diff --git a/controller/src/command.rs b/controller/src/command.rs
index e8970bd..b645892 100644
--- a/controller/src/command.rs
+++ b/controller/src/command.rs
@@ -696,6 +696,25 @@ where
 		args.input_file,
 		args.input_slatepack_message,
 	)?;
+	match slate.state {
+		SlateState::Invoice1 => {
+			return Err(Error::GenericError(
+				"Use the 'pay' command to process this invoice transaction".to_string(),
+			))
+		}
+		SlateState::Standard2 | SlateState::Invoice2 => {
+			return Err(Error::GenericError(
+				"Use the 'finalize' command to complete this transaction".to_string(),
+			))
+		}
+		SlateState::Standard3 | SlateState::Invoice3 => {
+			return Err(Error::GenericError(
+				"Use the 'post' command to post this finalized transaction to the chain"
+					.to_string(),
+			))
+		}
+		_ => {}
+	}
 
 	let km = match keychain_mask.as_ref() {
 		None => None,
@@ -859,6 +878,25 @@ where
 		args.input_file.clone(),
 		args.input_slatepack_message.clone(),
 	)?;
+	match slate.state {
+		SlateState::Standard1 => {
+			return Err(Error::GenericError(
+				"Use the 'receive' command on the recipient's wallet first".to_string(),
+			))
+		}
+		SlateState::Invoice1 => {
+			return Err(Error::GenericError(
+				"Use the 'pay' command on the payer's wallet first".to_string(),
+			))
+		}
+		SlateState::Standard3 | SlateState::Invoice3 => {
+			return Err(Error::GenericError(
+				"Use the 'post' command to post this finalized transaction to the chain"
+					.to_string(),
+			))
+		}
+		_ => {}
+	}
 
 	// Rather than duplicating the entire command, we'll just
 	// try to determine what kind of finalization this is
diff --git a/controller/tests/invoice.rs b/controller/tests/invoice.rs
index 7acd8bf..3713d5e 100644
--- a/controller/tests/invoice.rs
+++ b/controller/tests/invoice.rs
@@ -124,6 +124,44 @@ fn invoice_tx_impl(test_dir: &'static str) -> Result<(), libwallet::Error> {
 	)?;
 	assert_eq!(slate.state, SlateState::Invoice1);
 
+	let receive_result = wallet::controller::foreign_single_use(
+		wallet1.clone(),
+		PathBuf::from(test_dir),
+		mask1_i.clone(),
+		|api| api.receive_tx(&slate, None, None).map(|_| ()),
+	);
+	assert_eq!(receive_result, Err(libwallet::Error::SlateState));
+	wallet::controller::owner_single_use(
+		wallet1.clone(),
+		mask1,
+		PathBuf::from(test_dir),
+		|api, m| {
+			let (_, txs) = api.retrieve_txs(m, false, None, Some(slate.id), None)?;
+			assert!(txs.is_empty());
+			Ok(())
+		},
+	)?;
+
+	// receive must reject every slate state except S1
+	for state in [
+		SlateState::Unknown,
+		SlateState::Standard2,
+		SlateState::Standard3,
+		SlateState::Invoice1,
+		SlateState::Invoice2,
+		SlateState::Invoice3,
+	] {
+		let mut bad_slate = slate.clone();
+		bad_slate.state = state.clone();
+		let res = wallet::controller::foreign_single_use(
+			wallet1.clone(),
+			PathBuf::from(test_dir),
+			mask1_i.clone(),
+			|api| api.receive_tx(&bad_slate, None, None).map(|_| ()),
+		);
+		assert_eq!(res, Err(libwallet::Error::SlateState), "state {}", state);
+	}
+
 	wallet::controller::owner_single_use(
 		wallet1.clone(),
 		mask1,
diff --git a/libwallet/src/api_impl/foreign.rs b/libwallet/src/api_impl/foreign.rs
index 76b6014..4547b87 100644
--- a/libwallet/src/api_impl/foreign.rs
+++ b/libwallet/src/api_impl/foreign.rs
@@ -66,6 +66,9 @@ where
 	K: Keychain,
 {
 	let mut ret_slate = slate.clone();
+	if ret_slate.state != SlateState::Standard1 {
+		return Err(Error::SlateState);
+	}
 	check_ttl(w, &ret_slate)?;
 	let parent_key_id = match dest_acct_name {
 		Some(d) => {
diff --git a/tests/cmd_line_basic.rs b/tests/cmd_line_basic.rs
index 019e6cf..86f7675 100644
--- a/tests/cmd_line_basic.rs
+++ b/tests/cmd_line_basic.rs
@@ -567,6 +567,22 @@ fn command_line_test_impl(test_dir: &str) -> Result<(), grin_wallet_controller::
 		test_dir
 	);
 
+	// receive and finalize should point to pay
+	for cmd in ["receive", "finalize"] {
+		let arg_vec = vec![
+			"grin-wallet",
+			"-a",
+			"mining",
+			"-p",
+			"password1",
+			cmd,
+			"-i",
+			&file_name,
+		];
+		let e = execute_command(&app, test_dir, "wallet1", &client1, arg_vec).unwrap_err();
+		assert!(e.to_string().contains("'pay'"), "{}", e);
+	}
+
 	// now pay the invoice tx, wallet 1
 	let arg_vec = vec![
 		"grin-wallet",