diff --git a/tests/unit/test_utils.py b/tests/unit/test_utils.py
index 6ad1ff28..951f2085 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_utils.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_utils.py
@@ -110,3 +110,20 @@ def test_normalize_doi():
     assert utils.normalize_doi("http://doi.org/10.1234/jshd123") == "10.1234/jshd123"
     assert utils.normalize_doi("https://doi.org/10.1234/jshd123") == "10.1234/jshd123"
     assert utils.normalize_doi("http://dx.doi.org/10.1234/jshd123") == "10.1234/jshd123"
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "req, is_local",
+    [
+        ("-r requirements.txt", True),
+        ("-e .", True),
+        ("file://subdir", True),
+        ("file://./subdir", True),
+        ("git://github.com/jupyter/repo2docker", False),
+        ("git+https://github.com/jupyter/repo2docker", False),
+        ("numpy", False),
+        ("# -e .", False),
+    ],
+)
+def test_local_pip_requirement(req, is_local):
+    assert utils.is_local_pip_requirement(req) == is_local