diff --git a/cli/internal/cmd/iamcreate.go b/cli/internal/cmd/iamcreate.go
index 1505c70f2..4c626b415 100644
--- a/cli/internal/cmd/iamcreate.go
+++ b/cli/internal/cmd/iamcreate.go
@@ -389,6 +389,9 @@ func (c *awsIAMCreator) parseFlagsAndSetupConfig(cmd *cobra.Command, flags iamFl
 	if err != nil {
 		return iamFlags{}, fmt.Errorf("parsing prefix string: %w", err)
 	}
+	if len(prefix) > 36 {
+		return iamFlags{}, fmt.Errorf("prefix must be 36 characters or less")
+	}
 	zone, err := cmd.Flags().GetString("zone")
 	if err != nil {
 		return iamFlags{}, fmt.Errorf("parsing zone string: %w", err)