diff --git a/ui/src/ui/views/config-form.render.ts b/ui/src/ui/views/config-form.render.ts
index 52e60e3918d..9311839bca3 100644
--- a/ui/src/ui/views/config-form.render.ts
+++ b/ui/src/ui/views/config-form.render.ts
@@ -438,20 +438,25 @@ export function renderConfigForm(props: ConfigFormProps) {
     sectionKey: string;
     label: string;
     description: string;
+    showHeader: boolean;
     node: JsonSchema;
     nodeValue: unknown;
     path: Array<string | number>;
   }) => html`
     <section class="config-section-card" id=${params.id}>
-      <div class="config-section-card__header">
-        <span class="config-section-card__icon">${getSectionIcon(params.sectionKey)}</span>
-        <div class="config-section-card__titles">
-          <h3 class="config-section-card__title">${params.label}</h3>
-          ${params.description
-            ? html`<p class="config-section-card__desc">${params.description}</p>`
-            : nothing}
-        </div>
-      </div>
+      ${params.showHeader
+        ? html`
+            <div class="config-section-card__header">
+              <span class="config-section-card__icon">${getSectionIcon(params.sectionKey)}</span>
+              <div class="config-section-card__titles">
+                <h3 class="config-section-card__title">${params.label}</h3>
+                ${params.description
+                  ? html`<p class="config-section-card__desc">${params.description}</p>`
+                  : nothing}
+              </div>
+            </div>
+          `
+        : nothing}
       <div class="config-section-card__content">
         ${renderNode({
           schema: params.node,
@@ -490,6 +495,7 @@ export function renderConfigForm(props: ConfigFormProps) {
               sectionKey,
               label,
               description,
+              showHeader: false,
               node,
               nodeValue: scopedValue,
               path: [sectionKey, subsectionKey],
@@ -506,6 +512,7 @@ export function renderConfigForm(props: ConfigFormProps) {
               sectionKey: key,
               label: meta.label,
               description: meta.description,
+              showHeader: activeSection == null,
               node,
               nodeValue: value[key],
               path: [key],
diff --git a/ui/src/ui/views/config.browser.test.ts b/ui/src/ui/views/config.browser.test.ts
index ae7de0a5c93..6c46caaa120 100644
--- a/ui/src/ui/views/config.browser.test.ts
+++ b/ui/src/ui/views/config.browser.test.ts
@@ -349,7 +349,80 @@ describe("config view", () => {
     (input as HTMLInputElement).value = "gateway";
     input.dispatchEvent(new Event("input", { bubbles: true }));
     expect(onSearchChange).toHaveBeenCalledWith("gateway");
+  });
 
+  it("shows section hero and hides nested card header in single-section form view", () => {
+    const { container } = renderConfigView({
+      activeSection: "auth",
+      schema: {
+        type: "object",
+        properties: {
+          auth: {
+            type: "object",
+            properties: {
+              authPermanentBackoffMinutes: {
+                type: "number",
+              },
+            },
+          },
+        },
+      },
+      formValue: {
+        auth: {
+          authPermanentBackoffMinutes: 10,
+        },
+      },
+      originalValue: {
+        auth: {
+          authPermanentBackoffMinutes: 10,
+        },
+      },
+    });
+
+    const heroTitle = container.querySelector(".config-section-hero__title");
+    expect(heroTitle?.textContent?.trim()).toBe("Authentication");
+    expect(container.querySelector(".config-section-card__header")).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("keeps card headers in multi-section root view", () => {
+    const { container } = renderConfigView({
+      schema: {
+        type: "object",
+        properties: {
+          auth: {
+            type: "object",
+            properties: {},
+          },
+          gateway: {
+            type: "object",
+            properties: {},
+          },
+        },
+      },
+      formValue: {
+        auth: {},
+        gateway: {},
+      },
+      originalValue: {
+        auth: {},
+        gateway: {},
+      },
+    });
+
+    expect(container.querySelectorAll(".config-section-card__header").length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+  });
+
+  it("clears the active search query", () => {
+    const container = document.createElement("div");
+    const onSearchChange = vi.fn();
+    render(
+      renderConfig({
+        ...baseProps(),
+        searchQuery: "gateway",
+        onSearchChange,
+      }),
+      container,
+    );
     const clearButton = container.querySelector<HTMLButtonElement>(".config-search__clear");
     expect(clearButton).toBeTruthy();
     clearButton?.click();