diff --git a/hive-forge/src/verbs/labels.rs b/hive-forge/src/verbs/labels.rs
index 77f6bcab..41439111 100644
--- a/hive-forge/src/verbs/labels.rs
+++ b/hive-forge/src/verbs/labels.rs
@@ -69,22 +69,36 @@ pub fn run(client: &Client, args: Args) -> Result<()> {
                 bail!("hive-forge labels remove: pass at least one label name");
             }
             let all = repo_labels(client)?;
-            for label in &labels {
-                if let Some(id) = lookup_id(&all, label) {
-                    let _ = client
-                        .api()
-                        .issue_remove_label(
-                            owner,
-                            name,
-                            idx,
-                            &id.to_string(),
-                            DeleteLabelsOption { updated_at: None },
-                        )
-                        .send();
-                }
+            // Same strict resolution as `add` — a typo used to be silently
+            // skipped here instead of refused.
+            let ids = resolve_ids(&all, &labels)?;
+            for id in ids {
+                client
+                    .api()
+                    .issue_remove_label(
+                        owner,
+                        name,
+                        idx,
+                        &id.to_string(),
+                        DeleteLabelsOption { updated_at: None },
+                    )
+                    .send()?;
             }
-            let labels = client.api().issue_get_labels(owner, name, idx).send()?;
-            print_label_names(&labels);
+            let current = client.api().issue_get_labels(owner, name, idx).send()?;
+            // Forgejo can 200 a remove it silently didn't apply (e.g.
+            // insufficient permission), same as the assignee case in
+            // `assign.rs` — diff the result against the intent instead of
+            // trusting the status code.
+            let still_present = still_present_names(&labels, &current);
+            if !still_present.is_empty() {
+                bail!(
+                    "label(s) still present on #{} after remove — the forge \
+                     rejected the change: {}",
+                    args.number,
+                    still_present.join(", ")
+                );
+            }
+            print_label_names(&current);
         }
     }
     Ok(())
@@ -162,6 +176,21 @@ fn lookup_id(all: &[Label], name: &str) -> Option<i64> {
         .and_then(|l| l.id)
 }
 
+/// Which of `requested` names are still present in `current` — the
+/// remove-verb's post-condition check. A non-empty result means the forge
+/// didn't actually drop those labels even though the call returned 200.
+fn still_present_names(requested: &[String], current: &[Label]) -> Vec<String> {
+    requested
+        .iter()
+        .filter(|r| {
+            current
+                .iter()
+                .any(|l| l.name.as_deref() == Some(r.as_str()))
+        })
+        .cloned()
+        .collect()
+}
+
 fn print_label_names(labels: &[Label]) {
     let names: Vec<&str> = labels.iter().filter_map(|l| l.name.as_deref()).collect();
     let _ = print_json(&json!(names));
@@ -169,7 +198,7 @@ fn print_label_names(labels: &[Label]) {
 
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
-    use super::resolve_ids;
+    use super::{resolve_ids, still_present_names};
     use forgejo_api::structs::Label;
 
     fn label(id: i64, name: &str) -> Label {
@@ -206,4 +235,35 @@ mod tests {
         let err = resolve_ids(&[], &["anything".to_owned()]).unwrap_err();
         assert!(err.to_string().contains("(none)"));
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn unresolved_remove_name_is_refused_like_add() {
+        // `remove` resolves names through the same `resolve_ids` as `add`,
+        // so a typo is refused up front instead of silently doing nothing.
+        let all = vec![label(1, "area/ops")];
+        let err = resolve_ids(&all, &["area:ops".to_owned()]).unwrap_err();
+        assert!(err.to_string().contains("area:ops"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn still_present_control_all_removed_reports_none() {
+        // Happy path: none of the requested names remain, so the caller
+        // should not bail.
+        let requested = vec!["area/ops".to_owned(), "type/bug".to_owned()];
+        let current = vec![label(3, "state/open")];
+        assert!(still_present_names(&requested, &current).is_empty());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn still_present_names_reports_labels_the_forge_kept() {
+        // A remove the forge silently rejected — the label is still on the
+        // issue after the "successful" call. This is the case the old code
+        // (`let _ = …send();` with no re-check) let through as success.
+        let requested = vec!["area/ops".to_owned(), "type/bug".to_owned()];
+        let current = vec![label(1, "area/ops")];
+        assert_eq!(
+            still_present_names(&requested, &current),
+            vec!["area/ops".to_owned()]
+        );
+    }
 }