diff --git a/hack/verify-doctoc.sh b/hack/verify-doctoc.sh
index 02f276066e28..54b4b6945100 100755
--- a/hack/verify-doctoc.sh
+++ b/hack/verify-doctoc.sh
@@ -22,7 +22,10 @@ if [[ "${TRACE-0}" == "1" ]]; then
     set -o xtrace
 fi
 
-command -v doctoc || echo "doctoc is not available on your system, skipping verification" && exit 0
+if [[ -z "$(command -v doctoc)" ]]; then
+  echo "doctoc is not available on your system, skipping verification"
+  exit 0
+fi
 
 doctoc_files="README.md \
               CONTRIBUTING.md \