diff --git a/litellm/proxy/litellm_pre_call_utils.py b/litellm/proxy/litellm_pre_call_utils.py
index 0171b7efd79..bafd473d209 100644
--- a/litellm/proxy/litellm_pre_call_utils.py
+++ b/litellm/proxy/litellm_pre_call_utils.py
@@ -1704,15 +1704,12 @@ def add_guardrails_from_policy_engine(
         f"key_alias={context.key_alias}, model={context.model}, tags={context.tags}"
     )
 
-    # Match and track policies
-    applied_policy_names, _ = _match_and_track_policies(
-        data, context, request_body_policies
-    )
-
-    if not applied_policy_names:
-        return
+    # Match and track policies (may be empty, but resolution still happens)
+    _match_and_track_policies(data, context, request_body_policies)
 
     # Apply resolved guardrails to metadata
+    # Note: PolicyResolver does its own independent matching and inheritance resolution,
+    # so we always call it even if applied_policy_names is empty
     _apply_resolved_guardrails_to_metadata(data, metadata_variable_name, context)