diff --git a/lib/pavilion/builder.py b/lib/pavilion/builder.py
index 837024c3d..5580e3447 100644
--- a/lib/pavilion/builder.py
+++ b/lib/pavilion/builder.py
@@ -1072,7 +1072,12 @@ def _date_dir(base_path):
                 latest = dir_stat.st_mtime
 
         if src_stat.st_mtime != latest:
-            os.utime(base_path.as_posix(), (src_stat.st_atime, latest))
+            try:
+                os.utime(base_path.as_posix(), (src_stat.st_atime, latest))
+            except PermissionError as err:
+                raise TestBuilderError(
+                    (f"Could not stat test source dir '{base_path}'. "
+                     "Invalid permissions."), err)
 
     def __hash__(self):
         """Having a comparison operator breaks hashing."""