  Motivated by results from the LHC and dark matter searches, we study the
possibility of phenomenologically viable R-parity violation in $SU(5)$ GUT
models from a top-down point of view. We show that in contrast to the more
model dependent bounds on the proton lifetime, the limits on neutrino masses
provide a robust, stringent and complementary constraint on all $SU(5)$
GUT-based R-parity violating models. Focusing on well-motivated string/$M$
theory GUT frameworks with mechanisms for doublet-triplet splitting and a
solution to the $\mu/B\mu$ problems, we show that imposing the neutrino mass
bounds implies that R-parity violation is disfavored. The arguments can also be
generalized to minimal $SO(10)$ GUTs. An experimental observation of R-parity
violation would, therefore, disfavor such classes of top-down GUT models.
