diff --git a/scripts/consistency_check.py b/scripts/consistency_check.py
index a5c6a07..3ffb92d 100644
--- a/scripts/consistency_check.py
+++ b/scripts/consistency_check.py
@@ -1131,7 +1131,16 @@ def _generate_work_record_index(repo_dir: Path, repo_slug: str) -> str | None:
         return None
 
     rows.sort(key=lambda r: (_WORK_RECORD_INDEX_KIND_ORDER.get(r[0], 99), r[4], r[1]))
+    return _work_record_index_document(repo_slug, rows)
 
+
+def _work_record_index_document(
+    repo_slug: str, rows: list[tuple[str, str, str, str, str]]
+) -> str:
+    """Render WORK-RECORDS.md. An empty row list still produces the header
+    and table so a leftover index can be rewritten after every live record
+    is archived or removed.
+    """
     lines = [
         f"# Work Records — {repo_slug}",
         "",
@@ -1144,7 +1153,10 @@ def _generate_work_record_index(repo_dir: Path, repo_slug: str) -> str | None:
         "| Kind | ID | Status | Lane | Source |",
         "| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |",
     ]
-    lines.extend(f"| {kind} | {rid} | {status} | {lane} | {source} |" for kind, rid, status, lane, source in rows)
+    lines.extend(
+        f"| {kind} | {rid} | {status} | {lane} | {source} |"
+        for kind, rid, status, lane, source in rows
+    )
     lines.append("")
     return "\n".join(lines)
 
@@ -1155,11 +1167,16 @@ def _check_work_record_index_freshness(
     """C-33: WORK-RECORDS.md missing or stale relative to the current
     file-derived work-record set."""
     content = _generate_work_record_index(repo_dir, repo_slug)
-    if content is None:
-        return
     index_file = repo_dir / _WORK_RECORD_INDEX_NAME
     existing = index_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8") if index_file.is_file() else None
-    if existing == content:
+    if content is None:
+        if existing is None:
+            return
+        empty = _work_record_index_document(repo_slug, [])
+        if existing == empty:
+            return
+        content = empty
+    elif existing == content:
         return
     report.add(
         severity="WARN", check_id="C-33",
diff --git a/tests/test_work_record_index.py b/tests/test_work_record_index.py
index 2f1febf..b91e2ab 100644
--- a/tests/test_work_record_index.py
+++ b/tests/test_work_record_index.py
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ from consistency_check import (  # noqa: E402
     ConsistencyReport,
     _check_work_record_index_freshness,
     _generate_work_record_index,
+    _work_record_index_document,
 )
 
 REGISTRY_YAML = textwrap.dedent(
@@ -185,3 +186,36 @@ class TestCheckWorkRecordIndexFreshness:
         ctx = report.issues[0]._fix_context
         assert ctx["index_file"] == tmp_path / "WORK-RECORDS.md"
         assert "AWQ-001" in ctx["content"]
+
+    def test_flags_stale_index_when_only_archived_workplans_remain(
+        self, tmp_path, registry_file
+    ):
+        wp_dir = tmp_path / "workplans" / "archived"
+        wp_dir.mkdir(parents=True)
+        (wp_dir / "260101-CUST-WP-0000-old.md").write_text(
+            "---\nid: CUST-WP-0000\nstatus: finished\n---\n", encoding="utf-8"
+        )
+        (tmp_path / "WORK-RECORDS.md").write_text(
+            "| workplan | CUST-WP-0000 | active | — | workplans/CUST-WP-0000-old.md |\n",
+            encoding="utf-8",
+        )
+        report = self._report(tmp_path)
+        assert len(report.issues) == 1
+        assert report.issues[0].check_id == "C-33"
+        content = report.issues[0]._fix_context["content"]
+        assert "CUST-WP-0000" not in content
+        assert "| Kind | ID | Status | Lane | Source |" in content
+
+    def test_no_issue_when_empty_index_matches_archived_only_repo(
+        self, tmp_path, registry_file
+    ):
+        wp_dir = tmp_path / "workplans" / "archived"
+        wp_dir.mkdir(parents=True)
+        (wp_dir / "260101-CUST-WP-0000-old.md").write_text(
+            "---\nid: CUST-WP-0000\nstatus: finished\n---\n", encoding="utf-8"
+        )
+        (tmp_path / "WORK-RECORDS.md").write_text(
+            _work_record_index_document("testrepo", []), encoding="utf-8"
+        )
+        report = self._report(tmp_path)
+        assert report.issues == []