diff --git a/deploy_rln_contract.sh b/deploy_rln_contract.sh
index 9b560e2..d199af7 100644
--- a/deploy_rln_contract.sh
+++ b/deploy_rln_contract.sh
@@ -13,6 +13,11 @@ if [ ! -d "waku-rlnv2-contract" ]; then
     git clone https://github.com/waku-org/waku-rlnv2-contract.git
 fi
 
+if [ -z "$RLN_CONTRACT_REPO_COMMIT" ]; then
+    echo "RLN_CONTRACT_REPO_COMMIT is not set"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
 cd /waku-rlnv2-contract
 git checkout $RLN_CONTRACT_REPO_COMMIT