diff --git a/.gitlab/common.sh b/.gitlab/common.sh
index ac29811d85..2f93e6160d 100755
--- a/.gitlab/common.sh
+++ b/.gitlab/common.sh
@@ -72,23 +72,35 @@ validate_version() {
   fi
 }
 
+get_pr_count() {
+  local branch="$1"
+  local repo_url="$2"
+
+  pr_count="$( gh pr list --repo "$repo_url" --head "$branch" --state open --json id --jq length )"
+  if [[ ! "$pr_count" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]]; then
+    echo "ERROR: Failed to get PRs for the $branch branch!" >&2
+    echo "$pr_count" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  echo "$pr_count"
+}
+
 setup_branch() {
   local branch="$1"
   local repo_url="$2"
+  local check_for_pr="${3:-true}"
 
   # check if the branch exists
   if git ls-remote --exit-code --heads origin "$branch"; then
-    # get number of open PRs for the branch
-    pr_count="$( gh pr list --repo "$repo_url" --head "$branch" --state open --json id --jq length )"
-    if [[ ! "$pr_count" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]]; then
-      echo "ERROR: Failed to get PRs for the $branch branch!" >&2
-      echo "$pr_count" >&2
-      exit 1
-    fi
-    if [[ "$pr_count" != "0" ]]; then
-      echo ">>> The $branch branch exists and has $pr_count open PR(s)."
-      echo ">>> Nothing to do."
-      exit 0
+    if [ "$check_for_pr" = "true" ]; then
+      # get number of open PRs for the branch
+      pr_count="$( get_pr_count "$branch" "$repo_url" )"
+      if [[ "$pr_count" != "0" ]]; then
+        echo ">>> The $branch branch exists and has $pr_count open PR(s)."
+        echo ">>> Nothing to do."
+        exit 0
+      fi
     fi
     echo ">>> Resetting the $branch branch to main ..."
     git checkout "$branch"
diff --git a/.gitlab/update-otel-deps.sh b/.gitlab/update-otel-deps.sh
index 13e404f11c..6a89af1695 100755
--- a/.gitlab/update-otel-deps.sh
+++ b/.gitlab/update-otel-deps.sh
@@ -18,12 +18,16 @@ create_collector_pr() {
   local repo="signalfx/splunk-otel-collector"
   local repo_url="https://srv-gh-o11y-gdi:${GITHUB_TOKEN}@github.com/${repo}.git"
   local message="Update OpenTelemetry Dependencies to $OTEL_VERSION"
+  local check_for_pr="true"
+  if [ "$OTEL_VERSION" = "main" ]; then
+    check_for_pr="false"
+  fi
 
   echo ">>> Cloning the $repo repository ..."
   git clone "$repo_url" collector-mirror
   cd collector-mirror
 
-  setup_branch "$BRANCH" "$repo_url"
+  setup_branch "$BRANCH" "$repo_url" "$check_for_pr"
 
   echo ">>> Updating otel deps to $OTEL_VERSION ..."
   OTEL_VERSION="$OTEL_VERSION" ./internal/buildscripts/update-deps
@@ -32,14 +36,17 @@ create_collector_pr() {
   if ! git diff --exit-code >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     git commit -S -am "$message"
     git push -f "$repo_url" "$BRANCH"
-    echo ">>> Creating the PR ..."
-    gh pr create \
-      --draft \
-      --repo "$repo" \
-      --title "$message" \
-      --body "$message" \
-      --base main \
-      --head "$BRANCH"
+    pr_count="$( get_pr_count "$BRANCH" "$repo_url" )"
+    if [ "$pr_count" = "0" ]; then
+      echo ">>> Creating the PR ..."
+      gh pr create \
+        --draft \
+        --repo "$repo" \
+        --title "$message" \
+        --body "$message" \
+        --base main \
+        --head "$BRANCH"
+    fi
   fi
 }