diff --git a/packages/registrar/package.json b/packages/registrar/package.json
index c5c17a1f6af..42757976b59 100644
--- a/packages/registrar/package.json
+++ b/packages/registrar/package.json
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "@agoric/install-ses": "^0.3.3-dev.0",
-    "ava": "^3.12.1",
+    "ava": "^4.0.0",
     "esm": "^3.2.25",
     "nyc": "^15.1.0"
   },