diff --git a/.github/scripts/verify_envoy_version.sh b/.github/scripts/verify_envoy_version.sh
index 91694f608606..4bcbea4cabee 100755
--- a/.github/scripts/verify_envoy_version.sh
+++ b/.github/scripts/verify_envoy_version.sh
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ if [ -z "$current_branch" ]; then
 fi
 
 if [[ "$SKIP_VERIFY_ENVOY_VERSION" = "true" ]]; then
-  echo -e "*************** VERIFY ENVOY VERSION IS DISABLED. To enable, set the environment variable SKIP_VERIFY_ENVOY_VERSION to false in .github/workflows/verify-envoy-version.yml *****************"
+  echo -e "*************** VERIFY ENVOY VERSION IS DISABLED. To enable, update environment variable in Github settings *****************"
   exit 0
 fi
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/verify-envoy-version.yml b/.github/workflows/verify-envoy-version.yml
index 2e0c3a0a718a..9717ac6a5348 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/verify-envoy-version.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/verify-envoy-version.yml
@@ -13,9 +13,10 @@ on:
     branches:
       - main
       - release/**
+      - disable_envoy_check
 
 env:
-  SKIP_VERIFY_ENVOY_VERSION: "false" ## temporarily disabled; set to true to disable script
+  SKIP_VERIFY_ENVOY_VERSION: ${{ vars.SKIP_VERIFY_ENVOY_VERSION }}
 
 jobs:
   verify-envoy-version: