diff --git a/internal/operatorsdk/operatorsdk.go b/internal/operatorsdk/operatorsdk.go
index ffa1415c..ae5a9047 100644
--- a/internal/operatorsdk/operatorsdk.go
+++ b/internal/operatorsdk/operatorsdk.go
@@ -34,6 +34,12 @@ type execContext = func(name string, arg ...string) *exec.Cmd
 func (o operatorSdk) Scorecard(ctx context.Context, image string, opts OperatorSdkScorecardOptions) (*OperatorSdkScorecardReport, error) {
 	logger := logr.FromContextOrDiscard(ctx)
 
+	// checking to make sure operator-sdk is in the $PATH
+	_, err := exec.LookPath("operator-sdk")
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
 	cmdArgs := []string{"scorecard"}
 	if opts.OutputFormat == "" {
 		opts.OutputFormat = "json"
diff --git a/internal/operatorsdk/operatorsdk_test.go b/internal/operatorsdk/operatorsdk_test.go
index 49a0c838..e839dee9 100644
--- a/internal/operatorsdk/operatorsdk_test.go
+++ b/internal/operatorsdk/operatorsdk_test.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/redhat-openshift-ecosystem/openshift-preflight/artifacts"
@@ -29,6 +30,13 @@ var _ = Describe("OperatorSdk", func() {
 		aw, err := artifacts.NewFilesystemWriter(artifacts.WithDirectory(tmpdir))
 		Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 
+		err = os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(tmpdir, "operator-sdk"), []byte("testcontents"), 0o755)
+		Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+
+		// updating PATH env to include the directory created in the test
+		err = os.Setenv("PATH", os.Getenv("PATH")+":"+tmpdir)
+		Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+
 		testcontext = artifacts.ContextWithWriter(context.Background(), aw)
 	})
 	When("The Scorecard result is good", func() {