diff --git a/docs/release/release-tasks.md b/docs/release/release-tasks.md
index 59c852ba60bc..ff8ea6b85f8b 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, add the --release-type to beta or rc
    ```bash
    make release-notes-tool
-   ./bin/notes --release=${RELEASE_TAG} --pre-release-version > CHANGELOG/${RELEASE_TAG}.md
+   ./bin/notes --release=${RELEASE_TAG} --release-type=beta > CHANGELOG/${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..a01582cdc207 100644
--- a/hack/tools/release/notes/main.go
+++ b/hack/tools/release/notes/main.go
@@ -51,8 +51,8 @@ type notesCmdConfig struct {
 	toRef                       string
 	newTag                      string
 	branch                      string
+	releaseType                 string
 	prefixAreaLabel             bool
-	preReleaseVersion           bool
 	deprecation                 bool
 	addKubernetesVersionSupport bool
 }
@@ -65,9 +65,9 @@ func readCmdConfig() *notesCmdConfig {
 	flag.StringVar(&config.toRef, "to", "", "The ref (tag, branch or commit to stop at. It must be formatted as heads/<branch name> for branches and tags/<tag name> for tags. If not set, it will default to branch.")
 	flag.StringVar(&config.branch, "branch", "", "The branch to generate the notes from. If not set, it will be calculated from release.")
 	flag.StringVar(&config.newTag, "release", "", "The tag for the new release.")
+	flag.StringVar(&config.releaseType, "release-type", "", "Set the type of the release. You can choose between rc or beta. (default empty, which is a normal 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.")
 
@@ -103,10 +103,16 @@ 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.printDeprecation = cmd.config.deprecation
 	printer.printKubernetesSupport = cmd.config.addKubernetesVersionSupport
 
+	if cmd.config.releaseType != "" {
+		printer.releaseType = "BETA RELEASE"
+		if cmd.config.releaseType == "rc" {
+			printer.releaseType = "RELEASE CANDIDATE"
+		}
+	}
+
 	generator := newNotesGenerator(
 		newGithubFromToPRLister(cmd.config.repo, from, to, cmd.config.branch),
 		newPREntryProcessor(cmd.config.prefixAreaLabel),
@@ -151,6 +157,11 @@ func validateConfig(config *notesCmdConfig) error {
 		}
 	}
 
+	// We only allow the release version to be empty (real release), rc or beta.
+	if config.releaseType != "" && config.releaseType != "rc" && config.releaseType != "beta" {
+		return errors.New("only parameters rc and beta are valid")
+	}
+
 	return nil
 }
 
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 {