diff --git a/local/scripts/apply-patches.sh b/local/scripts/apply-patches.sh
index f7a0cb2944..6bfec35126 100755
--- a/local/scripts/apply-patches.sh
+++ b/local/scripts/apply-patches.sh
@@ -113,8 +113,10 @@ for patch_file in "$PATCHES_DIR"/build-system/[0-9]*.patch; do
                 grep -q 'Red Bear OS' README.md 2>/dev/null && already_applied=1
                 ;;
             005-qtbase-toolchain-elf-header.patch)
-                # This patch touches recipes/libs/qtbase; check for our marker
-                grep -q 'REDBEAR' recipes/libs/qtbase/recipe.toml 2>/dev/null && already_applied=1
+                # This patch creates recipes/wip/qt/qtbase/recipe.toml; check if it already exists
+                grep -q 'REDBEAR\|Qt6' recipes/wip/qt/qtbase/recipe.toml 2>/dev/null && already_applied=1
+                # Also check the local recipe (takes precedence per local-over-WIP policy)
+                [ -f local/recipes/qt/qtbase/recipe.toml ] && already_applied=1
                 ;;
         esac
         if [ "$already_applied" -eq 1 ]; then