diff --git a/Builds/containers/shared/update-rippled.sh b/Builds/containers/shared/update-rippled.sh
index c9305bbf9..19409ece0 100755
--- a/Builds/containers/shared/update-rippled.sh
+++ b/Builds/containers/shared/update-rippled.sh
@@ -2,6 +2,12 @@
 
 # auto-update script for rippled daemon
 
+# Check for sudo/root permissions
+if [[ $(id -u) -ne 0 ]] ; then
+   echo "This update script must be run as root or sudo"
+   exit 1
+fi
+
 LOCKDIR=/tmp/rippleupdate.lock
 UPDATELOG=/var/log/rippled/update.log