diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-charts.yaml b/.github/workflows/release-charts.yaml
index acab80838..ab4f05258 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-charts.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-charts.yaml
@@ -14,6 +14,14 @@ on:
         description: "New Webhook version (eg: v0.10.0-rc.14)"
         required: true
         default: ""
+      bump_major:
+        description: "Set 'true' to bump chart major version when the Webhook minor version increases (e.g., v0.5.0 → v0.6.0-rc.0). Default: false"
+        required: false
+        default: "false"
+        type: choice
+        options:
+          - "true"
+          - "false"
 
 env:
   CHARTS_REF: ${{ github.event.inputs.charts_ref }}
@@ -78,7 +86,7 @@ jobs:
           BRANCH="bump-webhook-${GITHUB_RUN_ID}-${GITHUB_RUN_ATTEMPT}"
           echo "BRANCH=${BRANCH}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
           git checkout -b "$BRANCH" "$CHARTS_REF"
-          ../webhook/.github/workflows/scripts/release-against-charts.sh . "$PREV_WEBHOOK" "$NEW_WEBHOOK"
+          ../webhook/.github/workflows/scripts/release-against-charts.sh . "$PREV_WEBHOOK" "$NEW_WEBHOOK" ${{ github.event.inputs.bump_major }}
 
       - name: Push and create pull request
         env:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-rancher.yaml b/.github/workflows/release-rancher.yaml
index 72acf1c93..a4d8e7b9b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-rancher.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-rancher.yaml
@@ -14,6 +14,14 @@ on:
         description: "New Webhook version (eg: v0.5.0-rc.14)"
         required: true
         default: ""
+      bump_major:
+        description: "Set 'true' to bump chart major version when the Webhook minor version increases (e.g., v0.5.0 → v0.6.0-rc.0). Default: false"
+        required: false
+        default: "false"
+        type: choice
+        options:
+          - "true"
+          - "false"
 
 env:
   RANCHER_REF: ${{ github.event.inputs.rancher_ref }}
@@ -108,7 +116,7 @@ jobs:
           BRANCH="bump-webhook-${GITHUB_RUN_ID}-${GITHUB_RUN_ATTEMPT}"
           echo "BRANCH=${BRANCH}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
           git checkout -b "$BRANCH" "$RANCHER_REF"
-          ../webhook/.github/workflows/scripts/release-against-rancher.sh . "$NEW_WEBHOOK"
+          ../webhook/.github/workflows/scripts/release-against-rancher.sh . "$NEW_WEBHOOK" ${{ github.event.inputs.bump_major }}
 
       - name: Push and create pull request
         env:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/scripts/release-against-charts.sh b/.github/workflows/scripts/release-against-charts.sh
index 6c90d09b7..d09d0a576 100755
--- a/.github/workflows/scripts/release-against-charts.sh
+++ b/.github/workflows/scripts/release-against-charts.sh
@@ -3,22 +3,39 @@
 # Bumps Webhook version in a locally checked out rancher/charts repository
 #
 # Usage:
-#   ./release-against-charts.sh <path to charts repo> <prev webhook release> <new webhook release>
+#   ./release-against-charts.sh <path to charts repo> <prev webhook release> <new webhook release> <bump major>
 #
 # Example:
-# ./release-against-charts.sh "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}" "v0.5.0-rc.13" "v0.5.0-rc.14"
+# ./release-against-charts.sh "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}" "v0.5.0-rc.13" "v0.5.0-rc.14" false
 
