diff --git a/src/instructlab/training/multipack_sampler.py b/src/instructlab/training/multipack_sampler.py
index 42fd7d17..56245bd6 100644
--- a/src/instructlab/training/multipack_sampler.py
+++ b/src/instructlab/training/multipack_sampler.py
@@ -437,6 +437,11 @@ def generate_batches(self, set_stats=False):
             len(self.lengths)
         )
 
+        # remove indices where the entries are longer than batch max length
+        indices = indices[self.lengths[indices] <= self.batch_max_length]
+        if len(indices) < len(self.lengths):
+            print(f"\033[33mDropping {len(self.lengths) - len(indices)} samples longer than batch_max_length. Ensure that the right max_batch_length is used during data processing.\033[0m")
+
         lengths = self.lengths[indices]
         lengths_cumsum = np.cumsum(lengths)