diff --git a/include/pybind11/detail/common.h b/include/pybind11/detail/common.h
index 55e25f3fc..6223a71ab 100644
--- a/include/pybind11/detail/common.h
+++ b/include/pybind11/detail/common.h
@@ -554,16 +554,7 @@ enum class return_value_policy : uint8_t {
         but the purpose of _return_as_bytes is certain to be orthogonal, because
         C++ strings are always copied to Python `bytes` or `str`.
         NOTE: This policy is NOT available on master. */
-    _return_as_bytes,
-
-    /** This policy should only be used by PyCLIF to automatically select a
-        return value policy. Legacy PyCLIF automatically decides object lifetime
-        management based on their properties:
-        https://github.com/google/clif/tree/main/clif/python#pointers-references-and-object-ownership
-        With this policy, the return value policy selection is consistent with
-        legacy PyCLIF.
-        NOTE: This policy is NOT available on master. */
-    _clif_automatic
+    _return_as_bytes
 };
 
 #define PYBIND11_HAS_RETURN_VALUE_POLICY_RETURN_AS_BYTES
diff --git a/include/pybind11/detail/smart_holder_type_casters.h b/include/pybind11/detail/smart_holder_type_casters.h
index 3ab11cf8a..55a2b5a0d 100644
--- a/include/pybind11/detail/smart_holder_type_casters.h
+++ b/include/pybind11/detail/smart_holder_type_casters.h
@@ -918,7 +918,6 @@ struct smart_holder_type_caster<std::shared_ptr<T>> : smart_holder_type_caster_l
                 break;
             case return_value_policy::reference_internal:
             case return_value_policy::_return_as_bytes:
-            case return_value_policy::_clif_automatic:
                 break;
         }
         if (!src) {