diff --git a/src/commands/export/create.mjs b/src/commands/export/create.mjs
index aae0648e..01ffcb7d 100644
--- a/src/commands/export/create.mjs
+++ b/src/commands/export/create.mjs
@@ -153,6 +153,9 @@ function buildCreateS3ExportCommand(yargs) {
           "Either --destination or both --bucket and --path are required to create an export.",
         );
       }
+      if (argv.idempotency?.trim() === "") {
+        throw new ValidationError("--idempotency cannot be an empty string.");
+      }
       return true;
     })
     .example(sharedExamples);
diff --git a/test/commands/export/create.mjs b/test/commands/export/create.mjs
index ce576869..8b7e3fe7 100644
--- a/test/commands/export/create.mjs
+++ b/test/commands/export/create.mjs
@@ -200,6 +200,16 @@ idempotent_replayed: true
       expectedError:
         "Cannot specify --destination with --bucket or --path. Use either --destination or both --bucket and --path.",
     },
+    {
+      description: "an empty string is given as the --idempotency input",
+      args: "--destination s3://test-bucket/test/key --idempotency ",
+      expectedError: "--idempotency cannot be an empty string.",
+    },
+    {
+      description: "an blank string is given as the --idempotency input",
+      args: "--destination s3://test-bucket/test/key --idempotency '  '",
+      expectedError: "--idempotency cannot be an empty string.",
+    },
   ];
 
   invalidScenarios.forEach(({ description, args, expectedError }) => {