diff --git a/src/core/qgsabstractgeopdfexporter.cpp b/src/core/qgsabstractgeopdfexporter.cpp
index 9b9dcb9a4e74..83907cb36ed7 100644
--- a/src/core/qgsabstractgeopdfexporter.cpp
+++ b/src/core/qgsabstractgeopdfexporter.cpp
@@ -32,8 +32,29 @@
 #include <QDomElement>
 
 
+bool QgsAbstractGeoPdfExporter::geoPDFCreationAvailable()
+{
+#if GDAL_VERSION_NUM < GDAL_COMPUTE_VERSION(3,0,0)
+  return false;
+#else
+  return true;
+#endif
+}
+
+QString QgsAbstractGeoPdfExporter::geoPDFAvailabilityExplanation()
+{
+#if GDAL_VERSION_NUM < GDAL_COMPUTE_VERSION(3,0,0)
+  return QObject::tr( "GeoPDF creation requires GDAL version 3.0 or later." );
+#else
+  return QString();
+#endif
+}
+
 bool QgsAbstractGeoPdfExporter::finalize( const QList<ComponentLayerDetail> &components, const QString &destinationFile )
 {
+#if GDAL_VERSION_NUM < GDAL_COMPUTE_VERSION(3,0,0)
+  return false;
+#else
   if ( !saveTemporaryLayers() )
     return false;
 
@@ -72,6 +93,7 @@ bool QgsAbstractGeoPdfExporter::finalize( const QList<ComponentLayerDetail> &com
   CSLDestroy( papszOptions );
 
   return res;
+#endif
 }
 
 QString QgsAbstractGeoPdfExporter::generateTemporaryFilepath( const QString &filename ) const
@@ -79,6 +101,7 @@ QString QgsAbstractGeoPdfExporter::generateTemporaryFilepath( const QString &fil
   return mTemporaryDir.filePath( filename );
 }
 
+
 void QgsAbstractGeoPdfExporter::pushRenderedFeature( const QString &layerId, const QgsAbstractGeoPdfExporter::RenderedFeature &feature )
 {
   // because map layers may be rendered in parallel, we need a mutex here
diff --git a/src/core/qgsabstractgeopdfexporter.h b/src/core/qgsabstractgeopdfexporter.h
index 812c2b89a378..0c605bddcf5d 100644
--- a/src/core/qgsabstractgeopdfexporter.h
+++ b/src/core/qgsabstractgeopdfexporter.h
@@ -50,12 +50,27 @@ class CORE_EXPORT QgsAbstractGeoPdfExporter
 {
   public:
 
+    /**
+     * Returns TRUE if the current QGIS build is capable of GeoPDF support.
+     *
+     * If FALSE is returned, a user-friendly explanation why can be retrieved via
+     * geoPDFAvailabilityExplanation().
+     */
+    static bool geoPDFCreationAvailable();
+
+    /**
+     * Returns a user-friendly, translated string explaining why GeoPDF export
+     * support is not available on the current QGIS build (or an empty string if
+     * GeoPDF support IS available).
+     * \see geoPDFCreationAvailable()
+     */
+    static QString geoPDFAvailabilityExplanation();
+
     /**
      * Constructor for QgsAbstractGeoPdfExporter.
      */
     QgsAbstractGeoPdfExporter() = default;
 
-
     virtual ~QgsAbstractGeoPdfExporter() = default;
 
     /**
@@ -164,8 +179,9 @@ class CORE_EXPORT QgsAbstractGeoPdfExporter
     QMutex mMutex;
     QMap< QString, QgsFeatureList > mCollatedFeatures;
 
-
-
+    /**
+     * Returns the PDF output component details for the layer with given \a layerId.
+     */
     virtual VectorComponentDetail componentDetailForLayerId( const QString &layerId ) = 0;
 
     QList< VectorComponentDetail > mVectorComponents;