diff --git a/internal/entities/command_deployment.go b/internal/entities/command_deployment.go
index 0bf940303..94574964a 100644
--- a/internal/entities/command_deployment.go
+++ b/internal/entities/command_deployment.go
@@ -10,14 +10,13 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 
-	"github.com/newrelic/newrelic-client-go/v2/pkg/nrtime"
-
+	"github.com/newrelic/newrelic-cli/internal/client"
 	"github.com/newrelic/newrelic-cli/internal/output"
 	"github.com/newrelic/newrelic-cli/internal/utils"
+	"github.com/newrelic/newrelic-cli/internal/utils/validation"
 	"github.com/newrelic/newrelic-client-go/v2/pkg/changetracking"
 	"github.com/newrelic/newrelic-client-go/v2/pkg/common"
-
-	"github.com/newrelic/newrelic-cli/internal/client"
+	"github.com/newrelic/newrelic-client-go/v2/pkg/nrtime"
 )
 
 var (
@@ -68,6 +67,10 @@ The deployment command marks a change for a New Relic entity
 			log.Fatal("--version cannot be empty")
 		}
 
+		if _, err := validation.DecodeEntityGuid(entityGUID); err != nil {
+			log.Fatal(err)
+		}
+
 		var (
 			attrs map[string]interface{}
 			err   error
diff --git a/internal/utils/validation/entity_guid_validator_test.go b/internal/utils/validation/entity_guid_validator_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2dcbfbb6b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/utils/validation/entity_guid_validator_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+package validation
+
+import (
+	"encoding/base64"
+	"fmt"
+	"strconv"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestDecodeEntityGuid_Valid(t *testing.T) {
+	entity := GenericEntity{
+		AccountId:  12345,
+		Domain:     "test_domain",
+		EntityType: "user",
+		DomainId:   "abc123",
+	}
+	encodedGuid := encodeEntity(entity)
+
+	decodedEntity, err := DecodeEntityGuid(encodedGuid)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("Unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	if decodedEntity.AccountId != entity.AccountId ||
+		decodedEntity.Domain != entity.Domain ||
+		decodedEntity.EntityType != entity.EntityType ||
+		decodedEntity.DomainId != entity.DomainId {
+		t.Errorf("Decoded entity does not match original entity")
+	}
+}
+
+func encodeEntity(entity GenericEntity) string {
+	parts := []string{
+		strconv.FormatInt(entity.AccountId, 10),
+		entity.Domain,
+		entity.EntityType,
+		entity.DomainId,
+	}
+	return base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString([]byte(strings.Join(parts, DELIMITER)))
+}
+
+func TestDecodeEntityGuid_MissingDelimiter(t *testing.T) {
+	invalidGuid := "invalidentityguid"
+
+	_, err := DecodeEntityGuid(invalidGuid)
+
+	if err != invalidEntityGuidErr {
+		t.Errorf("Expected error 'invalid entity GUID format', got %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDecodeEntityGuid_LessThanFourParts(t *testing.T) {
+	invalidGuid := base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString([]byte("account|domain"))
+
+	_, err := DecodeEntityGuid(invalidGuid)
+
+	expectedErrorMessage := fmt.Sprintf("invalid entity GUID format: expected at least 4 parts delimited by '%s': %s", DELIMITER, invalidGuid)
+	if err.Error() != expectedErrorMessage {
+		t.Errorf("Expected error message: %s, got %v", expectedErrorMessage, err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDecodeEntityGuid_EmptyEntityType(t *testing.T) {
+	encodedGuid := base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString([]byte("12345|domain||domainId"))
+
+	_, err := DecodeEntityGuid(encodedGuid)
+
+	if err != emptyEntityTypeErr {
+		t.Errorf("Expected error 'entity type is required', got %v", err)
+	}
+}