diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/sop-tier-check.yml b/.gitea/workflows/sop-tier-check.yml
index 1f9eb8889..6a02f3b2c 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/sop-tier-check.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/sop-tier-check.yml
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ jobs:
     permissions:
       contents: read
       pull-requests: read
+      secrets: read   # SOP_TIER_CHECK_TOKEN env var substitution — Gitea 1.22.6 requires explicit grant
     steps:
       - name: Check out base branch (for the script)
         uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd  # v6.0.2