diff --git a/zcutil/make-release.py b/zcutil/make-release.py
index 7d505c279..c19544312 100755
--- a/zcutil/make-release.py
+++ b/zcutil/make-release.py
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ def main(args=sys.argv[1:]):
         main_logged(
             opts.RELEASE_VERSION,
             opts.RELEASE_PREV,
+            opts.RELEASE_FROM,
             opts.RELEASE_HEIGHT,
             opts.HOTFIX,
         )
@@ -61,6 +62,11 @@ def parse_args(args):
         type=Version.parse_arg,
         help='The previously released version.',
     )
+    p.add_argument(
+        'RELEASE_FROM',
+        type=Version.parse_arg,
+        help='The previously released non-beta non-RC version. May be the same as RELEASE_PREV.',
+    )
     p.add_argument(
         'RELEASE_HEIGHT',
         type=int,
@@ -70,8 +76,8 @@ def parse_args(args):
 
 
 # Top-level flow:
-def main_logged(release, releaseprev, releaseheight, hotfix):
-    verify_releaseprev_tag(releaseprev)
+def main_logged(release, releaseprev, releasefrom, releaseheight, hotfix):
+    verify_tags(releaseprev, releasefrom)
     verify_version(release, releaseprev, hotfix)
     initialize_git(release, hotfix)
     patch_version_in_files(release, releaseprev)
@@ -82,7 +88,7 @@ def main_logged(release, releaseprev, releaseheight, hotfix):
     gen_manpages()
     commit('Updated manpages for {}.'.format(release.novtext))
 
-    gen_release_notes(release)
+    gen_release_notes(release, releasefrom)
     update_debian_changelog(release)
     commit(
         'Updated release notes and changelog for {}.'.format(
@@ -101,8 +107,8 @@ def phase(message):
     return deco
 
 
-@phase('Checking RELEASE_PREV tag.')
-def verify_releaseprev_tag(releaseprev):
+@phase('Checking tags.')
+def verify_tags(releaseprev, releasefrom):
     candidates = []
 
     # Any tag beginning with a 'v' followed by [1-9] must be a version
@@ -130,6 +136,31 @@ def verify_releaseprev_tag(releaseprev):
             ),
         )
 
+    candidates.reverse()
+    prev_tags = []
+    for candidate in candidates:
+        if releasefrom == candidate:
+            break
+        else:
+            prev_tags.append(candidate)
+    else:
+        raise SystemExit(
+            '{} does not appear in `git tag --list`'
+            .format(
+                releasefrom.vtext,
+            ),
+        )
+
+    for tag in prev_tags:
+        if not tag.betarc:
+            raise SystemExit(
+                '{} appears to be a more recent non-beta non-RC release than {}'
+                .format(
+                    tag.vtext,
+                    releasefrom.vtext,
+                ),
+            )
+
 
 @phase('Checking version.')
 def verify_version(release, releaseprev, hotfix):
@@ -238,8 +269,18 @@ def gen_manpages():
 
 
 @phase('Generating release notes.')
-def gen_release_notes(release):
-    sh_log('python', './zcutil/release-notes.py', '--version', release.novtext)
+def gen_release_notes(release, releasefrom):
+    release_notes = [
+        'python',
+        './zcutil/release-notes.py',
+        '--version',
+        release.novtext,
+        '--prev',
+        releasefrom.vtext,
+    ]
+    if not release.betarc:
+        release_notes.append('--clear')
+    sh_log(*release_notes)
     sh_log(
         'git',
         'add',
diff --git a/zcutil/release-notes.py b/zcutil/release-notes.py
index 24adff0d0..b09c8774e 100755
--- a/zcutil/release-notes.py
+++ b/zcutil/release-notes.py
@@ -83,11 +83,14 @@ def document_authors():
                 f.write("{0} ({1})\n".format(n, c))
 
 ## Writes release note to ./doc/release-notes based on git shortlog when current version number is specified
-def generate_release_note(version, filename):
+def generate_release_note(version, filename, prev, clear):
     print "Automatically generating release notes for {0} from git shortlog. Should review {1} for accuracy.".format(version, filename)
-    # fetches latest tags, so that latest_tag will be correct
-    subprocess.Popen(['git fetch -t'], shell=True, stdout=subprocess.PIPE).communicate()[0]
-    latest_tag = subprocess.Popen(['git describe --abbrev=0'], shell=True, stdout=subprocess.PIPE).communicate()[0].strip()
+    if prev:
+        latest_tag = prev
+    else:
+        # fetches latest tags, so that latest_tag will be correct
+        subprocess.Popen(['git fetch -t'], shell=True, stdout=subprocess.PIPE).communicate()[0]
+        latest_tag = subprocess.Popen(['git describe --abbrev=0'], shell=True, stdout=subprocess.PIPE).communicate()[0].strip()
     print "Previous release tag: ", latest_tag
     notes = subprocess.Popen(['git shortlog --no-merges {0}..HEAD'.format(latest_tag)], shell=True, stdin=subprocess.PIPE, stdout=subprocess.PIPE).communicate()[0]
     lines = notes.split('\n')
@@ -105,25 +108,32 @@ def generate_release_note(version, filename):
         f.writelines(notable_changes)
         f.writelines(RELEASE_NOTES_CHANGELOG_HEADING)
         f.writelines('\n'.join(lines))
-    # Clear temporary release notes file
-    with open(temp_release_note, 'w') as f:
-        f.writelines(TEMP_RELEASE_NOTES_HEADER)
+    if clear:
+        # Clear temporary release notes file
+        with open(temp_release_note, 'w') as f:
+            f.writelines(TEMP_RELEASE_NOTES_HEADER)
 
-def main(version, filename):
+def main(version, filename, prev, clear):
     if version != None:
-        generate_release_note(version, filename)
+        generate_release_note(version, filename, prev, clear)
     document_authors()
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
-    parser.add_argument('--version')
+    parser.add_argument('--version', help='Upcoming version, without leading v')
+    parser.add_argument('--prev', help='Previous version, with leading v')
+    parser.add_argument('--clear', help='Wipe doc/release-notes.md', action='store_true')
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
     root_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)))
     doc_dir = os.path.join(root_dir, 'doc')
     version = None
     filename = None
+    prev = None
+    clear = False
     if args.version:
         version = args.version
         filename = 'release-notes-{0}.md'.format(version)
-    main(version, filename)
+        prev = args.prev
+        clear = args.clear
+    main(version, filename, prev, clear)