diff --git a/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/admission-controller/resource/vpa/handler.go b/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/admission-controller/resource/vpa/handler.go
index 6888efac1aa..b553a236f9d 100644
--- a/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/admission-controller/resource/vpa/handler.go
+++ b/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/admission-controller/resource/vpa/handler.go
@@ -30,15 +30,17 @@ import (
 
 	"k8s.io/autoscaler/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/admission-controller/resource"
 	vpa_types "k8s.io/autoscaler/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/apis/autoscaling.k8s.io/v1"
+	"k8s.io/autoscaler/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/features"
 	"k8s.io/autoscaler/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/utils/metrics/admission"
 )
 
 var (
 	possibleUpdateModes = map[vpa_types.UpdateMode]interface{}{
-		vpa_types.UpdateModeOff:      struct{}{},
-		vpa_types.UpdateModeInitial:  struct{}{},
-		vpa_types.UpdateModeRecreate: struct{}{},
-		vpa_types.UpdateModeAuto:     struct{}{},
+		vpa_types.UpdateModeOff:               struct{}{},
+		vpa_types.UpdateModeInitial:           struct{}{},
+		vpa_types.UpdateModeRecreate:          struct{}{},
+		vpa_types.UpdateModeAuto:              struct{}{},
+		vpa_types.UpdateModeInPlaceOrRecreate: struct{}{},
 	}
 
 	possibleScalingModes = map[vpa_types.ContainerScalingMode]interface{}{
@@ -121,6 +123,9 @@ func ValidateVPA(vpa *vpa_types.VerticalPodAutoscaler, isCreate bool) error {
 		if _, found := possibleUpdateModes[*mode]; !found {
 			return fmt.Errorf("unexpected UpdateMode value %s", *mode)
 		}
+		if (*mode == vpa_types.UpdateModeInPlaceOrRecreate) && !features.Enabled(features.InPlaceOrRecreate) && isCreate {
+			return fmt.Errorf("in order to use UpdateMode %s, you must enable feature gate %s in the admission-controller args", vpa_types.UpdateModeInPlaceOrRecreate, features.InPlaceOrRecreate)
+		}
 
 		if minReplicas := vpa.Spec.UpdatePolicy.MinReplicas; minReplicas != nil && *minReplicas <= 0 {
 			return fmt.Errorf("MinReplicas has to be positive, got %v", *minReplicas)
diff --git a/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/admission-controller/resource/vpa/handler_test.go b/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/admission-controller/resource/vpa/handler_test.go
index 06efced1e0c..3f11995fccc 100644
--- a/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/admission-controller/resource/vpa/handler_test.go
+++ b/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/admission-controller/resource/vpa/handler_test.go
@@ -24,7 +24,10 @@ import (
 	apiv1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource"
 
+	featuregatetesting "k8s.io/component-base/featuregate/testing"
+
 	vpa_types "k8s.io/autoscaler/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/apis/autoscaling.k8s.io/v1"
+	"k8s.io/autoscaler/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/features"
 )
 
 const (
@@ -42,11 +45,13 @@ func TestValidateVPA(t *testing.T) {
 	validScalingMode := vpa_types.ContainerScalingModeAuto
 	scalingModeOff := vpa_types.ContainerScalingModeOff
 	controlledValuesRequestsAndLimits := vpa_types.ContainerControlledValuesRequestsAndLimits
+	inPlaceOrRecreateUpdateMode := vpa_types.UpdateModeInPlaceOrRecreate
 	tests := []struct {
-		name        string
-		vpa         vpa_types.VerticalPodAutoscaler
-		isCreate    bool
-		expectError error
+		name                                 string
+		vpa                                  vpa_types.VerticalPodAutoscaler
+		isCreate                             bool
+		expectError                          error
+		inPlaceOrRecreateFeatureGateDisabled bool
 	}{
 		{
 			name: "empty update",
@@ -78,6 +83,42 @@ func TestValidateVPA(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 			expectError: fmt.Errorf("unexpected UpdateMode value bad"),
 		},
+		{
+			name: "creating VPA with InPlaceOrRecreate update mode not allowed by disabled feature gate",
+			vpa: vpa_types.VerticalPodAutoscaler{
+				Spec: vpa_types.VerticalPodAutoscalerSpec{
+					UpdatePolicy: &vpa_types.PodUpdatePolicy{
+						UpdateMode: &inPlaceOrRecreateUpdateMode,
+					},
+				},
+			},
+			isCreate:                             true,
+			inPlaceOrRecreateFeatureGateDisabled: true,
+			expectError:                          fmt.Errorf("in order to use UpdateMode %s, you must enable feature gate %s in the admission-controller args", vpa_types.UpdateModeInPlaceOrRecreate, features.InPlaceOrRecreate),
+		},
+		{
+			name: "updating VPA with InPlaceOrRecreate update mode allowed by disabled feature gate",
+			vpa: vpa_types.VerticalPodAutoscaler{
+				Spec: vpa_types.VerticalPodAutoscalerSpec{
+					UpdatePolicy: &vpa_types.PodUpdatePolicy{
+						UpdateMode: &inPlaceOrRecreateUpdateMode,
+					},
+				},
+			},
+			isCreate:                             false,
+			inPlaceOrRecreateFeatureGateDisabled: true,
+			expectError:                          nil,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "InPlaceOrRecreate update mode enabled by feature gate",
+			vpa: vpa_types.VerticalPodAutoscaler{
+				Spec: vpa_types.VerticalPodAutoscalerSpec{
+					UpdatePolicy: &vpa_types.PodUpdatePolicy{
+						UpdateMode: &inPlaceOrRecreateUpdateMode,
+					},
+				},
+			},
+		},
 		{
 			name: "zero minReplicas",
 			vpa: vpa_types.VerticalPodAutoscaler{
@@ -282,6 +323,9 @@ func TestValidateVPA(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	for _, tc := range tests {
 		t.Run(fmt.Sprintf("test case: %s", tc.name), func(t *testing.T) {
+			if !tc.inPlaceOrRecreateFeatureGateDisabled {
+				featuregatetesting.SetFeatureGateDuringTest(t, features.MutableFeatureGate, features.InPlaceOrRecreate, true)
+			}
 			err := ValidateVPA(&tc.vpa, tc.isCreate)
 			if tc.expectError == nil {
 				assert.NoError(t, err)