diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/bazel/BazelVersion.java b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/bazel/BazelVersion.java
index b8c1359c53d0ee..13b52434a83a02 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/bazel/BazelVersion.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/bazel/BazelVersion.java
@@ -33,8 +33,8 @@
  *
  * <ul>
  *   <li>{RELEASE} is a sequence of decimal numbers separated by dots;
- *   <li>{SUFFIX} could be: {@code -pre.*}, {@code rc\d+}, or any other string (which compares equal
- *       to SUFFIX is absent)
+ *   <li>{SUFFIX} could be: {@code -pre.*}, or any other string (which compares equal to SUFFIX
+ *       being absent)
  * </ul>
  */
 @AutoValue
@@ -52,9 +52,9 @@ public abstract class BazelVersion {
   /** Returns the original version string. */
   public abstract String getOriginal();
 
-  /** Whether this is a prerelease or a release candidate */
-  boolean isPrereleaseOrCandidate() {
-    return getSuffix().startsWith("-pre") || getSuffix().startsWith("rc");
+  /** Whether this is a prerelease */
+  boolean isPrerelease() {
+    return getSuffix().startsWith("-pre");
   }
 
   /** Parses a version string into a {@link BazelVersion} object. */
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ public boolean satisfiesCompatibility(String compatVersion) {
     int result =
         Objects.compare(
             getRelease(), compatSplit, lexicographical(Comparator.<Integer>naturalOrder()));
-    if (result == 0 && isPrereleaseOrCandidate()) {
+    if (result == 0 && isPrerelease()) {
       result = -1;
     }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/bazel/bzlmod/BazelModuleResolutionFunction.java b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/bazel/bzlmod/BazelModuleResolutionFunction.java
index a045f4b3acb1ac..2a0ace8e215798 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/bazel/bzlmod/BazelModuleResolutionFunction.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/bazel/bzlmod/BazelModuleResolutionFunction.java
@@ -208,12 +208,8 @@ public static void checkBazelCompatibility(
         if (!curVersion.satisfiesCompatibility(compatVersion)) {
           String message =
               String.format(
-                  "Bazel version %s is not compatible with module \"%s@%s\" (bazel_compatibility:"
-                      + " %s)",
-                  curVersion.getOriginal(),
-                  module.getName(),
-                  module.getVersion().getOriginal(),
-                  module.getBazelCompatibility());
+                  "Bazel version %s is not compatible with module \"%s\" (bazel_compatibility: %s)",
+                  curVersion.getOriginal(), module.getKey(), module.getBazelCompatibility());
 
           if (mode == BazelCompatibilityMode.WARNING) {
             eventHandler.handle(Event.warn(message));
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/bazel/bzlmod/BazelModuleResolutionFunctionTest.java b/src/test/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/bazel/bzlmod/BazelModuleResolutionFunctionTest.java
index a3631acfb3c4a3..4ee98ed19af66f 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/bazel/bzlmod/BazelModuleResolutionFunctionTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/bazel/bzlmod/BazelModuleResolutionFunctionTest.java
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ public void testSimpleBazelCompatibilityFailure() throws Exception {
 
     assertThat(result.hasError()).isTrue();
     assertContainsEvent(
-        "Bazel version 5.1.4 is not compatible with module \"mod@1.0\" (bazel_compatibility:"
+        "Bazel version 5.1.4 is not compatible with module \"<root>\" (bazel_compatibility:"
             + " [>5.1.0, <5.1.4])");
   }
 
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ public void testBazelCompatibilityWarning() throws Exception {
 
     assertThat(result.hasError()).isFalse();
     assertContainsEvent(
-        "Bazel version 5.1.4 is not compatible with module \"mod@1.0\" (bazel_compatibility:"
+        "Bazel version 5.1.4 is not compatible with module \"<root>\" (bazel_compatibility:"
             + " [>5.1.0, <5.1.4])");
   }
 
@@ -198,7 +198,7 @@ public void testDisablingBazelCompatibility() throws Exception {
 
     assertThat(result.hasError()).isFalse();
     assertDoesNotContainEvent(
-        "Bazel version 5.1.4 is not compatible with module \"mod@1.0\" (bazel_compatibility:"
+        "Bazel version 5.1.4 is not compatible with module \"<root>\" (bazel_compatibility:"
             + " [>5.1.0, <5.1.4])");
   }
 
@@ -227,6 +227,36 @@ public void testBazelCompatibilityFailure() throws Exception {
             + " [<=5.1.4, -5.1.2])");
   }
 
+  @Test
+  public void testRcIsCompatibleWithReleaseRequirement() throws Exception {
+    scratch.file(
+        rootDirectory.getRelative("MODULE.bazel").getPathString(),
+        "module(name='mod', version='1.0', bazel_compatibility=['>=6.4.0'])");
+
+    embedBazelVersion("6.4.0rc1");
+    EvaluationResult<BazelModuleResolutionValue> result =
+        evaluator.evaluate(ImmutableList.of(BazelModuleResolutionValue.KEY), evaluationContext);
+
+    assertThat(result.hasError()).isFalse();
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testPrereleaseIsNotCompatibleWithReleaseRequirement() throws Exception {
+    scratch.file(
+        rootDirectory.getRelative("MODULE.bazel").getPathString(),
+        "module(name='mod', version='1.0', bazel_compatibility=['>=6.4.0'])");
+
+    embedBazelVersion("6.4.0-pre-1");
+    reporter.removeHandler(failFastHandler);
+    EvaluationResult<BazelModuleResolutionValue> result =
+        evaluator.evaluate(ImmutableList.of(BazelModuleResolutionValue.KEY), evaluationContext);
+
+    assertThat(result.hasError()).isTrue();
+    assertContainsEvent(
+        "Bazel version 6.4.0-pre-1 is not compatible with module \"<root>\" (bazel_compatibility:"
+            + " [>=6.4.0])");
+  }
+
   private void embedBazelVersion(String version) {
     // Double-get version-info to determine if it's the cached instance or not, and if not cache it.
     BlazeVersionInfo blazeInfo1 = BlazeVersionInfo.instance();