diff --git a/.changeset/eleven-colts-march.md b/.changeset/eleven-colts-march.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..519bf3f88
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/eleven-colts-march.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@openfn/deploy': patch
+---
+
+Error message for when workflow found in 'state' but not 'spec' during deploy
diff --git a/packages/deploy/src/stateTransform.ts b/packages/deploy/src/stateTransform.ts
index 1d17397b0..78dee1e15 100644
--- a/packages/deploy/src/stateTransform.ts
+++ b/packages/deploy/src/stateTransform.ts
@@ -216,6 +216,17 @@ export function mergeSpecIntoState(
           ];
         }
 
+        if (!specWorkflow && !isEmpty(stateWorkflow || {})) {
+          console.log(
+            'Workflow found in project state but not spec.',
+            `Spec: ${specWorkflow}`,
+            `State: ${stateWorkflow}`
+          );
+          throw new Error(
+            'Cannot continue: workflow from state not found in spec.'
+          );
+        }
+
         return [
           workflowKey,
           {