diff --git a/scripts/template_verifier.py b/scripts/template_verifier.py
index 0f5135fae610cdffa371e044b80fb5c4e95675e3..4c6449954ba694dd5c2a79bdeac38a7ba5564ada 100755
--- a/scripts/template_verifier.py
+++ b/scripts/template_verifier.py
@@ -282,7 +282,7 @@ def run(sysargs):
     if not options.force_verification:
         # Early exist if the template hasn't changed.
         sha_url = "%s.sha1" % current_url
-        current_sha = fetch(sha_url)
+        current_sha = fetch(sha_url).decode("utf-8")
         if hexdigest == current_sha:
             print("Message template SHA_1 has not changed.")
             sys.exit(0)