diff --git a/.github/workflows/deploy.yml b/.github/workflows/deploy.yml
index 9c168a8df..0226eeaf2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/deploy.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/deploy.yml
@@ -81,11 +81,11 @@ jobs:
       - name: Validate tag format and version match
         run: |
           TAG="${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/}"
-          if [[ ! "$TAG" =~ ^v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+ ]]; then
-            echo "::error::Release tag must be in the form v1.2.3 (got '$TAG')"
+          if [[ ! "$TAG" =~ ^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+ ]]; then
+            echo "::error::Release tag must be in the form 1.2.3 (got '$TAG')"
             exit 1
           fi
-          VERSION="${TAG#v}"
+          VERSION="${TAG#}"
           PKG_VERSION=$(python setup.py --version)
           echo "Package version: $PKG_VERSION"
           echo "PKG_VERSION=$PKG_VERSION" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"