diff --git a/nvm.sh b/nvm.sh
index d94389621b..1b7acf40c8 100755
--- a/nvm.sh
+++ b/nvm.sh
@@ -1582,6 +1582,11 @@ nvm_ls_remote() {
     fi
     PATTERN="$(NVM_LTS="${NVM_LTS-}" nvm_ls_remote "${IMPLICIT}" | command tail -1 | command awk '{ print $1 }')"
   elif [ -n "${PATTERN}" ]; then
+    # Check if PATTERN is a known LTS name without lts/ prefix
+    if [ -f "$(nvm_alias_path)/lts/$(echo "${PATTERN}" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')" ]; then
+      nvm_err "LTS names must be prefixed with 'lts/'. Use 'lts/${PATTERN}' instead."
+      return 3
+    fi
     PATTERN="$(nvm_ensure_version_prefix "${PATTERN}")"
   else
     PATTERN=".*"