diff --git a/tests/unit/test_retinotopy.py b/tests/unit/test_retinotopy.py
index fbb7a3c42..ce0a19e07 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_retinotopy.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_retinotopy.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 class TestRetinotopy(TestCase):
     def test_retinotopy_deprecated(self):
-        with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
+        with self.assertRaises(RuntimeError):
             import pynwb.retinotopy  # noqa: F401
 
 # import numpy as np