diff --git a/doc/conf.py b/doc/conf.py
index 544bddf2e5a1..f975b8076044 100644
--- a/doc/conf.py
+++ b/doc/conf.py
@@ -158,6 +158,10 @@ def _check_dependencies():
         raise OSError(
             "No binary named dot - graphviz must be installed to build the "
             "documentation")
+    if shutil.which('latex') is None:
+        raise OSError(
+            "No binary named latex - a LaTeX distribution must be installed to build "
+            "the documentation")
 
 _check_dependencies()