diff --git a/logos_delivery/waku/api/publish.nim b/logos_delivery/waku/api/publish.nim
index 51259504e..e45eff942 100644
--- a/logos_delivery/waku/api/publish.nim
+++ b/logos_delivery/waku/api/publish.nim
@@ -38,14 +38,10 @@ proc hasLightpush*(self: Waku): bool =
   return not self.node.wakuLightpushClient.isNil()
 
 proc relayPushHandler*(self: Waku): PushMessageHandler =
-  ## Builds the relay publish handler (appending an RLN proof when RLN is
-  ## mounted) used by the send pipeline. Caller ensures relay is mounted.
-  let rln =
-    if self.node.rln.isNil():
-      none[Rln]()
-    else:
-      some(self.node.rln)
-  return getRelayPushHandler(self.node.wakuRelay, rln)
+  ## Builds the relay publish handler used by the send pipeline. Caller
+  ## ensures relay is mounted. RLN proof generation is handled client-side
+  ## in (legacy)lightpushPublish; this handler only validates and republishes.
+  return getRelayPushHandler(self.node.wakuRelay)
 
 proc lightpushPeerAvailable*(self: Waku, shard: PubsubTopic): bool =
   ## True if a lightpush service peer is available for `shard`.
diff --git a/logos_delivery/waku/node/waku_node/lightpush.nim b/logos_delivery/waku/node/waku_node/lightpush.nim
index 6b9d816fd..1bb4ddcbb 100644
--- a/logos_delivery/waku/node/waku_node/lightpush.nim
+++ b/logos_delivery/waku/node/waku_node/lightpush.nim
@@ -47,15 +47,7 @@ proc mountLegacyLightPush*(
     return err(MountWithoutRelayError)
 
   info "mounting legacy lightpush with relay"
-  let rlnPeer =
-    if node.rln.isNil():
-      info "mounting legacy lightpush without rln-relay"
-      none(Rln)
-    else:
-      info "mounting legacy lightpush with rln-relay"
-      some(node.rln)
-  let pushHandler =
-    legacy_lightpush_protocol.getRelayPushHandler(node.wakuRelay, rlnPeer)
+  let pushHandler = legacy_lightpush_protocol.getRelayPushHandler(node.wakuRelay)
 
   node.wakuLegacyLightPush =
     WakuLegacyLightPush.new(node.peerManager, node.rng, pushHandler, some(rateLimit))
@@ -90,6 +82,19 @@ proc legacyLightpushPublish*(
     error "failed to publish message as legacy lightpush not available"
     return err("Waku lightpush not available")
 
+  # toRLNSignal includes the timestamp in the proof input, so the timestamp
+  # must be fixed before proof generation. The downstream ensureTimestampSet
+  # in the client publish becomes an idempotent no-op safety net.
+  let message = ensureTimestampSet(message)
+
+  let rln =
+    if node.rln.isNil():
+      none(Rln)
+    else:
+      some(node.rln)
+  let msgWithProof = (await checkAndGenerateRLNProof(rln, message)).valueOr:
+    return err("failed call checkAndGenerateRLNProof from lightpush: " & error)
+
   let internalPublish = proc(
       node: WakuNode,
       pubsubTopic: PubsubTopic,
@@ -115,7 +120,7 @@ proc legacyLightpushPublish*(
         await node.wakuLegacyLightPush.handleSelfLightPushRequest(pubsubTopic, message)
   try:
     if pubsubTopic.isSome():
-      return await internalPublish(node, pubsubTopic.get(), message, peer)
+      return await internalPublish(node, pubsubTopic.get(), msgWithProof, peer)
 
     if node.wakuAutoSharding.isNone():
       return err("Pubsub topic must be specified when static sharding is enabled")
@@ -123,7 +128,7 @@ proc legacyLightpushPublish*(
       ?node.wakuAutoSharding.get().getShardsFromContentTopics(message.contentTopic)
 
     for pubsub, _ in topicMap.pairs: # There's only one pair anyway
-      return await internalPublish(node, $pubsub, message, peer)
+      return await internalPublish(node, $pubsub, msgWithProof, peer)
   except CatchableError:
     return err(getCurrentExceptionMsg())
 
