diff --git a/sqlmesh/integrations/github/cicd/controller.py b/sqlmesh/integrations/github/cicd/controller.py
index dd5ee70e76..5c2c0e4881 100644
--- a/sqlmesh/integrations/github/cicd/controller.py
+++ b/sqlmesh/integrations/github/cicd/controller.py
@@ -773,6 +773,11 @@ def deploy_to_prod(self) -> None:
                 "PR is already merged and this event was triggered prior to the merge."
             )
         merge_status = self._get_merge_state_status()
+        if merge_status.is_blocked:
+            raise CICDBotError(
+                "Merge commit cannot be cleanly created. Likely missing CODEOWNERS approval. "
+                "Please check PR and resolve any issues."
+            )
         if merge_status.is_dirty:
             raise CICDBotError(
                 "Merge commit cannot be cleanly created. Likely from a merge conflict. "
diff --git a/tests/integrations/github/cicd/test_github_controller.py b/tests/integrations/github/cicd/test_github_controller.py
index 8242d697b6..6ae81e8c36 100644
--- a/tests/integrations/github/cicd/test_github_controller.py
+++ b/tests/integrations/github/cicd/test_github_controller.py
@@ -460,6 +460,21 @@ def test_deploy_to_prod_merge_error(github_client, make_controller):
         controller.deploy_to_prod()
 
 
+def test_deploy_to_prod_blocked_pr(github_client, make_controller):
+    mock_pull_request = github_client.get_repo().get_pull()
+    mock_pull_request.merged = False
+    controller = make_controller(
+        "tests/fixtures/github/pull_request_synchronized.json",
+        github_client,
+        merge_state_status=MergeStateStatus.BLOCKED,
+    )
+    with pytest.raises(
+        Exception,
+        match=r"^Merge commit cannot be cleanly created. Likely missing CODEOWNERS approval.*",
+    ):
+        controller.deploy_to_prod()
+
+
 def test_deploy_to_prod_dirty_pr(github_client, make_controller):
     mock_pull_request = github_client.get_repo().get_pull()
     mock_pull_request.merged = False
@@ -468,7 +483,10 @@ def test_deploy_to_prod_dirty_pr(github_client, make_controller):
         github_client,
         merge_state_status=MergeStateStatus.DIRTY,
     )
-    with pytest.raises(Exception, match=r"^Merge commit cannot be cleanly created.*"):
+    with pytest.raises(
+        Exception,
+        match=r"^Merge commit cannot be cleanly created. Likely from a merge conflict.*",
+    ):
         controller.deploy_to_prod()