diff --git a/eng/common/scripts/Test-SampleMetadata.ps1 b/eng/common/scripts/Test-SampleMetadata.ps1
index cd74690cae57..523aeb31dd8a 100644
--- a/eng/common/scripts/Test-SampleMetadata.ps1
+++ b/eng/common/scripts/Test-SampleMetadata.ps1
@@ -31,11 +31,13 @@ process {
         }
 
         [string[]] $content = $file | Get-Content
-        if (!$content[0].StartsWith('---')) {
+        if (!$content -or !$content[0].StartsWith('---')) {
             Write-Verbose "Skipping $($file.FullName): does not contain frontmatter"
             continue
         }
 
+        Write-Verbose "Checking $($file.FullName)"
+
         # Reset metadata and create mutable collections.
         $products = [System.Collections.Generic.List[string]]::new()