@@ -158,14 +163,7 @@ proc mountLightPush*(
     return err(MountWithoutRelayError)
 
   info "mounting lightpush with relay"
-  let rlnPeer =
-    if node.rln.isNil():
-      info "mounting lightpush without rln-relay"
-      none(Rln)
-    else:
-      info "mounting lightpush with rln-relay"
-      some(node.rln)
-  let pushHandler = lightpush_protocol.getRelayPushHandler(node.wakuRelay, rlnPeer)
+  let pushHandler = lightpush_protocol.getRelayPushHandler(node.wakuRelay)
 
   node.wakuLightPush = WakuLightPush.new(
     node.peerManager, node.rng, pushHandler, node.wakuAutoSharding, some(rateLimit)
@@ -282,4 +280,18 @@ proc lightpushPublish*(
       error "lightpush publish error", error = msg
       return lighpushErrorResult(LightPushErrorCode.INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR, msg)
 
-  return await lightpushPublishHandler(node, pubsubForPublish, message, toPeer, mixify)
+  # toRLNSignal includes the timestamp in the proof input, so the timestamp
+  # must be fixed before proof generation. The downstream ensureTimestampSet
+  # in the client publish becomes an idempotent no-op safety net.
+  let message = ensureTimestampSet(message)
+
+  let rln =
+    if node.rln.isNil():
+      none(Rln)
+    else:
+      some(node.rln)
+  let msgWithProof = (await checkAndGenerateRLNProof(rln, message)).valueOr:
+    return lighpushErrorResult(LightPushErrorCode.OUT_OF_RLN_PROOF, error)
+
+  return
+    await lightpushPublishHandler(node, pubsubForPublish, msgWithProof, toPeer, mixify)
diff --git a/logos_delivery/waku/rln/proof.nim b/logos_delivery/waku/rln/proof.nim
index 8f1a63517..4a0c332c1 100644
--- a/logos_delivery/waku/rln/proof.nim
+++ b/logos_delivery/waku/rln/proof.nim
@@ -1,23 +1,23 @@
 {.push raises: [].}
 
-import std/[times, sequtils]
-import chronos, results, stew/byteutils
+import std/[options, times, sequtils]
+import chronos, chronicles, results, stew/byteutils
 
 import ./types, ./protocol_types, ./conversion_utils, ./group_manager, ./nonce_manager
 
 import logos_delivery/waku/waku_core
 
-proc calcEpoch*(rlnPeer: Rln, t: float64): Epoch =
+proc calcEpoch*(rln: Rln, t: float64): Epoch =
   ## gets time `t` as `flaot64` with subseconds resolution in the fractional part
   ## and returns its corresponding rln `Epoch` value
 
-  let e = uint64(t / rlnPeer.rlnEpochSizeSec.float64)
+  let e = uint64(t / rln.rlnEpochSizeSec.float64)
   return toEpoch(e)
 
-proc nextEpoch*(rlnPeer: Rln, time: float64): float64 =
+proc nextEpoch*(rln: Rln, time: float64): float64 =
   let
-    currentEpoch = uint64(time / rlnPeer.rlnEpochSizeSec.float64)
-    nextEpochTime = float64(currentEpoch + 1) * rlnPeer.rlnEpochSizeSec.float64
+    currentEpoch = uint64(time / rln.rlnEpochSizeSec.float64)
+    nextEpochTime = float64(currentEpoch + 1) * rln.rlnEpochSizeSec.float64
     currentTime = epochTime()
 
   # Ensure we always return a future time
@@ -26,8 +26,8 @@ proc nextEpoch*(rlnPeer: Rln, time: float64): float64 =
   else:
     return epochTime()
 
-proc getCurrentEpoch*(rlnPeer: Rln): Epoch =
-  return rlnPeer.calcEpoch(epochTime())
+proc getCurrentEpoch*(rln: Rln): Epoch =
+  return rln.calcEpoch(epochTime())
 
 proc absDiff*(e1, e2: Epoch): uint64 =
   ## returns the absolute difference between the two rln `Epoch`s `e1` and `e2`
@@ -55,11 +55,31 @@ proc toRLNSignal*(wakumessage: WakuMessage): seq[byte] =
   return output
 
