diff --git a/actions/setup/js/expired_entity_search_helpers.cjs b/actions/setup/js/expired_entity_search_helpers.cjs
index 85637129a1..0d7a7f8cb3 100644
--- a/actions/setup/js/expired_entity_search_helpers.cjs
+++ b/actions/setup/js/expired_entity_search_helpers.cjs
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 // @ts-check
 /// <reference types="@actions/github-script" />
 
-const { EXPIRATION_PATTERN } = require("./ephemerals.cjs");
+const { EXPIRATION_PATTERN, LEGACY_EXPIRATION_PATTERN } = require("./ephemerals.cjs");
 
 /**
  * Configuration for entity-specific GraphQL search
@@ -109,10 +109,11 @@ async function searchEntitiesWithExpiration(github, owner, repo, config) {
         continue;
       }
 
-      // Check if has expiration marker with checked checkbox
+      // Check if has expiration marker with checked checkbox (try both new and legacy formats)
       const match = entity.body ? entity.body.match(EXPIRATION_PATTERN) : null;
+      const legacyMatch = !match && entity.body ? entity.body.match(LEGACY_EXPIRATION_PATTERN) : null;
 
-      if (match) {
+      if (match || legacyMatch) {
         withExpirationCount++;
 
         // Deduplicate if enabled (discussions may have duplicates across pages)
@@ -125,7 +126,9 @@ async function searchEntitiesWithExpiration(github, owner, repo, config) {
           seenIds.add(entity.id);
         }
 
-        core.info(`  Found ${config.entityType.slice(0, -1)} #${entity.number} with expiration marker: "${match[1]}" - ${entity.title}`);
+        const expirationValue = match ? match[1] : legacyMatch ? legacyMatch[1] : "unknown";
+        const format = match ? "new" : "legacy";
+        core.info(`  Found ${config.entityType.slice(0, -1)} #${entity.number} with expiration marker (${format} format): "${expirationValue}" - ${entity.title}`);
         items.push(entity);
       }
     }
diff --git a/actions/setup/js/expired_entity_search_helpers.test.cjs b/actions/setup/js/expired_entity_search_helpers.test.cjs
index 9aaf2f72a8..c05fcea7fb 100644
--- a/actions/setup/js/expired_entity_search_helpers.test.cjs
+++ b/actions/setup/js/expired_entity_search_helpers.test.cjs
@@ -201,6 +201,48 @@ describe("searchEntitiesWithExpiration", () => {
     expect(result.stats.totalScanned).toBe(2);
   });
 
+  it("should find issues with legacy expiration format (without HTML comment)", async () => {
+    const legacyFormatIssue = {
+      id: "issue-legacy",
+      number: 12667,
+      title: "Legacy Format Issue",
+      url: "https://github.com/test-owner/test-repo/issues/12667",
+      body: "> AI generated by workflow\n\n> - [x] expires  on Jan 31, 2026, 6:04 AM UTC",
+      createdAt: "2026-01-30T04:04:42Z",
+    };
+
+    const newFormatIssue = {
+      id: "issue-new",
+      number: 123,
+      title: "New Format Issue",
+      url: "https://github.com/test-owner/test-repo/issues/123",
+      body: "> AI generated by workflow\n\n> - [x] expires <!-- gh-aw-expires: 2026-12-31T23:59:59Z --> on Dec 31, 2026, 11:59 PM UTC",
+      createdAt: "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z",
+    };
+
+    mockGithub = {
+      graphql: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+        repository: {
+          issues: {
+            pageInfo: { hasNextPage: false, endCursor: null },
+            nodes: [legacyFormatIssue, newFormatIssue],
+          },
+        },
+      }),
+    };
+
+    const result = await searchEntitiesWithExpiration(mockGithub, owner, repo, {
+      entityType: "issues",
+      graphqlField: "issues",
+      resultKey: "issues",
+    });
+
+    expect(result.items).toHaveLength(2);
+    expect(result.items).toContainEqual(legacyFormatIssue);
+    expect(result.items).toContainEqual(newFormatIssue);
+    expect(result.stats.totalScanned).toBe(2);
+  });
+
   it("should handle pagination correctly", async () => {
     const page1Issue = {
       id: "issue-1",
@@ -423,7 +465,7 @@ describe("searchEntitiesWithExpiration", () => {
     expect(global.core.info).toHaveBeenCalledWith("Starting GraphQL search for open issues in test-owner/test-repo");
     expect(global.core.info).toHaveBeenCalledWith("Fetching page 1 of open issues (cursor: initial)");
     expect(global.core.info).toHaveBeenCalledWith("Page 1: Retrieved 1 open issues (total scanned: 1)");
-    expect(global.core.info).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining("Found issue #123 with expiration marker:"));
+    expect(global.core.info).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringMatching(/Found issue #123 with expiration marker \((new|legacy) format\):/));
     expect(global.core.info).toHaveBeenCalledWith("Search complete: Scanned 1 issues across 1 pages, found 1 with expiration markers");
   });
 });