diff --git a/src/licensedcode/license_db.py b/src/licensedcode/license_db.py
index f460e88f06..091d3aadf2 100644
--- a/src/licensedcode/license_db.py
+++ b/src/licensedcode/license_db.py
@@ -210,6 +210,7 @@ def scancode_license_data(path):
     '--path',
     type=click.Path(exists=False, writable=True, file_okay=False, resolve_path=True, path_type=str),
     metavar='DIR',
+    required=True,
     help='Dump the license data in this directory in the LicenseDB format and exit. '
             'Creates the directory if it does not exist. ',
     help_group=MISC_GROUP,