diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 29d77f3c0..a0d059066 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ classifiers = [
   "Topic :: Utilities",
 ]
 dependencies = [
-  "awkward>=2.4.6",
+  "awkward>=2.5.0rc0",
   "uproot>=5.1.2",
   "dask[array]>=2023.4.0",
   "dask-awkward>=2023.10.0",