diff --git a/py/selenium/webdriver/remote/webdriver.py b/py/selenium/webdriver/remote/webdriver.py
index c70fcb4888ec4..cc4d06e2e2779 100644
--- a/py/selenium/webdriver/remote/webdriver.py
+++ b/py/selenium/webdriver/remote/webdriver.py
@@ -224,7 +224,11 @@ def __init__(
             - Custom client configuration to use. Defaults to None.
         """
 
-        if isinstance(options, list):
+        if options is None:
+            raise TypeError(
+                "missing 1 required keyword-only argument: 'options' (instance of driver `options.Options` class)"
+            )
+        elif isinstance(options, list):
             capabilities = create_matches(options)
             _ignore_local_proxy = False
         else:
diff --git a/py/test/selenium/webdriver/remote/remote_tests.py b/py/test/selenium/webdriver/remote/remote_tests.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..6a7e045819021
--- /dev/null
+++ b/py/test/selenium/webdriver/remote/remote_tests.py
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+# Licensed to the Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) under one
+# or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+# distributed with this work for additional information
+# regarding copyright ownership.  The SFC licenses this file
+# to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+# "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+# with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+# software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+# "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+# KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+# specific language governing permissions and limitations
+# under the License.
+
+import re
+
+import pytest
+
+from selenium import webdriver
+
+
+def test_remote_webdriver_requires_options_parameter():
+    msg = "missing 1 required keyword-only argument: 'options' (instance of driver `options.Options` class)"
+    with pytest.raises(TypeError, match=re.escape(msg)):
+        webdriver.Remote()
+    with pytest.raises(TypeError, match=re.escape(msg)):
+        webdriver.Remote(None)
+    with pytest.raises(TypeError, match=re.escape(msg)):
+        webdriver.Remote(options=None)