diff --git a/m4/jm-macros.m4 b/m4/jm-macros.m4
index 2ce8544bf..06137d8f7 100644
--- a/m4/jm-macros.m4
+++ b/m4/jm-macros.m4
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ dnl Misc type-related macros for fileutils, sh-utils, textutils.
 
 AC_DEFUN([jm_MACROS],
 [
-  AC_PREREQ(2.54)
+  AC_PREREQ(2.56)
 
   GNU_PACKAGE="GNU $PACKAGE"
   AC_DEFINE_UNQUOTED(GNU_PACKAGE, "$GNU_PACKAGE",