diff --git a/.github/workflows/commit_message_checker.yml b/.github/workflows/commit_message_checker.yml
index 358ba3ef05b..e3d38efebb1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/commit_message_checker.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/commit_message_checker.yml
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ jobs:
           error: 'The maximum subject line length of 72 characters is exceeded.'
           excludeDescription: 'true'    # excludes the description body of a pull request
           excludeTitle: 'true'    # excludes the title of a pull request
+          excludeMergeCommits: 'true' # optional: this excludes merge commits
           checkAllCommitMessages: 'true'    # checks all commits associated with a pull request
           accessToken: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}    # only required if checkAllCommitMessages is true
       - name: Check Empty Line