diff --git a/arch/blackfin/mach-common/arch_checks.c b/arch/blackfin/mach-common/arch_checks.c
index 98133b968f7b..b3a2e3fa15e3 100644
--- a/arch/blackfin/mach-common/arch_checks.c
+++ b/arch/blackfin/mach-common/arch_checks.c
@@ -62,3 +62,8 @@
 #if (CONFIG_BOOT_LOAD & 0x3)
 # error "The kernel load address must be 4 byte aligned"
 #endif
+
+/* The entire kernel must be able to make a 24bit pcrel call to start of L1 */
+#if ((0xffffffff - L1_CODE_START + 1) + CONFIG_BOOT_LOAD) > 0x1000000
+# error "The kernel load address is too high; keep it below 10meg for safety"
+#endif