diff --git a/py/routes/handlers/model_handlers.py b/py/routes/handlers/model_handlers.py
index ea9dfd8b..5e93b0a3 100644
--- a/py/routes/handlers/model_handlers.py
+++ b/py/routes/handlers/model_handlers.py
@@ -1313,9 +1313,20 @@ class ModelQueryHandler:
                 }
                 if include_license_flags:
                     model_data = await self._service.get_model_info_by_name(model_name)
-                    license_flags = (model_data or {}).get("license_flags")
-                    if license_flags is not None:
-                        response_payload["license_flags"] = int(license_flags)
+                    # Only return license_flags when real CivitAI model license
+                    # data exists. This mirrors ModelModal's guard
+                    # (modelData?.civitai?.model) so the preview tooltip never
+                    # shows misleading license icons for HF or other models
+                    # without actual license metadata.
+                    civitai_data = (model_data or {}).get("civitai") or {}
+                    has_license_data = (
+                        isinstance(civitai_data, dict)
+                        and isinstance(civitai_data.get("model"), dict)
+                    )
+                    if has_license_data:
+                        license_flags = (model_data or {}).get("license_flags")
+                        if license_flags is not None:
+                            response_payload["license_flags"] = int(license_flags)
                     # Include the user's license icon style preference so the
                     # ComfyUI tooltip can pick the right set without a separate
                     # API call.