diff --git a/pulse_lib/base_pulse.py b/pulse_lib/base_pulse.py
index a4e00e74ec5b79a7bc612cb7ecc3e7f53472588d..5db784df0d7fc8988886101ebaadfcf4c93f05ff 100644
--- a/pulse_lib/base_pulse.py
+++ b/pulse_lib/base_pulse.py
@@ -38,6 +38,9 @@ class pulselib:
 
         self._backend = backend
 
+        if np.__version__ < '1.20':
+            raise Exception(f'Pulselib requires numpy 1.20+. Found version {np.__version__}')
+
     @property
     def channels(self):
         channels = []