diff --git a/src/Wolverine/Runtime/WorkerQueues/BufferedReceiver.cs b/src/Wolverine/Runtime/WorkerQueues/BufferedReceiver.cs
index f1b4d9b20..d62143bad 100644
--- a/src/Wolverine/Runtime/WorkerQueues/BufferedReceiver.cs
+++ b/src/Wolverine/Runtime/WorkerQueues/BufferedReceiver.cs
@@ -124,19 +124,27 @@ public void Latch()
 
     public async ValueTask DrainAsync()
     {
+        // If _latched was already true, this drain was triggered during shutdown
+        // (after OnApplicationStopping called Latch()). Safe to wait for in-flight items.
+        // If _latched was false, this drain may have been triggered from within the handler
+        // pipeline (e.g., rate limiting pause via PauseListenerContinuation). Waiting for
+        // the receiving block to complete would deadlock because the current message's
+        // execute function is still on the call stack.
+        var waitForCompletion = _latched;
         _latched = true;
         _receivingBlock.Complete();
 
-        // Wait for in-flight handler executions to complete, bounded by a timeout
-        // to prevent hanging during shutdown
-        try
-        {
-            var completion = _receivingBlock.WaitForCompletionAsync();
-            await Task.WhenAny(completion, Task.Delay(_settings.DrainTimeout));
-        }
-        catch (Exception e)
+        if (waitForCompletion)
         {
-            _logger.LogDebug(e, "Error waiting for in-flight message processing to complete at {Uri}", Uri);
+            try
+            {
+                var completion = _receivingBlock.WaitForCompletionAsync();
+                await Task.WhenAny(completion, Task.Delay(_settings.DrainTimeout));
+            }
+            catch (Exception e)
+            {
+                _logger.LogDebug(e, "Error waiting for in-flight message processing to complete at {Uri}", Uri);
+            }
         }
 
         await _completeBlock.DrainAsync();
diff --git a/src/Wolverine/Runtime/WorkerQueues/DurableReceiver.cs b/src/Wolverine/Runtime/WorkerQueues/DurableReceiver.cs
index a380d709b..a60110062 100644
--- a/src/Wolverine/Runtime/WorkerQueues/DurableReceiver.cs
+++ b/src/Wolverine/Runtime/WorkerQueues/DurableReceiver.cs
@@ -283,19 +283,27 @@ public async ValueTask ReceivedAsync(IListener listener, Envelope envelope)
 
     public async ValueTask DrainAsync()
     {
+        // If _latched was already true, this drain was triggered during shutdown
+        // (after OnApplicationStopping called Latch()). Safe to wait for in-flight items.
+        // If _latched was false, this drain may have been triggered from within the handler
+        // pipeline (e.g., rate limiting pause via PauseListenerContinuation). Waiting for
+        // the receiver block to complete would deadlock because the current message's
+        // execute function is still on the call stack.
+        var waitForCompletion = _latched;
         _latched = true;
         _receiver.Complete();
 
-        // Wait for in-flight handler executions to complete, bounded by a timeout
-        // to prevent hanging during shutdown
-        try
-        {
-            var completion = _receiver.WaitForCompletionAsync();
-            await Task.WhenAny(completion, Task.Delay(_settings.DrainTimeout));
-        }
-        catch (Exception e)
+        if (waitForCompletion)
         {
-            _logger.LogDebug(e, "Error waiting for in-flight message processing to complete at {Uri}", Uri);
+            try
+            {
+                var completion = _receiver.WaitForCompletionAsync();
+                await Task.WhenAny(completion, Task.Delay(_settings.DrainTimeout));
+            }
+            catch (Exception e)
+            {
+                _logger.LogDebug(e, "Error waiting for in-flight message processing to complete at {Uri}", Uri);
+            }
         }
 
         await _incrementAttempts.DrainAsync();