diff --git a/docs/release/release-tasks.md b/docs/release/release-tasks.md
index 59c852ba60bc..8c6b0e41f678 100644
--- a/docs/release/release-tasks.md
+++ b/docs/release/release-tasks.md
@@ -367,10 +367,10 @@ The goal of this task is to keep the CAPI community updated on recent PRs that h
    RELEASE_TAG=v1.6.x make release-notes
    ```
 
-   If this is a beta or RC release, add the --pre-release-version flag
+   If this is a beta or RC release:
    ```bash
    make release-notes-tool
-   ./bin/notes --release=${RELEASE_TAG} --pre-release-version > CHANGELOG/${RELEASE_TAG}.md
+   ./bin/notes --release=${RELEASE_TAG} > CHANGELOG/${RELEASE_TAG}.md
    ```
 
 1. This will generate a new release notes file at `CHANGELOG/<RELEASE_TAG>.md`. Finalize the release notes:
diff --git a/hack/tools/release/notes/main.go b/hack/tools/release/notes/main.go
index 711336cbc1b5..fdf0c93cdfb3 100644
--- a/hack/tools/release/notes/main.go
+++ b/hack/tools/release/notes/main.go
@@ -52,7 +52,6 @@ type notesCmdConfig struct {
 	newTag                      string
 	branch                      string
 	prefixAreaLabel             bool
-	preReleaseVersion           bool
 	deprecation                 bool
 	addKubernetesVersionSupport bool
 }
@@ -67,7 +66,6 @@ func readCmdConfig() *notesCmdConfig {
 	flag.StringVar(&config.newTag, "release", "", "The tag for the new release.")
 
 	flag.BoolVar(&config.prefixAreaLabel, "prefix-area-label", true, "If enabled, will prefix the area label.")
-	flag.BoolVar(&config.preReleaseVersion, "pre-release-version", false, "If enabled, will add a pre-release warning header. (default false)")
 	flag.BoolVar(&config.deprecation, "deprecation", true, "If enabled, will add a templated deprecation warning header.")
 	flag.BoolVar(&config.addKubernetesVersionSupport, "add-kubernetes-version-support", true, "If enabled, will add the Kubernetes version support header.")
 
@@ -103,7 +101,7 @@ func (cmd *notesCmd) run() error {
 	from, to := parseRef(cmd.config.fromRef), parseRef(cmd.config.toRef)
 
 	printer := newReleaseNotesPrinter(cmd.config.repo, from.value)
-	printer.isPreRelease = cmd.config.preReleaseVersion
+	printer.releaseType = releaseType(cmd.config.newTag)
 	printer.printDeprecation = cmd.config.deprecation
 	printer.printKubernetesSupport = cmd.config.addKubernetesVersionSupport
 
@@ -117,6 +115,26 @@ func (cmd *notesCmd) run() error {
 	return generator.run()
 }
 
+func releaseType(newTagConfig string) string {
+	// Error handling can be ignored as the version has been validated in computeConfigDefaults already.
+	newTag, _ := semver.ParseTolerant(newTagConfig)
+
+	// Return early if it is not a pre release.
+	if len(newTag.Pre) != 2 {
+		return ""
+	}
+
+	// Only allow RC and beta releases. More types must be defined here.
+	// If a new type is not defined, no warning banner will be printed.
+	switch newTag.Pre[0].VersionStr {
+	case "rc":
+		return "RELEASE CANDIDATE"
+	case "beta":
+		return "BETA RELEASE"
+	}
+	return ""
+}
+
 func ensureInstalledDependencies() error {
 	if !commandExists("gh") {
 		return errors.New("gh GitHub CLI not available. GitHub CLI is required to be present in the PATH. Refer to https://cli.github.com/ for installation")
diff --git a/hack/tools/release/notes/print.go b/hack/tools/release/notes/print.go
index 2c0a4affbe83..dc72d9d0c9cc 100644
--- a/hack/tools/release/notes/print.go
+++ b/hack/tools/release/notes/print.go
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ var defaultOutputOrder = []string{
 // the right format for the release notes.
 type releaseNotesPrinter struct {
 	outputOrder            []string
-	isPreRelease           bool
+	releaseType            string
 	printKubernetesSupport bool
 	printDeprecation       bool
 	fromTag                string
@@ -75,8 +75,8 @@ func (p *releaseNotesPrinter) print(entries []notesEntry, commitsInRelease int,
 		}
 	}
 
-	if p.isPreRelease {
-		fmt.Printf("🚨 This is a RELEASE CANDIDATE. Use it only for testing purposes. If you find any bugs, file an [issue](https://github.com/%s/issues/new).\n", p.repo)
+	if p.releaseType != "" {
+		fmt.Printf("🚨 This is a %s. Use it only for testing purposes. If you find any bugs, file an [issue](https://github.com/%s/issues/new).\n", p.releaseType, p.repo)
 	}
 
 	if p.printKubernetesSupport {