diff --git a/crates/nu-command/src/formats/from/csv.rs b/crates/nu-command/src/formats/from/csv.rs
index 5072914f2..679d2d1e3 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/src/formats/from/csv.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/src/formats/from/csv.rs
@@ -129,6 +129,13 @@ fn from_csv(
     input: PipelineData,
 ) -> Result<PipelineData, ShellError> {
     let name = call.head;
+    if let PipelineData::Value(Value::List { .. }, _) = input {
+        return Err(ShellError::TypeMismatch {
+            err_message: "received list stream, did you forget to open file with --raw flag?"
+                .into(),
+            span: name,
+        });
+    }
 
     let separator = match call.get_flag::<String>(engine_state, stack, "separator")? {
         Some(sep) => {