diff --git a/tools/ci/config/pre_check.yml b/tools/ci/config/pre_check.yml
index 06b13bf058..17ac8241d1 100644
--- a/tools/ci/config/pre_check.yml
+++ b/tools/ci/config/pre_check.yml
@@ -215,3 +215,15 @@ check_codeowners:
   extends: .check_job_template
   script:
     - tools/codeowners.py ci-check
+
+# For release tag pipelines only, make sure the tag was created with 'git tag -a' so it will update
+# the version returned by 'git describe'
+check_version_tag:
+  extends: .check_job_template
+  only:
+    refs:
+      - /^v\d+\.\d+(\.\d+)?($|-)/
+    variables:
+      - $BOT_TRIGGER_WITH_LABEL == null
+  script:
+    - (git cat-file -t $CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME | grep tag) || echo "ESP-IDF versions must be annotated tags." && exit 1