diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 4fdaa8a..2af8669 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 # It is not actually needed for downstream use.
 #
 
-cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.5)
+cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10)
 project(UseLatexMk)
 
 set(CMAKE_MODULE_PATH ${CMAKE_MODULE_PATH} ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR})
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 23ff07f..62fbba3 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ You just need to
 * copy all the CMake modules (`*.cmake`) from this project into your project
 * Include them with `include(UseLatexMk)`. This is best done from the top-level
   directory of your project, to make the `clean_latex` target available on that level.
-* Use CMake 3.5 or newer.
+* Use CMake 3.10 or newer.
 
 Now, you are ready to use it!
 
diff --git a/UseLatexMk.cmake b/UseLatexMk.cmake
index c7b48ec..8dde80c 100644
--- a/UseLatexMk.cmake
+++ b/UseLatexMk.cmake
@@ -103,6 +103,11 @@
 #
 include_guard(GLOBAL)
 
+# ensure CMake version is recent enough
+if(CMAKE_VERSION VERSION_LESS 3.10)
+  message(FATAL_ERROR "UseLatexMk.cmake requires CMake 3.10 or newer")
+endif()
+
 # Find LATEX and LatexMk
 find_package(LATEX)
 find_package(LatexMk)