 proc generateRLNProof*(
-    rlnPeer: Rln, input: seq[byte], senderEpochTime: float64
+    rln: Rln, input: seq[byte], senderEpochTime: float64
 ): Future[RlnResult[seq[byte]]] {.async.} =
-  let epoch = rlnPeer.calcEpoch(senderEpochTime)
-  let nonce = rlnPeer.nonceManager.getNonce().valueOr:
+  let epoch = rln.calcEpoch(senderEpochTime)
+  let nonce = rln.nonceManager.getNonce().valueOr:
     return err("could not get new message id to generate an rln proof: " & $error)
-  let proof = (await rlnPeer.groupManager.generateProof(input, epoch, nonce)).valueOr:
+  let proof = (await rln.groupManager.generateProof(input, epoch, nonce)).valueOr:
     return err("could not generate rln-v2 proof: " & $error)
   return ok(proof.encode().buffer)
+
+proc checkAndGenerateRLNProof*(
+    rln: Option[Rln], message: WakuMessage
+): Future[Result[WakuMessage, string]] {.async.} =
+  if message.proof.len > 0:
+    return ok(message)
+
+  if rln.isNone():
+    notice "Publishing message without RLN proof"
+    return ok(message)
+
+  let
+    time = getTime().toUnix()
+    senderEpochTime = float64(time)
+  var msgWithProof = message
+  msgWithProof.proof = (
+    await rln.get().generateRLNProof(msgWithProof.toRLNSignal(), senderEpochTime)
+  ).valueOr:
+    return err("error in checkAndGenerateRLNProof: " & $error)
+  return ok(msgWithProof)
diff --git a/logos_delivery/waku/waku_core/message/message.nim b/logos_delivery/waku/waku_core/message/message.nim
index acd7055a0..f6e6c9336 100644
--- a/logos_delivery/waku/waku_core/message/message.nim
+++ b/logos_delivery/waku/waku_core/message/message.nim
@@ -27,3 +27,8 @@ type WakuMessage* = object # Data payload transmitted.
   # The proof attribute indicates that the message is not spam. This
   # attribute will be used in the rln-relay protocol.
   proof*: seq[byte]
+
+proc ensureTimestampSet*(message: WakuMessage): WakuMessage =
+  result = message
+  if result.timestamp == 0:
+    result.timestamp = getNowInNanosecondTime()
diff --git a/logos_delivery/waku/waku_lightpush/callbacks.nim b/logos_delivery/waku/waku_lightpush/callbacks.nim
index 68af190f1..80d9c2439 100644
--- a/logos_delivery/waku/waku_lightpush/callbacks.nim
+++ b/logos_delivery/waku/waku_lightpush/callbacks.nim
@@ -7,47 +7,20 @@ import ../waku_core, ../waku_relay, ./common, ../rln, ../rln/protocol_types
 
 import std/times, libp2p/peerid, stew/byteutils
 
-proc checkAndGenerateRLNProof*(
-    rlnPeer: Option[Rln], message: WakuMessage
-): Future[Result[WakuMessage, string]] {.async.} =
-  # check if the message already has RLN proof
-  if message.proof.len > 0:
-    return ok(message)
-
-  if rlnPeer.isNone():
-    notice "Publishing message without RLN proof"
-    return ok(message)
-  # generate and append RLN proof
-  let
-    time = getTime().toUnix()
-    senderEpochTime = float64(time)
-  var msgWithProof = message
-  msgWithProof.proof = (
-    await rlnPeer.get().generateRLNProof(msgWithProof.toRLNSignal, senderEpochTime)
-  ).valueOr:
-    return err($error)
-  return ok(msgWithProof)
-
 proc getNilPushHandler*(): PushMessageHandler =
   return proc(
       pubsubTopic: string, message: WakuMessage
   ): Future[WakuLightPushResult] {.async.} =
     return lightpushResultInternalError("no waku relay found")
 
-proc getRelayPushHandler*(
-    wakuRelay: WakuRelay, rlnPeer: Option[Rln] = none[Rln]()
-): PushMessageHandler =
+proc getRelayPushHandler*(wakuRelay: WakuRelay): PushMessageHandler =
   return proc(
       pubsubTopic: string, message: WakuMessage
   ): Future[WakuLightPushResult] {.async.} =
-    # append RLN proof
-    let msgWithProof = (await checkAndGenerateRLNProof(rlnPeer, message)).valueOr:
-      return lighpushErrorResult(LightPushErrorCode.OUT_OF_RLN_PROOF, error)
-
-    (await wakuRelay.validateMessage(pubSubTopic, msgWithProof)).isOkOr:
+    (await wakuRelay.validateMessage(pubSubTopic, message)).isOkOr:
       return lighpushErrorResult(LightPushErrorCode.INVALID_MESSAGE, $error)
 
