diff --git a/lib/northbound_cli.c b/lib/northbound_cli.c
index 8003679ed57b..b013845bb363 100644
--- a/lib/northbound_cli.c
+++ b/lib/northbound_cli.c
@@ -122,6 +122,12 @@ void nb_cli_enqueue_change(struct vty *vty, const char *xpath,
 {
 	struct nb_cfg_change *change;
 
+	/*
+	 * We don't want object existence checks when using CLI, so allow only
+	 * MODIFY and DESTROY operations.
+	 */
+	assert(operation == NB_OP_MODIFY || operation == NB_OP_DESTROY);
+
 	if (vty->num_cfg_changes == VTY_MAXCFGCHANGES) {
 		/* Not expected to happen. */
 		vty_out(vty,