diff --git a/drivers/mtd/mtdpart.c b/drivers/mtd/mtdpart.c
index 795a94e6b482..11cab777a1ac 100644
--- a/drivers/mtd/mtdpart.c
+++ b/drivers/mtd/mtdpart.c
@@ -255,7 +255,8 @@ int mtd_add_partition(struct mtd_info *parent, const char *name,
 
 	/* the direct offset is expected */
 	if (offset == MTDPART_OFS_APPEND ||
-	    offset == MTDPART_OFS_NXTBLK)
+	    offset == MTDPART_OFS_NXTBLK ||
+	    offset == MTDPART_OFS_RETAIN)
 		return -EINVAL;
 
 	if (length == MTDPART_SIZ_FULL)