 CHARTS_DIR=$1
-PREV_WEBHOOK_VERSION=$2   # e.g. v0.5.2-rc.3
-NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION=$3    # e.g. v0.5.2-rc.4
+PREV_WEBHOOK_VERSION="$2"   # e.g. 0.5.0-rc.13
+NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION="$3"    # e.g. 0.5.0-rc.14
+BUMP_MAJOR="$4"             # must be "true" or "false"
 
 usage() {
     cat <<EOF
 Usage:
-  $0 <path to charts repo> <prev webhook release> <new webhook release>
+  $0 <path to charts repo> <prev webhook release> <new webhook release> <bump_major>
+
+Arguments:
+  <path to charts repo>   Path to locally checked out charts repo
+  <prev webhook release>  Previous rancher-webhook version (e.g. v0.5.0-rc.13)
+  <new webhook release>   New rancher-webhook version (e.g. v0.5.0-rc.14, v0.5.0, v0.6.0-rc.0)
+  <bump_major>            Must be "true" if introducing a new webhook minor version, "false" otherwise.
+                          Example: v0.5.0 → v0.6.0-rc.0 requires bump_major=true.
+
+Examples:
+  RC to RC:        $0 ./charts v0.5.0-rc.0 v0.5.0-rc.1 false
+  RC to stable:    $0 ./charts v0.5.0-rc.0 v0.5.0 false
+  stable to RC:    $0 ./charts v0.5.0 v0.5.1-rc.1 false
+  new minor RC:    $0 ./charts v0.5.0 v0.6.0-rc.0 true   # bump chart major
 EOF
 }
 
+# Bumps the patch version of a semver version string
+# e.g. 1.2.3 -> 1.2.4
+# e.g. 1.2.3-rc.4 -> 1.2.4
 bump_patch() {
     version=$1
     major=$(echo "$version" | cut -d. -f1)
@@ -28,6 +45,17 @@ bump_patch() {
     echo "${major}.${minor}.${new_patch}"
 }
 
+# Bumps the major version of a semver version string and resets minor and patch to 0
+# e.g. 1.2.3 -> 2.0.0
+# e.g. 1.2.3-rc.4 -> 2.0.0
+bump_major() {
+    version=$1
+    major=$(echo "$version" | cut -d. -f1)
+    new_major=$((major + 1))
+    echo "${new_major}.0.0"
+}
+
+# Validates that the version is in the format v<major>.<minor>.<patch> or v<major>.<minor>.<patch>-rc.<number>
 validate_version_format() {
     version=$1
     if ! echo "$version" | grep -qE '^v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+(-rc\.[0-9]+)?$'; then
@@ -36,11 +64,16 @@ validate_version_format() {
     fi
 }
 
-if [ -z "$CHARTS_DIR" ] || [ -z "$PREV_WEBHOOK_VERSION" ] || [ -z "$NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION" ]; then
+if [ -z "$CHARTS_DIR" ] || [ -z "$PREV_WEBHOOK_VERSION" ] || [ -z "$NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION" ] || [ -z "$BUMP_MAJOR" ]; then
     usage
     exit 1
 fi
 
+if [ "$BUMP_MAJOR" != "true" ] && [ "$BUMP_MAJOR" != "false" ]; then
+    echo "Error: bump_major must be 'true' or 'false', got '$BUMP_MAJOR'"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
 validate_version_format "$PREV_WEBHOOK_VERSION"
 validate_version_format "$NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION"
 
@@ -59,6 +92,14 @@ fi
 PREV_WEBHOOK_VERSION_SHORT=$(echo "$PREV_WEBHOOK_VERSION" | sed 's|^v||')  # e.g. 0.5.2-rc.3
 NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION_SHORT=$(echo "$NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION" | sed 's|^v||')  # e.g. 0.5.2-rc.4
 
+prev_minor=$(echo "$PREV_WEBHOOK_VERSION_SHORT" | cut -d. -f2)
+new_minor=$(echo "$NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION_SHORT" | cut -d. -f2)
+
+is_new_minor=false
+if [ "$new_minor" -gt "$prev_minor" ]; then
+    is_new_minor=true
+fi
+
 set -ue
 
 cd "${CHARTS_DIR}"
@@ -77,17 +118,30 @@ if ! PREV_CHART_VERSION=$(yq '.version' ./packages/rancher-webhook/package.yaml)
     exit 1
 fi
 
