diff --git a/dev/check-license b/dev/check-license
index fbd2dd465bb18786cc319b75e769352a80bd1e4b..7a603bf0180adbc7d435473e669f9510b6641221 100755
--- a/dev/check-license
+++ b/dev/check-license
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ acquire_rat_jar () {
 
 # Go to the Spark project root directory
 FWDIR="$(cd `dirname $0`/..; pwd)"
-cd $FWDIR
+cd "$FWDIR"
 
 if test -x "$JAVA_HOME/bin/java"; then
     declare java_cmd="$JAVA_HOME/bin/java"