diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index e669970..68b140d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,11 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project adheres to [PEP 440](https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0440/)
 and uses [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [0.1.9]
+
+### Fixed
+- Removed unproductive `prep_rtc.validate_slc` function. Fixes https://github.com/ASFHyP3/hyp3-OPERA-RTC/issues/102.
+
 ## [0.1.8]
 
 ### Fixed
diff --git a/requirements-static.txt b/requirements-static.txt
index 6d5c5e5..aa45271 100644
--- a/requirements-static.txt
+++ b/requirements-static.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-ruff==0.12.9
+ruff==0.12.11
 mypy==1.17.1
 lxml-stubs
 types-shapely
diff --git a/src/hyp3_opera_rtc/prep_rtc.py b/src/hyp3_opera_rtc/prep_rtc.py
index ccfcdd8..d3fd76b 100644
--- a/src/hyp3_opera_rtc/prep_rtc.py
+++ b/src/hyp3_opera_rtc/prep_rtc.py
@@ -96,21 +96,6 @@ def parse_response_for_burst_params(response: dict) -> tuple[str, str]:
     return source_slc, f't{opera_burst_id.lower()}'
 
 
-def validate_slc(granule: str) -> str:
-    pol = granule.split('_')[4][2:4]
-    if pol in {'VH', 'HV'}:
-        raise ValueError(f'{granule} has polarization {pol}, must be VV or HH')
-
-    response = query_cmr(
-        (('short_name', 'SENTINEL-1*'), ('options[short_name][pattern]', 'true'), ('granule_ur', f'{granule}-SLC'))
-    )
-    granule_exists = bool(response['items'])
-    if not granule_exists:
-        raise ValueError(f'Granule does not exist: {granule}')
-
-    return granule
-
-
 def query_cmr(params: tuple) -> dict:
     response = requests.get(CMR_URL, params=params)
     response.raise_for_status()
@@ -157,7 +142,6 @@ def prep_rtc(
     if co_pol_granule.endswith('BURST'):
         source_slc, opera_burst_id = get_burst_params(co_pol_granule)
     else:
-        validate_slc(co_pol_granule)
         source_slc, opera_burst_id = co_pol_granule, None
 
     safe_path = download_file(get_download_url(source_slc), directory=str(input_dir), chunk_size=10485760)
diff --git a/tests/test_prep_rtc.py b/tests/test_prep_rtc.py
index a1fe826..345d6ef 100644
--- a/tests/test_prep_rtc.py
+++ b/tests/test_prep_rtc.py
@@ -89,6 +89,5 @@ def test_get_cross_pol_name():
 
 
 @pytest.mark.skip
-def test_get_granule_params():
+def test_get_burst_params():
     prep_rtc.get_burst_params('S1_146160_IW1_20241029T095958_VV_592B-BURST')
-    prep_rtc.validate_slc('S1A_IW_SLC__1SDV_20250704T124517_20250704T124544_059934_0771EA_C208')