-if [ "$is_prev_rc" = "false" ]; then
+# Determine new chart version
+if [ "$is_new_minor" = "true" ]; then
+    if [ "$BUMP_MAJOR" != "true" ]; then
+        echo "Error: Detected new minor bump ($PREV_WEBHOOK_VERSION to $NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION), but bump_major flag was not set."
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    NEW_CHART_VERSION=$(bump_major "$PREV_CHART_VERSION")
+    echo "Bumping chart major: $PREV_CHART_VERSION to $NEW_CHART_VERSION"
+    COMMIT_MSG="Bump rancher-webhook to $NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION (chart version major bump)"
+elif [ "$is_prev_rc" = "false" ]; then
     NEW_CHART_VERSION=$(bump_patch "$PREV_CHART_VERSION")
+    echo "Bumping chart patch: $PREV_CHART_VERSION to $NEW_CHART_VERSION"
+    COMMIT_MSG="Bump rancher-webhook to $NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION (chart version patch bump)"
 else
+    echo "Keeping chart version unchanged: $PREV_CHART_VERSION"
     NEW_CHART_VERSION=$PREV_CHART_VERSION
+    COMMIT_MSG="Bump rancher-webhook to $NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION (no chart version bump)"
 fi
 
 sed -i "s/${PREV_WEBHOOK_VERSION_SHORT}/${NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION_SHORT}/g" ./packages/rancher-webhook/package.yaml
 sed -i "s/${PREV_CHART_VERSION}/${NEW_CHART_VERSION}/g" ./packages/rancher-webhook/package.yaml
 
 git add packages/rancher-webhook
-git commit -m "Bump rancher-webhook to $NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION"
+git commit -m "$COMMIT_MSG"
 
 PACKAGE=rancher-webhook make charts
 git add ./assets/rancher-webhook ./charts/rancher-webhook index.yaml
diff --git a/.github/workflows/scripts/release-against-rancher.sh b/.github/workflows/scripts/release-against-rancher.sh
index cc9ff3a80..9e792b014 100755
--- a/.github/workflows/scripts/release-against-rancher.sh
+++ b/.github/workflows/scripts/release-against-rancher.sh
@@ -3,21 +3,37 @@
 # Bumps Webhook version in a locally checked out rancher/rancher repository
 #
 # Usage:
-#   ./release-against-rancher.sh <path to rancher repo> <new webhook release>
+#   ./release-against-rancher.sh <path to rancher repo> <new webhook release> <bump_major>
 #
 # Example:
-# ./release-against-charts.sh "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}" "v0.5.0-rc.14"
+# ./release-against-rancher.sh "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}" "v0.5.0-rc.14" false
 
 RANCHER_DIR=$1
 NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION=$2   # e.g. v0.5.2-rc.3
+BUMP_MAJOR=$3            # must be "true" or "false"
 
 usage() {
     cat <<EOF
 Usage:
-  $0 <path to rancher repo> <new webhook release>
+  $0 <path to rancher repo> <new webhook release> <bump_major>
+
+Arguments:
+  <path to rancher repo>   Path to locally checked out rancher repo
+  <new webhook release>    New Webhook version (e.g. v0.5.0-rc.14, v0.5.0, v0.6.0-rc.0)
+  <bump_major>             Must be "true" if introducing a new Webhook minor version, "false" otherwise.
+                           Example: v0.5.0 → v0.6.0-rc.0 requires bump_major=true.
+
+Examples:
+  RC to RC:       $0 ./rancher v0.5.0-rc.1 false
+  RC to stable:   $0 ./rancher v0.5.0 false
+  stable → RC:    $0 ./rancher v0.5.1-rc.0 false
+  new minor RC:   $0 ./rancher v0.6.0-rc.0 true
 EOF
 }
 
+# Bumps the patch version of a semver version string
+# e.g. 1.2.3 -> 1.2.4
+# e.g. 1.2.3-rc.4 -> 1.2.4
 bump_patch() {
     version=$1
     major=$(echo "$version" | cut -d. -f1)
@@ -27,6 +43,18 @@ bump_patch() {
     echo "${major}.${minor}.${new_patch}"
 }
 
