diff --git a/pkg/cmd/cli/backuplocation/create.go b/pkg/cmd/cli/backuplocation/create.go
index a0d33d3e5..64d0007cd 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/cli/backuplocation/create.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/cli/backuplocation/create.go
@@ -121,6 +121,10 @@ func (o *CreateOptions) Validate(c *cobra.Command, args []string, f client.Facto
 		return errors.New("--backup-sync-period must be non-negative")
 	}
 
+	if len(o.Credential.Data()) > 1 {
+		return errors.New("--credential can only contain 1 key/value pair")
+	}
+
 	return nil
 }
 
@@ -152,9 +156,6 @@ func (o *CreateOptions) Run(c *cobra.Command, f client.Factory) error {
 		validationFrequency = &metav1.Duration{Duration: o.ValidationFrequency}
 	}
 
-	if len(o.Credential.Data()) > 1 {
-		return errors.New("--credential can only contain 1 key/value pair")
-	}
 	var secretName, secretKey string
 	for k, v := range o.Credential.Data() {
 		secretName = k
diff --git a/pkg/cmd/cli/backuplocation/set.go b/pkg/cmd/cli/backuplocation/set.go
index 8bcf8aebf..90d0bd061 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/cli/backuplocation/set.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/cli/backuplocation/set.go
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ func NewSetCommand(f client.Factory, use string) *cobra.Command {
 		Args:  cobra.ExactArgs(1),
 		Run: func(c *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 			cmd.CheckError(o.Complete(args, f))
+			cmd.CheckError(o.Validate(c, args, f))
 			cmd.CheckError(o.Run(c, f))
 		},
 	}
@@ -72,6 +73,14 @@ func (o *SetOptions) BindFlags(flags *pflag.FlagSet) {
 	flags.BoolVar(&o.DefaultBackupStorageLocation, "default", o.DefaultBackupStorageLocation, "Sets this new location to be the new default backup storage location. Optional.")
 }
 
+func (o *SetOptions) Validate(c *cobra.Command, args []string, f client.Factory) error {
+	if len(o.Credential.Data()) > 1 {
+		return errors.New("--credential can only contain 1 key/value pair")
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 func (o *SetOptions) Complete(args []string, f client.Factory) error {
 	o.Name = args[0]
 	return nil