diff --git a/readthedocs/projects/exceptions.py b/readthedocs/projects/exceptions.py
index ba4196320a1..ef30d165f38 100644
--- a/readthedocs/projects/exceptions.py
+++ b/readthedocs/projects/exceptions.py
@@ -47,6 +47,10 @@ class RepositoryError(BuildEnvironmentError):
         'You can not have two versions with the name latest or stable.'
     )
 
+    FAILED_TO_CHECKOUT = _(
+        'Failed to checkout revision: {}'
+    )
+
     def get_default_message(self):
         if settings.ALLOW_PRIVATE_REPOS:
             return self.PRIVATE_ALLOWED
diff --git a/readthedocs/rtd_tests/tests/test_backend.py b/readthedocs/rtd_tests/tests/test_backend.py
index ee3471528ca..8d92ab416e4 100644
--- a/readthedocs/rtd_tests/tests/test_backend.py
+++ b/readthedocs/rtd_tests/tests/test_backend.py
@@ -120,6 +120,17 @@ def test_git_update_and_checkout(self):
         self.assertEqual(code, 0)
         self.assertTrue(exists(repo.working_dir))
 
+    def test_git_checkout_invalid_revision(self):
+        repo = self.project.vcs_repo()
+        repo.update()
+        version = 'invalid-revision'
+        with self.assertRaises(RepositoryError) as e:
+            repo.checkout(version)
+        self.assertEqual(
+            str(e.exception),
+            RepositoryError.FAILED_TO_CHECKOUT.format(version)
+        )
+
     def test_git_tags(self):
         repo_path = self.project.repo
         create_git_tag(repo_path, 'v01')
@@ -254,6 +265,17 @@ def test_update_and_checkout(self):
         self.assertEqual(code, 0)
         self.assertTrue(exists(repo.working_dir))
 
+    def test_checkout_invalid_revision(self):
+        repo = self.project.vcs_repo()
+        repo.update()
+        version = 'invalid-revision'
+        with self.assertRaises(RepositoryError) as e:
+            repo.checkout(version)
+        self.assertEqual(
+            str(e.exception),
+            RepositoryError.FAILED_TO_CHECKOUT.format(version)
+        )
+
     def test_parse_tags(self):
         data = """\
         tip                            13575:8e94a1b4e9a4
diff --git a/readthedocs/vcs_support/backends/bzr.py b/readthedocs/vcs_support/backends/bzr.py
index 5ea817c1156..6ddbd3f1224 100644
--- a/readthedocs/vcs_support/backends/bzr.py
+++ b/readthedocs/vcs_support/backends/bzr.py
@@ -93,4 +93,9 @@ def checkout(self, identifier=None):
         super(Backend, self).checkout()
         if not identifier:
             return self.up()
-        return self.run('bzr', 'switch', identifier)
+        exit_code, stdout, stderr = self.run('bzr', 'switch', identifier)
+        if exit_code != 0:
+            raise RepositoryError(
+                RepositoryError.FAILED_TO_CHECKOUT.format(identifier)
+            )
+        return exit_code, stdout, stderr
diff --git a/readthedocs/vcs_support/backends/git.py b/readthedocs/vcs_support/backends/git.py
index 0176e896afe..885d41e3e7f 100644
--- a/readthedocs/vcs_support/backends/git.py
+++ b/readthedocs/vcs_support/backends/git.py
@@ -147,7 +147,9 @@ def checkout_revision(self, revision=None):
 
         code, out, err = self.run('git', 'checkout', '--force', revision)
         if code != 0:
-            log.warning("Failed to checkout revision '%s': %s", revision, code)
+            raise RepositoryError(
+                RepositoryError.FAILED_TO_CHECKOUT.format(revision)
+            )
         return [code, out, err]
 
     def clone(self):
diff --git a/readthedocs/vcs_support/backends/hg.py b/readthedocs/vcs_support/backends/hg.py
index 4a66624f1ae..dd02fbe2872 100644
--- a/readthedocs/vcs_support/backends/hg.py
+++ b/readthedocs/vcs_support/backends/hg.py
@@ -110,4 +110,11 @@ def checkout(self, identifier=None):
         super(Backend, self).checkout()
         if not identifier:
             identifier = 'tip'
-        return self.run('hg', 'update', '--clean', identifier)
+        exit_code, stdout, stderr = self.run(
+            'hg', 'update', '--clean', identifier
+        )
+        if exit_code != 0:
+            raise RepositoryError(
+                RepositoryError.FAILED_TO_CHECKOUT.format(identifier)
+            )
+        return exit_code, stdout, stderr