diff --git a/maven-plugins/maven-release-plugin/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/release/helpers/ProjectVersionResolver.java b/maven-plugins/maven-release-plugin/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/release/helpers/ProjectVersionResolver.java
index 9929b86383..282a0c8a79 100644
--- a/maven-plugins/maven-release-plugin/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/release/helpers/ProjectVersionResolver.java
+++ b/maven-plugins/maven-release-plugin/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/release/helpers/ProjectVersionResolver.java
@@ -58,6 +58,11 @@ public class ProjectVersionResolver
         //Rewrite project version
         String projectVersion = model.getVersion();
 
+        if ( !projectVersion.endsWith( SNAPSHOT_CLASSIFIER ) )
+        {
+            throw new IllegalArgumentException( "Project version isn't a snapshot, it must ends with '" + SNAPSHOT_CLASSIFIER + "'." );
+        }
+
         projectVersion = projectVersion.substring( 0, projectVersion.length() - SNAPSHOT_CLASSIFIER.length() );
 
         if ( interactive )