diff --git a/cabal-install/src/Distribution/Client/Check.hs b/cabal-install/src/Distribution/Client/Check.hs
index 91fd6c7b448..41f5d4599d7 100644
--- a/cabal-install/src/Distribution/Client/Check.hs
+++ b/cabal-install/src/Distribution/Client/Check.hs
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ import Distribution.PackageDescription.Parsec
   , runParseResult
   )
 import Distribution.Parsec (PWarning (..), showPError)
-import Distribution.Simple.Utils (defaultPackageDesc, dieWithException, notice, warn, warnError)
+import Distribution.Simple.Utils (dieWithException, findPackageDesc, notice, warn, warnError)
 import System.IO (hPutStr, stderr)
 
 import qualified Control.Monad as CM
@@ -59,13 +59,16 @@ readGenericPackageDescriptionCheck verbosity fpath = do
 -- is fit to upload to Hackage, @False@ otherwise.
 -- Note: must be called with the CWD set to the directory containing
 -- the '.cabal' file.
-check :: Verbosity -> [CheckExplanationIDString] -> IO Bool
-check verbosity ignores = do
-  pdfile <- defaultPackageDesc verbosity
+check :: Verbosity -> [CheckExplanationIDString] -> FilePath -> IO Bool
+check verbosity ignores checkDir = do
+  epdf <- findPackageDesc checkDir
+  pdfile <- case epdf of
+    Right cf -> return cf
+    Left e -> dieWithException verbosity e
   (ws, ppd) <- readGenericPackageDescriptionCheck verbosity pdfile
   -- convert parse warnings into PackageChecks
   let ws' = map (wrapParseWarning pdfile) ws
-  ioChecks <- checkPackageFilesGPD verbosity ppd "."
+  ioChecks <- checkPackageFilesGPD verbosity ppd checkDir
   let packageChecksPrim = ioChecks ++ checkPackage ppd ++ ws'
       (packageChecks, unrecs) = filterPackageChecksByIdString packageChecksPrim ignores
 
diff --git a/cabal-install/src/Distribution/Client/Errors.hs b/cabal-install/src/Distribution/Client/Errors.hs
index ada3eca5268..7e250ba5127 100644
--- a/cabal-install/src/Distribution/Client/Errors.hs
+++ b/cabal-install/src/Distribution/Client/Errors.hs
@@ -405,7 +405,7 @@ exceptionMessageCabalInstall e = case e of
     "the 'upload' command expects only .tar.gz archives: "
       ++ intercalate ", " otherFiles
   FileNotFound tarfile -> "file not found: " ++ tarfile
-  CheckAction extraArgs -> "'check' doesn't take any extra arguments: " ++ unwords extraArgs
+  CheckAction extraArgs -> "'check' only takes one (optional) directory path argument: " ++ unwords extraArgs
   ReportAction extraArgs -> "'report' doesn't take any extra arguments: " ++ unwords extraArgs
   InitAction ->
     "'init' only takes a single, optional, extra "
diff --git a/cabal-install/src/Distribution/Client/Main.hs b/cabal-install/src/Distribution/Client/Main.hs
index d7cf0ea49b4..af94067e3ce 100644
--- a/cabal-install/src/Distribution/Client/Main.hs
+++ b/cabal-install/src/Distribution/Client/Main.hs
@@ -1230,10 +1230,13 @@ checkAction :: CheckFlags -> [String] -> Action
 checkAction checkFlags extraArgs _globalFlags = do
   let verbosityFlag = checkVerbosity checkFlags
       verbosity = fromFlag verbosityFlag
-  unless (null extraArgs) $
-    dieWithException verbosity $
-      CheckAction extraArgs
-  allOk <- Check.check (fromFlag verbosityFlag) (checkIgnore checkFlags)
+  path <- case extraArgs of
+    [] -> return "."
+    [dp] -> return dp
+    (_:es) ->
+      dieWithException verbosity $
+        CheckAction es
+  allOk <- Check.check (fromFlag verbosityFlag) (checkIgnore checkFlags) path
   unless allOk exitFailure
 
 formatAction :: Flag Verbosity -> [String] -> Action
diff --git a/cabal-testsuite/PackageTests/Check/CheckTarget/cabal.out b/cabal-testsuite/PackageTests/Check/CheckTarget/cabal.out
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..7ef1e41bdce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cabal-testsuite/PackageTests/Check/CheckTarget/cabal.out
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+# cabal check
+These warnings may cause trouble when distributing the package:
+Warning: [no-docs] Please consider including the file './CHANGELOG.TXT' in the 'extra-doc-files' section of the .cabal file if it contains useful information for users of the package.
diff --git a/cabal-testsuite/PackageTests/Check/CheckTarget/cabal.test.hs b/cabal-testsuite/PackageTests/Check/CheckTarget/cabal.test.hs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..cff804a5808
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cabal-testsuite/PackageTests/Check/CheckTarget/cabal.test.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+import Test.Cabal.Prelude
+
+-- `cabal check` works when passing a directory to check.
+main = cabalTest $ do
+  cabal "check" ["target/"]
diff --git a/cabal-testsuite/PackageTests/Check/CheckTarget/target/CHANGELOG.TXT b/cabal-testsuite/PackageTests/Check/CheckTarget/target/CHANGELOG.TXT
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e69de29bb2d
diff --git a/cabal-testsuite/PackageTests/Check/CheckTarget/target/pkg.cabal b/cabal-testsuite/PackageTests/Check/CheckTarget/target/pkg.cabal
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c1d907fbe37
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cabal-testsuite/PackageTests/Check/CheckTarget/target/pkg.cabal
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+cabal-version: 3.0
+name: pkg
+synopsis: synopsis
+description: description
+version: 0
+category: example
+maintainer: none@example.com
+license: GPL-3.0-or-later
+
+library
+  exposed-modules: Foo
+  default-language: Haskell2010
diff --git a/doc/cabal-commands.rst b/doc/cabal-commands.rst
index 229a5b7a616..c959fd3d8ba 100644
--- a/doc/cabal-commands.rst
+++ b/doc/cabal-commands.rst
@@ -1166,11 +1166,12 @@ Sanity checks and shipping
 cabal check
 ^^^^^^^^^^^
 
-``cabal check [FLAGS]`` checks the package for common mistakes (e.g.: if
-it is missing important fields like ``synopsis``, if it is using
+``cabal check [FLAGS] [TARGET]`` checks the package for common mistakes
+(e.g.: if it is missing important fields like ``synopsis``, if it is using
 tricky GHC options, etc.).
 
-Run ``cabal check`` in the folder where your ``.cabal`` package file is.
+Specify a ``TARGET`` folder or run ``cabal check`` in the folder where
+your ``.cabal`` package file is.
 
 .. option:: -i, --ignore=WARNING