diff --git a/saphyr/src/parser.rs b/saphyr/src/parser.rs
index b0b3188..d8c1009 100644
--- a/saphyr/src/parser.rs
+++ b/saphyr/src/parser.rs
@@ -498,15 +498,20 @@ impl<T: Iterator<Item = char>> Parser<T> {
     }
 
     fn parser_process_directives(&mut self) -> Result<(), ScanError> {
+        let mut version_directive_received = false;
         loop {
             let mut tags = HashMap::new();
             match self.peek_token()? {
-                Token(_, TokenType::VersionDirective(_, _)) => {
+                Token(mark, TokenType::VersionDirective(_, _)) => {
                     // XXX parsing with warning according to spec
                     //if major != 1 || minor > 2 {
                     //    return Err(ScanError::new(tok.0,
                     //        "found incompatible YAML document"));
                     //}
+                    if version_directive_received == true {
+                        return Err(ScanError::new(*mark, "duplicate version directive"));
+                    }
+                    version_directive_received = true;
                 }
                 Token(mark, TokenType::TagDirective(handle, prefix)) => {
                     if tags.contains_key(handle) {
diff --git a/saphyr/tests/yaml-test-suite.rs b/saphyr/tests/yaml-test-suite.rs
index 7c5ace6..1e88b65 100644
--- a/saphyr/tests/yaml-test-suite.rs
+++ b/saphyr/tests/yaml-test-suite.rs
@@ -298,7 +298,6 @@ fn expected_events(expected_tree: &str) -> Vec<String> {
 #[rustfmt::skip]
 static EXPECTED_FAILURES: &[&str] = &[
     // Directives (various)
-    "SF5V", // duplicate directive
     "W4TN", // scalar confused as directive
     // Losing trailing newline
     "JEF9-02",