diff --git a/gittensor/cli/issue_commands/helpers.py b/gittensor/cli/issue_commands/helpers.py
index 84eb1eda..4a5a0da0 100644
--- a/gittensor/cli/issue_commands/helpers.py
+++ b/gittensor/cli/issue_commands/helpers.py
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
 from contextlib import nullcontext
 from decimal import Decimal, InvalidOperation
 from pathlib import Path
-from typing import Any, Callable, ContextManager, Dict, List, Optional, Tuple, TypeVar
+from typing import Any, Callable, ContextManager, Dict, List, NoReturn, Optional, Tuple, TypeVar
 
 import click
 import requests
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ def print_warning(message: str) -> None:
     err_console.print(f'\n[yellow]{message}[/yellow]\n', highlight=True)
 
 
-def handle_exception(as_json: bool, message: str, error_type: str = 'cli_error') -> None:
+def handle_exception(as_json: bool, message: str, error_type: str = 'cli_error') -> NoReturn:
     """Emit a CLI error in JSON or human format and exit non-zero."""
     if as_json:
         emit_error_json(message, error_type=error_type)
@@ -254,8 +254,13 @@ def fetch_open_issue_pull_requests(
     repository_full_name: str,
     issue_number: int,
     as_json: bool,
-) -> list:
-    """Fetch open PR submissions for a GitHub issue."""
+) -> Optional[list]:
+    """Fetch open PR submissions for a GitHub issue.
+
+    Returns a (possibly empty) list of PRs, or ``None`` when the GitHub lookup
+    fails. Callers must treat ``None`` as a failure (not "no submissions"); see
+    ``find_prs_for_issue``.
+    """
     token = os.environ.get('GITTENSOR_MINER_PAT') or ''
     if not token and not as_json:
         print_warning('No GitHub token found; set GITTENSOR_MINER_PAT to fetch GitHub issue submissions')
@@ -270,7 +275,8 @@ def fetch_open_issue_pull_requests(
                 token=token or None,
                 open_only=True,
             )
-            # Intentionally return GitHub tool output as-is (no CLI schema mapping yet).
+            # Intentionally return GitHub tool output as-is (no CLI schema mapping yet);
+            # this includes the None failure sentinel, which the caller must handle.
             return prs
     except Exception as e:
         raise click.ClickException(f'Failed to fetch PR submissions from GitHub: {e}')
diff --git a/gittensor/cli/issue_commands/submissions.py b/gittensor/cli/issue_commands/submissions.py
index 560c9291..9d7dbfb9 100644
--- a/gittensor/cli/issue_commands/submissions.py
+++ b/gittensor/cli/issue_commands/submissions.py
@@ -81,6 +81,17 @@ def issues_submissions(
     except click.ClickException as e:
         handle_exception(as_json, str(e), click_error_type(e))
 
+    # None is the GitHub lookup-failure sentinel (rate limit, network/GraphQL
+    # error). Surface it as an explicit error instead of reporting an empty
+    # submission list, which would be a false negative for monitoring/automation.
+    if pull_requests is None:
+        handle_exception(
+            as_json,
+            f'GitHub lookup failed for {repo_name}#{issue_number}; '
+            'submissions could not be determined. Please retry.',
+            'github_lookup_failed',
+        )
+
     if as_json:
         submissions = [
             {
diff --git a/gittensor/utils/github_api_tools.py b/gittensor/utils/github_api_tools.py
index 803969d1..8726cadf 100644
--- a/gittensor/utils/github_api_tools.py
+++ b/gittensor/utils/github_api_tools.py
@@ -329,14 +329,26 @@ def find_prs_for_issue(
     issue_number: int,
     open_only: bool = True,
     token: Optional[str] = None,
-) -> List[PRInfo]:
-    """Find PRs that reference an issue via GraphQL cross-reference data."""
+) -> Optional[List[PRInfo]]:
+    """Find PRs that reference an issue via GraphQL cross-reference data.
+
+    Returns a (possibly empty) list on success, or ``None`` when the GraphQL
+    lookup fails (rate limit, network error, GraphQL errors, missing issue
+    payload, or an exception). ``None`` is a failure sentinel that callers must
+    distinguish from ``[]`` ("no referencing PRs exist") — mirroring the
+    ``solver_lookup_failed`` signaling in ``find_solver_from_closure_event`` /
+    ``check_github_issue_closed``. The empty-list return for a falsy token is a
+    precondition-not-met case, not a transient failure.
+    """
     if token:
         try:
-            prs = _search_issue_referencing_prs_graphql(repo, issue_number, token, open_only=open_only)
-            return prs or []
+            # Propagate the None failure sentinel from the GraphQL helper as-is;
+            # collapsing it to [] would make a lookup failure indistinguishable
+            # from a genuinely empty submission list.
+            return _search_issue_referencing_prs_graphql(repo, issue_number, token, open_only=open_only)
         except Exception as exc:
             bt.logging.debug(f'GraphQL PR fetch failed for {repo}#{issue_number}: {exc}')
+            return None
 
     return []
 
diff --git a/tests/cli/test_issue_submission.py b/tests/cli/test_issue_submission.py
index 7f6b099a..08a8adff 100644
--- a/tests/cli/test_issue_submission.py
+++ b/tests/cli/test_issue_submission.py
@@ -112,6 +112,49 @@ def test_submissions_human_no_open_prs_message(cli_root, runner, sample_issue):
     assert 'No open submissions available' in result.output
 
