diff --git a/eng/common/pipelines/templates/steps/verify-changelogs.yml b/eng/common/pipelines/templates/steps/verify-changelogs.yml
index a484001d0..3f36954f4 100644
--- a/eng/common/pipelines/templates/steps/verify-changelogs.yml
+++ b/eng/common/pipelines/templates/steps/verify-changelogs.yml
@@ -6,12 +6,6 @@ parameters:
   default: succeeded()
 
 steps:
-  - pwsh: |
-      Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Path "$(Build.SourcesDirectory)/sdk" -Include ci.yml `
-        | ForEach-Object { Get-Content $_ -Raw | yq -o=json > "$($_.FullName).json" }
-    displayName: Generate ci.yml.json
-    condition: ${{ parameters.Condition }}
-
   - task: Powershell@2
     inputs:
       filePath: $(Build.SourcesDirectory)/eng/common/scripts/Verify-ChangeLogs.ps1
diff --git a/eng/common/scripts/Verify-ChangeLogs.ps1 b/eng/common/scripts/Verify-ChangeLogs.ps1
index 95e81ebbd..1aeb33a52 100644
--- a/eng/common/scripts/Verify-ChangeLogs.ps1
+++ b/eng/common/scripts/Verify-ChangeLogs.ps1
@@ -8,17 +8,16 @@ Set-StrictMode -Version 3
 . (Join-Path $PSScriptRoot common.ps1)
 
 function ShouldVerifyChangeLog ($ServiceDirectory, $PackageName) {
-    $jsonCiYmlPath = Join-Path $ServiceDirectory "ci.yml.json"
+    $jsonCiYmlPath = Join-Path $ServiceDirectory "ci.yml"
 
     if (Test-Path $jsonCiYmlPath)
     {
-        $ciYml = ConvertFrom-Json (Get-Content $jsonCiYmlPath -Raw) -AsHashTable
+        $ciYml = Get-Content $jsonCiYmlPath -Raw | yq -o=json | ConvertFrom-Json -AsHashTable
 
         if ($ciYml.extends -and $ciYml.extends.parameters -and $ciYml.extends.parameters.Artifacts) {
             $packagesCheckingChangeLog = $ciYml.extends.parameters.Artifacts `
                 | Where-Object { -not ($_["skipVerifyChangelog"] -eq $true) } `
                 | Select-Object -ExpandProperty name
-
             if ($packagesCheckingChangeLog -contains $PackageName)
             {
                 return $true
@@ -29,6 +28,11 @@ function ShouldVerifyChangeLog ($ServiceDirectory, $PackageName) {
     }
 }
 
+if (-not (Get-Command 'yq' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)) {
+    Write-Host "Error: 'yq' is not installed or not found in PATH. Please remedy this before running this script."
+    exit 1
+}
+
 # find which packages we need to confirm the changelog for
 $packageProperties = Get-ChildItem -Recurse "$PackagePropertiesFolder" *.json