diff --git a/logos_delivery/waku/node/waku_node/lightpush.nim b/logos_delivery/waku/node/waku_node/lightpush.nim
index e0ebb48f2..ae502233c 100644
--- a/logos_delivery/waku/node/waku_node/lightpush.nim
+++ b/logos_delivery/waku/node/waku_node/lightpush.nim
@@ -335,13 +335,14 @@ proc lightpushPublish*(
   # also returned for non-RLN rejections (e.g. oversized messages), so require
   # the error description to contain RlnValidatorErrorMsg — matching the legacy
   # lightpush path — to avoid unbounded on-chain RPCs on non-RLN errors.
+  if firstResult.isOk() or rln.isNone():
+    return firstResult
   let isRlnRelatedFailure =
-    firstResult.error.code == LightPushErrorCode.OUT_OF_RLN_PROOF or
-    (
+    firstResult.error.code == LightPushErrorCode.OUT_OF_RLN_PROOF or (
       firstResult.error.code == LightPushErrorCode.INVALID_MESSAGE and
       firstResult.error.desc.get("").contains(RlnValidatorErrorMsg)
     )
-  if firstResult.isOk() or rln.isNone() or not isRlnRelatedFailure:
+  if not isRlnRelatedFailure:
     return firstResult
 
   info "lightpush send rejected; refreshing merkle proof and retrying once",
diff --git a/tests/node/test_wakunode_lightpush.nim b/tests/node/test_wakunode_lightpush.nim
index de771348c..1db89374a 100644
--- a/tests/node/test_wakunode_lightpush.nim
+++ b/tests/node/test_wakunode_lightpush.nim
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ suite "RLN Proofs as a Lightpush Service":
         inc callCount
         if callCount == 1:
           return lighpushErrorResult(
-            LightPushErrorCode.INVALID_MESSAGE, "simulated stale merkle path"
+            LightPushErrorCode.INVALID_MESSAGE, RlnValidatorErrorMsg
           )
         return lightpushSuccessResult(1)
       server.wakuLightPush.pushHandler = stub
@@ -287,7 +287,7 @@ suite "RLN Proofs as a Lightpush Service":
           pubsubTopic: PubsubTopic, message: WakuMessage
       ): Future[WakuLightPushResult] {.async.} =
         inc callCount
-        return lighpushErrorResult(LightPushErrorCode.INVALID_MESSAGE, "still stale")
+        return lighpushErrorResult(LightPushErrorCode.INVALID_MESSAGE, RlnValidatorErrorMsg)
       server.wakuLightPush.pushHandler = stub
 
       let response = await server.lightpushPublish(some(pubsubTopic), message)