 
+def test_submissions_json_lookup_failure_returns_structured_error(cli_root, runner, sample_issue):
+    """A GitHub lookup failure (find_prs_for_issue -> None, propagated as None by
+    fetch_open_issue_pull_requests) must surface as `success: false` with a
+    `github_lookup_failed` type — not a false-negative `submission_count: 0`."""
+    with (
+        patch('gittensor.cli.issue_commands.submissions.get_contract_address', return_value='0xabc'),
+        patch('gittensor.cli.issue_commands.submissions.resolve_network', return_value=('ws://x', 'test')),
+        patch('gittensor.cli.issue_commands.submissions.fetch_issue_from_contract', return_value=sample_issue),
+        patch('gittensor.cli.issue_commands.submissions.fetch_open_issue_pull_requests', return_value=None),
+    ):
+        result = runner.invoke(
+            cli_root,
+            ['issues', 'submissions', '--id', '42', '--json'],
+            catch_exceptions=False,
+        )
+
+    assert result.exit_code != 0
+    payload = json.loads(result.stdout)
+    assert payload['success'] is False
+    assert payload['error']['type'] == 'github_lookup_failed'
+    assert 'submission_count' not in payload
+
+
+def test_submissions_human_lookup_failure_errors_instead_of_no_submissions(cli_root, runner, sample_issue):
+    """In human mode a lookup failure must error out, not print the misleading
+    'No open submissions available' message used for a genuinely empty list."""
+    with (
+        patch('gittensor.cli.issue_commands.submissions.get_contract_address', return_value='0xabc'),
+        patch('gittensor.cli.issue_commands.submissions.resolve_network', return_value=('ws://x', 'test')),
+        patch('gittensor.cli.issue_commands.submissions.fetch_issue_from_contract', return_value=sample_issue),
+        patch('gittensor.cli.issue_commands.submissions.fetch_open_issue_pull_requests', return_value=None),
+    ):
+        result = runner.invoke(
+            cli_root,
+            ['issues', 'submissions', '--id', '42'],
+            catch_exceptions=False,
+        )
+
+    assert result.exit_code != 0
+    assert 'No open submissions available' not in result.output
+    assert 'GitHub lookup failed' in result.output
+
+
 def test_submissions_json_contract_read_failure_returns_structured_error(cli_root, runner):
     """`fetch_issue_from_contract` now converts contract-read failures to a
     `ClickException`, which `submissions` routes through `handle_exception` —
diff --git a/tests/utils/test_github_api_tools.py b/tests/utils/test_github_api_tools.py
index 5ed4c3ad..103c283b 100644
--- a/tests/utils/test_github_api_tools.py
+++ b/tests/utils/test_github_api_tools.py
@@ -172,12 +172,26 @@ def test_find_prs_returns_empty_when_graphql_empty(mock_graphql):
 
 
 @patch('gittensor.utils.github_api_tools._search_issue_referencing_prs_graphql')
-def test_find_prs_returns_empty_when_graphql_errors(mock_graphql):
+def test_find_prs_returns_none_when_graphql_errors(mock_graphql):
+    # An exception during the GraphQL lookup is a failure, not "no PRs" — it must
+    # surface as the None sentinel so callers can distinguish it from [].
     mock_graphql.side_effect = RuntimeError('boom')
 
     result = find_prs_for_issue('owner/repo', 12, open_only=True, token='fake_token')
 
-    assert result == []
+    assert result is None
+    mock_graphql.assert_called_once_with('owner/repo', 12, 'fake_token', open_only=True)
+
+
+@patch('gittensor.utils.github_api_tools._search_issue_referencing_prs_graphql')
+def test_find_prs_returns_none_when_graphql_lookup_fails(mock_graphql):
+    # The GraphQL helper returns None on rate limit / network / GraphQL errors;
+    # find_prs_for_issue must propagate it rather than collapsing to [].
+    mock_graphql.return_value = None
+
+    result = find_prs_for_issue('owner/repo', 12, open_only=True, token='fake_token')
+
+    assert result is None
     mock_graphql.assert_called_once_with('owner/repo', 12, 'fake_token', open_only=True)