diff --git a/scripts/release.sh b/scripts/release.sh
index ef6399b68..7b577ef35 100755
--- a/scripts/release.sh
+++ b/scripts/release.sh
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ if [ -z "$GITHUB_TOKEN" ]; then
   exit -1
 fi
 
+maintainer_public_key=${MAINTAINER_GPG:-"583A612D890159BE"}
+
 branch=$(git symbolic-ref --short -q HEAD)
 if [ "$branch" != "develop" ] && [[ "$branch" != feature/* ]]; then
   echo "Need to be on develop or release branch."
@@ -75,7 +77,6 @@ rm "./client/dist/embed-stats.json"
                           "$directory_name/dist" "$directory_name/package.json" \
                           "$directory_name/scripts" "$directory_name/support" \
                           "$directory_name/tsconfig.json" "$directory_name/yarn.lock")
-  maintainer_public_key="583A612D890159BE"
 
   # temporary setup
   cd ..