diff --git a/release/tag.sh b/release/tag.sh
index f2f514b7..758e4cbc 100755
--- a/release/tag.sh
+++ b/release/tag.sh
@@ -71,10 +71,10 @@ fi
 if ! (echo "$new_version" | grep -i "rc"); then
   # Make sure an RC already exists when tagging a major or minor version
   new_major_and_minor=$(echo "$new_version" | cut -d. -f1,2)
-  if ! git tag | grep "^$new_major_and_minor.[0-9]*$" > /dev/null; then
+  if ! git tag | grep "^v$new_major_and_minor.[0-9]*$" > /dev/null; then
     # If the major and minor versions don't already exist, make sure this release
     # is preceded by an RC release
-    if ! git tag | grep "^$new_major_and_minor.[0-9]*-rc[0-9]*$" > /dev/null; then
+    if ! git tag | grep "^v$new_major_and_minor.[0-9]*-rc[0-9]*$" > /dev/null; then
       echo >&2 "ERROR: New major and minor versions must be preceded by an RC version"
       exit 1
     fi