diff --git a/src/main/scala/eu/neverblink/jelly/cli/command/rdf/RdfValidate.scala b/src/main/scala/eu/neverblink/jelly/cli/command/rdf/RdfValidate.scala
index e88a7be..f46e64e 100644
--- a/src/main/scala/eu/neverblink/jelly/cli/command/rdf/RdfValidate.scala
+++ b/src/main/scala/eu/neverblink/jelly/cli/command/rdf/RdfValidate.scala
@@ -129,6 +129,10 @@ object RdfValidate extends JellyCommand[RdfValidateOptions]:
         )
       o
     }
+    if streamOptions.version <= 0 then
+      throw CriticalException(
+        "The version field in RdfStreamOptions is <= 0. This field MUST be set to a positive value.",
+      )
     JellyOptions.checkCompatibility(
       streamOptions,
       expectedOptions.getOrElse(JellyOptions.defaultSupportedOptions),
diff --git a/src/test/scala/eu/neverblink/jelly/cli/command/rdf/RdfValidateSpec.scala b/src/test/scala/eu/neverblink/jelly/cli/command/rdf/RdfValidateSpec.scala
index 1efd5e1..d5f7083 100644
--- a/src/test/scala/eu/neverblink/jelly/cli/command/rdf/RdfValidateSpec.scala
+++ b/src/test/scala/eu/neverblink/jelly/cli/command/rdf/RdfValidateSpec.scala
@@ -337,7 +337,7 @@ class RdfValidateSpec extends AnyWordSpec, Matchers, TestFixtureHelper:
         val f = RdfStreamFrame(
           Seq(
             RdfStreamRow(
-              JellyOptions.smallStrict,
+              JellyOptions.smallStrict.withVersion(2),
             ),
           ),
         )
@@ -349,6 +349,18 @@ class RdfValidateSpec extends AnyWordSpec, Matchers, TestFixtureHelper:
         e.cause.get.getMessage should include("Incoming physical stream type is not set")
       }
 
+      "version in options is set to 0" in {
+        val f = RdfStreamFrame(
+          Seq(RdfStreamRow(JellyOptions.smallStrict)),
+        )
+        RdfValidate.setStdIn(ByteArrayInputStream(f.toByteArray))
+        val e = intercept[ExitException] {
+          RdfValidate.runTestCommand(List("rdf", "validate"))
+        }
+        e.cause.get shouldBe a[CriticalException]
+        e.cause.get.getMessage should include("The version field in RdfStreamOptions is <= 0")
+      }
+
       "same input options supplied as in the validation source" in withFullJellyFile { j =>
         val f = RdfStreamFrame(
           Seq(