diff --git a/.github/workflows/php-test.yml b/.github/workflows/php-test.yml
index 2520f68f0..08e166fb9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/php-test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/php-test.yml
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ jobs:
         if: ${{ matrix.coverage }}
         uses: codecov/codecov-action@fb8b3582c8e4def4969c97caa2f19720cb33a72f
         with:
-          file: build/logs/*.xml
+          files: build/logs/*.xml
           flags: unit
           token: ${{ secrets.CODECOV_TOKEN }}
 
@@ -158,6 +158,6 @@ jobs:
         if: ${{ matrix.coverage }}
         uses: codecov/codecov-action@fb8b3582c8e4def4969c97caa2f19720cb33a72f
         with:
-          file: build/logs/*.xml
+          files: build/logs/*.xml
           flags: phpcs-sniffs
           token: ${{ secrets.CODECOV_TOKEN }}
diff --git a/includes/Checker/Checks/Plugin_Repo/Direct_File_Access_Check.php b/includes/Checker/Checks/Plugin_Repo/Direct_File_Access_Check.php
index 62be77f8e..5885de4f5 100644
--- a/includes/Checker/Checks/Plugin_Repo/Direct_File_Access_Check.php
+++ b/includes/Checker/Checks/Plugin_Repo/Direct_File_Access_Check.php
@@ -400,8 +400,9 @@ private function is_ast_valid_for_direct_access( array $ast ) {
 			Stmt\Enum_::class,
 		);
 
-		$has_assignments = false;
-		$has_returns     = false;
+		$has_assignments            = false;
+		$has_returns                = false;
+		$has_structural_declaration = $this->has_structural_declaration( $ast );
 
 		foreach ( $ast as $node ) {
 			$node_class = get_class( $node );
@@ -428,6 +429,10 @@ private function is_ast_valid_for_direct_access( array $ast ) {
 			}
 
 			if ( $node instanceof Stmt\Expression ) {
+				if ( $node->expr instanceof Expr\Include_ && $has_structural_declaration ) {
+					continue;
+				}
+
 				if ( $this->is_safe_expression( $node->expr ) ) {
 					continue;
 				}
@@ -455,6 +460,33 @@ private function is_ast_valid_for_direct_access( array $ast ) {
 		return true;
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Checks whether the AST contains structural declarations.
+	 *
+	 * @since n.e.x.t
+	 *
+	 * @param array $ast The parsed AST nodes.
+	 * @return bool True if the AST contains class/interface/trait/enum declarations, false otherwise.
+	 */
+	private function has_structural_declaration( array $ast ) {
+		foreach ( $ast as $node ) {
+			if (
+				$node instanceof Stmt\Class_ ||
+				$node instanceof Stmt\Interface_ ||
+				$node instanceof Stmt\Trait_ ||
+				$node instanceof Stmt\Enum_
+			) {
+				return true;
+			}
+
+			if ( $node instanceof Stmt\Namespace_ && ! empty( $node->stmts ) ) {
+				return $this->has_structural_declaration( $node->stmts );
+			}
+		}
+
+		return false;
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * Checks if an expression is an asset file assignment (variable = array/string).
 	 *
@@ -895,7 +927,7 @@ private function has_procedural_code( $contents ) {
 	private function has_only_safe_function_calls( $contents ) {
 		$safe_if_count      = preg_match_all( '/if\s*\([^)]*(?:class_exists|function_exists|interface_exists|trait_exists|defined)\s*\(/i', $contents );
 		$return_count       = preg_match_all( '/return\s*;/', $contents );
-		$all_function_calls = preg_match_all( '/\b(?!class_exists|function_exists|interface_exists|trait_exists|defined|return|if|else|elseif|isset|empty|unset|array|list|echo|print)\w+\s*\(/i', $contents );
+		$all_function_calls = preg_match_all( '/\b(?!class_exists|function_exists|interface_exists|trait_exists|defined|return|if|else|elseif|isset|empty|unset|array|list|echo|print|require|require_once|include|include_once)\w+\s*\(/i', $contents );
 
 		return $safe_if_count > 0 && $return_count >= $safe_if_count && 0 === $all_function_calls;
 	}
diff --git a/tests/phpunit/testdata/plugins/test-plugin-direct-file-access-without-errors/includes/require-once-class-only.php b/tests/phpunit/testdata/plugins/test-plugin-direct-file-access-without-errors/includes/require-once-class-only.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b27b5dfaa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/phpunit/testdata/plugins/test-plugin-direct-file-access-without-errors/includes/require-once-class-only.php
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+<?php
+/**
+ * File with require_once and class - safe for direct access.
+ */
+
+require_once __DIR__ . '/class-parent.php';
+
+/**
+ * Test class.
+ */
+class My_Class extends Parent_Class {
+	/**
+	 * Property.
+	 *
+	 * @var string
+	 */
+	private $property = 'test';
+}
diff --git a/tests/phpunit/tests/Checker/Checks/Direct_File_Access_Check_Tests.php b/tests/phpunit/tests/Checker/Checks/Direct_File_Access_Check_Tests.php
index cd99e178e..75c7ead14 100644
--- a/tests/phpunit/tests/Checker/Checks/Direct_File_Access_Check_Tests.php
+++ b/tests/phpunit/tests/Checker/Checks/Direct_File_Access_Check_Tests.php
@@ -88,6 +88,7 @@ public function test_run_allows_class_only_files() {
 		// Files with only class definitions should not produce errors.
 		$this->assertArrayNotHasKey( 'includes/class-only-file.php', $errors );
 		$this->assertArrayNotHasKey( 'includes/namespace-class-only.php', $errors );
+		$this->assertArrayNotHasKey( 'includes/require-once-class-only.php', $errors );
 	}
 
 	/**