diff --git a/validate-pr/README.md b/validate-pr/README.md
index 56ea8ad..7549c77 100644
--- a/validate-pr/README.md
+++ b/validate-pr/README.md
@@ -4,10 +4,9 @@ Validates non-maintainer pull requests against contribution guidelines.
 
 ## What it does
 
-1. **Validates issue references** — Non-maintainer PRs must reference a GitHub issue where the PR author and a maintainer have discussed the approach. PRs that don't meet this requirement are automatically closed with a descriptive comment.
-2. **Enforces draft status** — All PRs must start as drafts. Non-draft PRs are automatically converted and labeled.
+**Validates issue references** — Non-maintainer PRs must reference a GitHub issue where the PR author and a maintainer have discussed the approach. PRs that don't meet this requirement are automatically closed with a descriptive comment.
 
-Maintainers (users with `admin` or `maintain` role) are exempt from the issue reference validation. Draft enforcement applies to everyone.
+Maintainers (users with `admin` or `maintain` role) are exempt from validation.
 
 ## Usage
 
@@ -61,10 +60,6 @@ A PR is valid if **any** referenced issue passes all checks:
 - If the issue has assignees, the PR author must be one of them
 - Both the PR author and a maintainer have participated in the issue discussion
 
-### Draft enforcement
-
-Non-draft PRs are converted to draft and labeled `converted-to-draft` with an informational comment.
-
 ## Labels
 
 The action creates these labels automatically (they don't need to exist beforehand):
@@ -73,4 +68,3 @@ The action creates these labels automatically (they don't need to exist beforeha
 - `missing-issue-reference` — PR body has no issue references
 - `missing-maintainer-discussion` — referenced issue lacks author + maintainer discussion
 - `issue-already-assigned` — referenced issue is assigned to someone else
-- `converted-to-draft` — PR was automatically converted to draft
diff --git a/validate-pr/action.yml b/validate-pr/action.yml
index 834b210..b305549 100644
--- a/validate-pr/action.yml
+++ b/validate-pr/action.yml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 name: 'Validate PR'
-description: 'Validates non-maintainer PRs against contribution guidelines and enforces draft status'
+description: 'Validates non-maintainer PRs against contribution guidelines'
 author: 'Sentry'
 
 inputs:
@@ -33,26 +33,3 @@ runs:
         script: |
           const script = require('${{ github.action_path }}/scripts/validate-pr.js');
           await script({ github, context, core });
-
-    - name: Convert PR to draft
-      if: >-
-        steps.validate.outputs.was-closed != 'true'
-        && steps.validate.outputs.skipped != 'true'
-        && github.event.pull_request.draft == false
-      shell: bash
-      env:
-        GH_TOKEN: ${{ steps.app-token.outputs.token }}
-        PR_URL: ${{ github.event.pull_request.html_url }}
-      run: gh pr ready "$PR_URL" --undo
-
-    - name: Label and comment on draft conversion
-      if: >-
-        steps.validate.outputs.was-closed != 'true'
-        && steps.validate.outputs.skipped != 'true'
-        && github.event.pull_request.draft == false
-      uses: actions/github-script@60a0d83039c74a4aee543508d2ffcb1c3799cdea # v7.0.1
-      with:
-        github-token: ${{ steps.app-token.outputs.token }}
-        script: |
-          const script = require('${{ github.action_path }}/scripts/enforce-draft.js');
-          await script({ github, context, core });
diff --git a/validate-pr/scripts/enforce-draft.js b/validate-pr/scripts/enforce-draft.js
deleted file mode 100644
index f7aa4aa..0000000
--- a/validate-pr/scripts/enforce-draft.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,51 +0,0 @@
-// @ts-check
-
-/**
- * Labels a PR that was converted to draft and leaves an informational comment.
- * Skips if a bot comment already exists (to avoid duplicates on reopen).
- *
- * @param {object} params
- * @param {import('@actions/github').getOctokit} params.github
- * @param {import('@actions/github').context} params.context
- * @param {import('@actions/core')} params.core
- */
-module.exports = async ({ github, context, core }) => {
-  const pullRequest = context.payload.pull_request;
-  const repo = context.repo;
-
-  await github.rest.issues.addLabels({
-    ...repo,
-    issue_number: pullRequest.number,
-    labels: ['converted-to-draft'],
-  });
-
-  // Check for existing bot comment to avoid duplicates on reopen
-  const comments = await github.paginate(github.rest.issues.listComments, {
-    ...repo,
-    issue_number: pullRequest.number,
-    per_page: 100,
-  });
-  const botComment = comments.find(c =>
-    c.user?.type === 'Bot' &&
-    c.body.includes('automatically converted to draft')
-  );
-  if (botComment) {
-    core.info('Bot comment already exists, skipping.');
-    return;
-  }
-
-  const contributingUrl = `https://github.com/${repo.owner}/${repo.repo}/blob/${context.payload.repository.default_branch}/CONTRIBUTING.md`;
-
-  await github.rest.issues.createComment({
-    ...repo,
-    issue_number: pullRequest.number,
-    body: [
-      `This PR has been automatically converted to draft. All PRs must start as drafts per our [contributing guidelines](${contributingUrl}).`,
-      '',
-      '**Next steps:**',
-      '1. Ensure CI passes',
-      '2. Fill in the PR description completely',
-      '3. Mark as "Ready for review" when you\'re done',
-    ].join('\n'),
-  });
-};