diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 6de23594..03295de6 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ dependencies = [
     "niworkflows >= 1.13.1",
     "numpy >= 1.21.0",
     "packaging",
-    "pandas",
+    "pandas < 3",
     "pooch",
     "psutil >= 5.4",
     "pybids >= 0.15.0",
diff --git a/scripts/check_outputs.py b/scripts/check_outputs.py
index 5aa22e1b..47018523 100644
--- a/scripts/check_outputs.py
+++ b/scripts/check_outputs.py
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ def _check_xfms(xfms):
         if xfm.name.endswith(".txt"):
             assert nt.linear.load(xfm, fmt='itk')
         elif xfm.name.endswith('.h5'):
-            assert nt.manip.load(xfm)
+            assert nt.manip.load(xfm, fmt='itk')
         elif xfm.name.endswith('.json'):
             meta = json.loads(xfm.read_text())
             assert 'Sources' in meta