diff --git a/release-tool b/release-tool
index 0082758e7..3259e6396 100755
--- a/release-tool
+++ b/release-tool
@@ -347,6 +347,7 @@ merge() {
     checkReleaseDoesNotExist
     checkWorkingTreeClean
     checkSourceBranchExists
+    checkTargetBranchExists
     
     logInfo "Checking out source branch '${SOURCE_BRANCH}'..."
     git checkout "$SOURCE_BRANCH"