diff --git a/src/tallies/filter_energyfunc.cpp b/src/tallies/filter_energyfunc.cpp
index 0abebf8852..170c052629 100644
--- a/src/tallies/filter_energyfunc.cpp
+++ b/src/tallies/filter_energyfunc.cpp
@@ -39,8 +39,12 @@ void EnergyFunctionFilter::from_xml(pugi::xml_node node)
     } else if (interpolation == "log-log") {
       interpolation_ = Interpolation::log_log;
     } else if (interpolation == "quadratic") {
+      if (energy.size() < 3)
+      fatal_error(fmt::format("Quadratic interpolation on EnergyFunctionFilter {} requires at least 3 data points.", id()));
       interpolation_ = Interpolation::quadratic;
     } else if (interpolation == "cubic") {
+      if (energy.size() < 4)
+      fatal_error(fmt::format("Cubic interpolation on EnergyFunctionFilter {} requires at least 4 data points.", id()));
       interpolation_ = Interpolation::cubic;
     } else {
       fatal_error(fmt::format(