diff --git a/docs/operations/updates_and_upgrades.md b/docs/operations/updates_and_upgrades.md
index 2d1ec748c1..51c4e7d65c 100644
--- a/docs/operations/updates_and_upgrades.md
+++ b/docs/operations/updates_and_upgrades.md
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ brew update && brew upgrade kops
 From Github:
 
 ```bash
-rm -rf /usr/local/bin/kops
+sudo rm -rf /usr/local/bin/kops
 wget -O kops https://github.com/kubernetes/kops/releases/download/$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/kubernetes/kops/releases/latest | grep tag_name | cut -d '"' -f 4)/kops-darwin-amd64
 chmod +x ./kops
 sudo mv ./kops /usr/local/bin/
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ You can also rerun [these steps](../development/building.md) if previously built
 From Github:
 
 ```bash
-rm -rf /usr/local/bin/kops
+sudo rm -rf /usr/local/bin/kops
 wget -O kops https://github.com/kubernetes/kops/releases/download/$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/kubernetes/kops/releases/latest | grep tag_name | cut -d '"' -f 4)/kops-linux-amd64
 chmod +x ./kops
 sudo mv ./kops /usr/local/bin/