-    let publishedResult = (await wakuRelay.publish(pubsubTopic, msgWithProof)).valueOr:
+    let publishedResult = (await wakuRelay.publish(pubsubTopic, message)).valueOr:
       let msgHash = computeMessageHash(pubsubTopic, message).to0xHex()
       notice "Lightpush request has not been published to any peers",
         msg_hash = msgHash, reason = $error
diff --git a/logos_delivery/waku/waku_lightpush/client.nim b/logos_delivery/waku/waku_lightpush/client.nim
index 680970a51..9572b9323 100644
--- a/logos_delivery/waku/waku_lightpush/client.nim
+++ b/logos_delivery/waku/waku_lightpush/client.nim
@@ -24,10 +24,6 @@ type WakuLightPushClient* = ref object
 proc new*(T: type WakuLightPushClient, peerManager: PeerManager, rng: crypto.Rng): T =
   WakuLightPushClient(peerManager: peerManager, rng: rng)
 
-proc ensureTimestampSet(message: var WakuMessage) =
-  if message.timestamp == 0:
-    message.timestamp = getNowInNanosecondTime()
-
 ## Short log string for peer identifiers (overloads for convenience)
 func shortPeerId(peer: PeerId): string =
   shortLog(peer)
@@ -82,8 +78,7 @@ proc publish*(
     wakuMessage: WakuMessage,
     dest: Connection | PeerId | RemotePeerInfo,
 ): Future[WakuLightPushResult] {.async, gcsafe.} =
-  var message = wakuMessage
-  ensureTimestampSet(message)
+  let message = ensureTimestampSet(wakuMessage)
 
   let msgHash = computeMessageHash(pubSubTopic.get(""), message).to0xHex()
 
diff --git a/logos_delivery/waku/waku_lightpush_legacy/callbacks.nim b/logos_delivery/waku/waku_lightpush_legacy/callbacks.nim
index 4fc92d516..fa6ec92d4 100644
--- a/logos_delivery/waku/waku_lightpush_legacy/callbacks.nim
+++ b/logos_delivery/waku/waku_lightpush_legacy/callbacks.nim
@@ -10,45 +10,19 @@ import
 
 import std/times, libp2p/peerid, stew/byteutils
 
-proc checkAndGenerateRLNProof*(
-    rlnPeer: Option[Rln], message: WakuMessage
-): Future[Result[WakuMessage, string]] {.async.} =
-  # check if the message already has RLN proof
-  if message.proof.len > 0:
-    return ok(message)
-
-  if rlnPeer.isNone():
-    notice "Publishing message without RLN proof"
-    return ok(message)
-  # generate and append RLN proof
-  let
-    time = getTime().toUnix()
-    senderEpochTime = float64(time)
-  var msgWithProof = message
-  msgWithProof.proof = (
-    await rlnPeer.get().generateRLNProof(msgWithProof.toRLNSignal(), senderEpochTime)
-  ).valueOr:
-    return err($error)
-  return ok(msgWithProof)
-
 proc getNilPushHandler*(): PushMessageHandler =
   return proc(
       pubsubTopic: string, message: WakuMessage
   ): Future[WakuLightPushResult[void]] {.async.} =
     return err("no waku relay found")
 
-proc getRelayPushHandler*(
-    wakuRelay: WakuRelay, rlnPeer: Option[Rln] = none[Rln]()
-): PushMessageHandler =
+proc getRelayPushHandler*(wakuRelay: WakuRelay): PushMessageHandler =
   return proc(
       pubsubTopic: string, message: WakuMessage
   ): Future[WakuLightPushResult[void]] {.async.} =
-    # append RLN proof
-    let msgWithProof = ?(await checkAndGenerateRLNProof(rlnPeer, message))
+    ?(await wakuRelay.validateMessage(pubSubTopic, message))
 
-    ?(await wakuRelay.validateMessage(pubSubTopic, msgWithProof))
-
-    (await wakuRelay.publish(pubsubTopic, msgWithProof)).isOkOr:
+    (await wakuRelay.publish(pubsubTopic, message)).isOkOr:
       ## Agreed change expected to the lightpush protocol to better handle such case. https://github.com/waku-org/pm/issues/93
       let msgHash = computeMessageHash(pubsubTopic, message).to0xHex()
       notice "Lightpush request has not been published to any peers",
diff --git a/logos_delivery/waku/waku_lightpush_legacy/client.nim b/logos_delivery/waku/waku_lightpush_legacy/client.nim
index 511c3f543..0ed5ca823 100644
--- a/logos_delivery/waku/waku_lightpush_legacy/client.nim
+++ b/logos_delivery/waku/waku_lightpush_legacy/client.nim
@@ -73,9 +73,7 @@ proc publish*(
 ): Future[WakuLightPushResult[string]] {.async, gcsafe.} =
   ## On success, returns the msg_hash of the published message
 
-  var message = wakuMessage
-  if message.timestamp == 0:
-    message.timestamp = getNowInNanosecondTime()
+  let message = ensureTimestampSet(wakuMessage)
 
   let msg_hash_hex_str = computeMessageHash(pubsubTopic, message).to0xHex()
   let pushRequest = PushRequest(pubSubTopic: pubSubTopic, message: message)
diff --git a/tests/node/test_wakunode_legacy_lightpush.nim b/tests/node/test_wakunode_legacy_lightpush.nim
index c2e901d41..9301e9e01 100644
--- a/tests/node/test_wakunode_legacy_lightpush.nim
+++ b/tests/node/test_wakunode_legacy_lightpush.nim
@@ -99,6 +99,7 @@ suite "RLN Proofs as a Lightpush Service":
     client {.threadvar.}: WakuNode
     anvilProc {.threadvar.}: Process
     manager {.threadvar.}: OnchainGroupManager
+    wakuRlnConfig {.threadvar.}: WakuRlnConfig
 
     serverRemotePeerInfo {.threadvar.}: RemotePeerInfo
     pubsubTopic {.threadvar.}: PubsubTopic
@@ -118,7 +119,7 @@ suite "RLN Proofs as a Lightpush Service":
 
     # mount rln-relay
     # match prod epoch window to reduce test flake
-    let wakuRlnConfig = getWakuRlnConfig(
+    wakuRlnConfig = getWakuRlnConfig(
       manager = manager, index = MembershipIndex(1), epochSizeSec = 600
     )
 
@@ -161,9 +162,15 @@ suite "RLN Proofs as a Lightpush Service":
       let lightpushClient = newTestWakuNode(generateSecp256k1Key())
       lightpushClient.mountLegacyLightPushClient()
 
+      # Attach the RLN proof. In production the client mounts RLN and generates the
+      # proof in legacyLightpushPublish; here we generate it using the server's RLN
+      # instance since both ends share group state via the in-memory manager.
+      let msgWithProof =
+        (await checkAndGenerateRLNProof(some(server.rln), message)).get()
+
       # When the client publishes a message
       let publishResponse = await lightpushClient.legacyLightpushPublish(
-        some(pubsubTopic), message, serverRemotePeerInfo
+        some(pubsubTopic), msgWithProof, serverRemotePeerInfo
       )
 
       if not publishResponse.isOk():
diff --git a/tests/node/test_wakunode_lightpush.nim b/tests/node/test_wakunode_lightpush.nim
index cc82cb7a3..6e87ab237 100644
--- a/tests/node/test_wakunode_lightpush.nim
+++ b/tests/node/test_wakunode_lightpush.nim
@@ -96,6 +96,7 @@ suite "RLN Proofs as a Lightpush Service":
     client {.threadvar.}: WakuNode
     anvilProc {.threadvar.}: Process
     manager {.threadvar.}: OnchainGroupManager
+    wakuRlnConfig {.threadvar.}: WakuRlnConfig
 
     serverRemotePeerInfo {.threadvar.}: RemotePeerInfo
     pubsubTopic {.threadvar.}: PubsubTopic
@@ -115,7 +116,7 @@ suite "RLN Proofs as a Lightpush Service":
 
     # mount rln-relay
     # match prod epoch window to reduce test flake
-    let wakuRlnConfig = getWakuRlnConfig(
+    wakuRlnConfig = getWakuRlnConfig(
       manager = manager, index = MembershipIndex(1), epochSizeSec = 600
     )
 
@@ -158,9 +159,15 @@ suite "RLN Proofs as a Lightpush Service":
       let lightpushClient = newTestWakuNode(generateSecp256k1Key())
       lightpushClient.mountLightPushClient()
 
+      # Attach the RLN proof. In production the client mounts RLN and generates the
+      # proof in lightpushPublish; here we generate it using the server's RLN instance
+      # since both ends share group state via the in-memory manager.
+      let msgWithProof =
+        (await checkAndGenerateRLNProof(some(server.rln), message)).get()
+
       # When the client publishes a message
       let publishResponse = await lightpushClient.lightpushPublish(
-        some(pubsubTopic), message, some(serverRemotePeerInfo)
+        some(pubsubTopic), msgWithProof, some(serverRemotePeerInfo)
       )
 
       if not publishResponse.isOk():