diff --git a/eng/common/scripts/check-spelling-in-changed-files.ps1 b/eng/common/scripts/check-spelling-in-changed-files.ps1
index aee066a5c0c1..b0d43b210509 100644
--- a/eng/common/scripts/check-spelling-in-changed-files.ps1
+++ b/eng/common/scripts/check-spelling-in-changed-files.ps1
@@ -115,6 +115,7 @@ $spellingErrors = &"$PSScriptRoot/../spelling/Invoke-Cspell.ps1" `
   -CspellConfigPath $CspellConfigPath `
   -SpellCheckRoot $SpellCheckRoot `
   -FileList $changedFilePaths
+$cspellExitCode = $LASTEXITCODE
 
 if ($spellingErrors) {
     $errorLoggingFunction = Get-Item 'Function:LogWarning'
@@ -130,6 +131,9 @@ if ($spellingErrors) {
     if ($ExitWithError) {
         exit 1
     }
+} elseif ($cspellExitCode -ne 0 -and $ExitWithError) {
+    LogError "CSpell exited with code $cspellExitCode. This may indicate a configuration error or other failure in the spell checking tool."
+    exit 1
 } else {
   Write-Host "No spelling errors detected"
 }