diff --git a/app/components/primer/alpha/select_panel_element.ts b/app/components/primer/alpha/select_panel_element.ts
index dfe16f3081..2e0cfd5bea 100644
--- a/app/components/primer/alpha/select_panel_element.ts
+++ b/app/components/primer/alpha/select_panel_element.ts
@@ -759,7 +759,10 @@ export class SelectPanelElement extends HTMLElement {
   #setErrorState(type: ErrorStateType) {
     let errorElement = this.bodyErrorMessage
 
-    if (type === ErrorStateType.BODY) {
+    // If the error type is BODY but the body error message element doesn't exist,
+    // that means the no items/results message is showing, so the error needs to be
+    // shown in banner form instead.
+    if (type === ErrorStateType.BODY && this.bodyErrorMessage) {
       this.bodyErrorMessage?.removeAttribute('hidden')
       this.bannerErrorMessage.setAttribute('hidden', '')
     } else {
diff --git a/test/system/alpha/select_panel_test.rb b/test/system/alpha/select_panel_test.rb
index b7dc731fb5..e74f0bad3e 100644
--- a/test/system/alpha/select_panel_test.rb
+++ b/test/system/alpha/select_panel_test.rb
@@ -1075,15 +1075,15 @@ def test_no_results_filter_failure
       end
 
       # no items on initial load
-      assert_selector "select-panel", text: "No results found"
+      assert_selector "select-panel", text: "No items found"
 
       wait_for_items_to_load do
         filter_results(query: "foobar")
       end
 
       # only the banner-based error message should appear
-      assert_selector "[data-target='select-panel.bannerErrorElement']", text: "Sorry, something went wrong"
-      refute_selector "[data-target='select-panel.fragmentErrorElement']"
+      assert_selector "[data-target='select-panel.bannerErrorMessage']", text: "Sorry, something went wrong"
+      refute_selector "[data-target='select-panel.bodyErrorMessage']"
     end
 
     def test_remote_fetch_clears_input_on_close