diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 58bcb0b4..f386802d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -19,7 +19,8 @@ env:
 # build, and `CI Gate` is the single "is this PR green" check:
 #   quick-checks   fmt, clippy, docs, the no-default-features lib check
 #   msrv           the declared minimum toolchain
-#   notices        THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.txt generation
+#   notices        THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.txt generation, when the PR changes its
+#                  inputs
 #   test (3 OS)    every lib, bin and integration test target; Linux also runs
 #                  the doc tests, the ignored five-node devnet test and the lib
 #                  tests without default features
@@ -60,19 +61,72 @@ jobs:
       - run: cargo check --all-targets --all-features --locked
 
   # The release workflow ships THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.txt in every archive.
-  # Generating it on each pull request catches a dependency that ships no
-  # licence text, or a new crate that compiles bundled C code, before release.
+  # Generating it on a pull request catches a dependency that ships no licence
+  # text, or a new crate that compiles bundled C code, before release.
+  #
+  # Generation downloads licence texts from crate repositories and from
+  # musl.libc.org, so a PR that doesn't change the dependency set, the toolchain
+  # pin or the generator would only be testing those sites (V2-1815). Such a PR passes this
+  # job without generating anything. The job still runs and succeeds rather than
+  # being skipped, because CI Gate counts a skipped job as a failure. A rustc
+  # release can move the musl version, and no PR changes that; the release
+  # workflow regenerates the notices for every build, so it catches that.
   notices:
     name: Third-party notices
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     timeout-minutes: 20
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          # The PR's merge commit and its first parent, the base branch tip, so
+          # the step below can list what the PR changes.
+          fetch-depth: 2
+      - name: Does this PR change what the notices are generated from?
+        id: inputs
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          # Fail safe: anything other than a merge commit with its base parent
+          # present (a re-run on an odd ref, say) generates the notices.
+          if ! git rev-parse --verify -q 'HEAD^2' > /dev/null \
+            || ! git rev-parse --verify -q 'HEAD^1' > /dev/null; then
+            echo "not a pull request merge commit; generating"
+            echo "generate=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            exit 0
+          fi
+          # Everything the generated notices depend on that a PR can change:
+          # every Cargo manifest and the lockfile (cargo tree, cargo metadata);
+          # cargo's own config (source replacement, path overrides); the
+          # toolchain pin (rustup prefers it to the stable toolchain installed
+          # below, `rustc -vV` picks the musl release, and the toolchain ships
+          # the standard library's copyright text); the generator; and this
+          # workflow, which holds the generator's arguments.
+          watched=(
+            Cargo.lock
+            ':(glob)**/Cargo.toml'
+            .cargo
+            rust-toolchain
+            rust-toolchain.toml
+            scripts/third_party_notices
+            .github/workflows/ci.yml
+          )
+          changed=$(git diff --name-only 'HEAD^1' HEAD -- "${watched[@]}")
+          if [ -n "$changed" ]; then
+            echo "inputs changed:"
+            echo "$changed"
+            echo "generate=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          else
+            echo "::notice::No change to a Cargo manifest, Cargo.lock, .cargo, the toolchain pin, scripts/third_party_notices or this workflow; notices not regenerated"
+            echo "generate=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          fi
       - uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@stable
+        if: steps.inputs.outputs.generate == 'true'
       - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        if: steps.inputs.outputs.generate == 'true'
         with:
           python-version: "3.12"
       - name: Generate THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.txt
+        if: steps.inputs.outputs.generate == 'true'
         env:
           GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
         run: >-