diff --git a/CHANGES.md b/CHANGES.md
index 34044c26aa..8be1284c73 100644
--- a/CHANGES.md
+++ b/CHANGES.md
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ This document is intended for Spotless developers.
 We adhere to the [keepachangelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/) format (starting after version `1.27.0`).
 
 ## [Unreleased]
+### Fixed
+* Explicitly separate target file from git arguments when parsing year for license header to prevent command from failing on argument-like paths ([#847](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/847))
 
 ## [2.13.3] - 2021-04-20
 ### Fixed
diff --git a/lib/src/main/java/com/diffplug/spotless/generic/LicenseHeaderStep.java b/lib/src/main/java/com/diffplug/spotless/generic/LicenseHeaderStep.java
index d4cbeda5b1..1e93acce31 100644
--- a/lib/src/main/java/com/diffplug/spotless/generic/LicenseHeaderStep.java
+++ b/lib/src/main/java/com/diffplug/spotless/generic/LicenseHeaderStep.java
@@ -335,7 +335,7 @@ private String setLicenseHeaderYearsFromGitHistory(String raw, File file) throws
 		}
 
 		private static String parseYear(String cmd, File file) throws IOException {
-			String fullCmd = cmd + " " + file.getAbsolutePath();
+			String fullCmd = cmd + " -- " + file.getAbsolutePath();
 			ProcessBuilder builder = new ProcessBuilder().directory(file.getParentFile());
 			if (FileSignature.machineIsWin()) {
 				builder.command("cmd", "/c", fullCmd);
diff --git a/plugin-gradle/CHANGES.md b/plugin-gradle/CHANGES.md
index 697f838b54..c9ffe995a4 100644
--- a/plugin-gradle/CHANGES.md
+++ b/plugin-gradle/CHANGES.md
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 We adhere to the [keepachangelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/) format (starting after version `3.27.0`).
 
 ## [Unreleased]
+### Fixed
+* Explicitly separate target file from git arguments when parsing year for license header to prevent command from failing on argument-like paths ([#847](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/847))
 
 ## [5.12.2] - 2021-04-20
 ### Fixed
diff --git a/plugin-maven/CHANGES.md b/plugin-maven/CHANGES.md
index c78170851a..517e4c6222 100644
--- a/plugin-maven/CHANGES.md
+++ b/plugin-maven/CHANGES.md
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 We adhere to the [keepachangelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/) format (starting after version `1.27.0`).
 
 ## [Unreleased]
+### Fixed
+* Explicitly separate target file from git arguments when parsing year for license header to prevent command from failing on argument-like paths ([#847](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/847))
 
 ## [2.10.2] - 2021-04-20
 ### Fixed