+# Bumps the major version of a semver version string and resets minor and patch to 0
+# e.g. 1.2.3 -> 2.0.0
+# e.g. 1.2.3-rc.4 -> 2.0.0
+bump_major() {
+    version=$1
+    major=$(echo "$version" | cut -d. -f1)
+    # Increment major, reset minor/patch to 0
+    new_major=$((major + 1))
+    echo "${new_major}.0.0"
+}
+
+# Validates that the version is in the format v<major>.<minor>.<patch> or v<major>.<minor>.<patch>-rc.<number>
 validate_version_format() {
     version=$1
     if ! echo "$version" | grep -qE '^v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+(-rc\.[0-9]+)?$'; then
@@ -35,11 +63,16 @@ validate_version_format() {
     fi
 }
 
-if [ -z "$RANCHER_DIR" ] || [ -z "$NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION" ]; then
+if [ -z "$RANCHER_DIR" ] || [ -z "$NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION" ] || [ -z "$BUMP_MAJOR" ]; then
     usage
     exit 1
 fi
 
+if [ "$BUMP_MAJOR" != "true" ] && [ "$BUMP_MAJOR" != "false" ]; then
+    echo "Error: bump_major must be 'true' or 'false', got '$BUMP_MAJOR'"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
 validate_version_format "$NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION"
 
 # Remove the prefix v because the chart version doesn't contain it
@@ -56,6 +89,14 @@ if ! PREV_WEBHOOK_VERSION_SHORT=$(yq -r '.webhookVersion' ./build.yaml | sed 's|
     exit 1
 fi
 
+prev_minor=$(echo "$PREV_WEBHOOK_VERSION_SHORT" | cut -d. -f2)
+new_minor=$(echo "$NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION_SHORT" | cut -d. -f2)
+
+is_new_minor=false
+if [ "$new_minor" -gt "$prev_minor" ]; then
+    is_new_minor=true
+fi
+
 if [ "$PREV_WEBHOOK_VERSION_SHORT" = "$NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION_SHORT" ]; then
     echo "Previous and new webhook version are the same: $NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION, but must be different"
     exit 1
@@ -74,10 +115,21 @@ if ! PREV_CHART_VERSION=$(yq -r '.webhookVersion' ./build.yaml | cut -d+ -f1); t
     exit 1
 fi
 
-if [ "$is_prev_rc" = "false" ]; then
+# Determine new chart version
+if [ "$is_new_minor" = "true" ]; then
+    if [ "$BUMP_MAJOR" != "true" ]; then
+        echo "Error: Detected new minor bump ($PREV_WEBHOOK_VERSION_SHORT → $NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION_SHORT), but bump_major flag was not set."
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    NEW_CHART_VERSION=$(bump_major "$PREV_CHART_VERSION")
+    echo "Bumping chart major: $PREV_CHART_VERSION → $NEW_CHART_VERSION"
+    COMMIT_MSG="Bump webhook to ${NEW_CHART_VERSION}+up${NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION_SHORT} (chart version major bump)"
+elif [ "$is_prev_rc" = "false" ]; then
     NEW_CHART_VERSION=$(bump_patch "$PREV_CHART_VERSION")
+    COMMIT_MSG="Bump webhook to ${NEW_CHART_VERSION}+up${NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION_SHORT} (chart version patch bump)"
 else
     NEW_CHART_VERSION=$PREV_CHART_VERSION
+    COMMIT_MSG="Bump webhook to ${NEW_CHART_VERSION}+up${NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION_SHORT} (no chart version bump)"
 fi
 
 yq --inplace ".webhookVersion = \"${NEW_CHART_VERSION}+up${NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION_SHORT}\"" ./build.yaml
@@ -90,6 +142,6 @@ DAPPER_MODE=bind ./.dapper go generate ./... || true
 DAPPER_MODE=bind ./.dapper rm -rf go .config
 
 git add .
-git commit -m "Bump webhook to ${NEW_CHART_VERSION}+up${NEW_WEBHOOK_VERSION_SHORT}"
+git commit -m "$COMMIT_MSG"
 
 popd > /dev/null