\nkeep-me\n' > "$CURRENT_LABELS"
 outsync="$(PATH="$SANDBOX/bin:$PATH" REPO=test/repo PR_NUMBER=7 TIER=R2 bash "$SCRIPT" 2>/dev/null)"