diff --git a/src/nmdc_submission_schema/datamodel/gold.py b/src/nmdc_submission_schema/datamodel/gold.py
index 91054f87..60a07566 100644
--- a/src/nmdc_submission_schema/datamodel/gold.py
+++ b/src/nmdc_submission_schema/datamodel/gold.py
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ def _add_term(term_set, term, level_index):
 
     for term_set in term_sets:
         for level in levels:
-            pvs = [PermissibleValue(text=term) for term in term_set.terms[level]]
+            pvs = [PermissibleValue(text=term) for term in sorted(term_set.terms[level])]
             schemaview.add_enum(EnumDefinition(
                 name=level.value + term_set.schema_enum_suffix + 'Enum',
                 permissible_values=pvs