diff --git a/src/_h5ai/server/php/inc/class-bootstrap.php b/src/_h5ai/server/php/inc/class-bootstrap.php
index 582b2cc8..11d774e6 100644
--- a/src/_h5ai/server/php/inc/class-bootstrap.php
+++ b/src/_h5ai/server/php/inc/class-bootstrap.php
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ class Bootstrap {
 
 
         // PHP
-        define("MIN_PHP_VERSION", "5.3.0");
+        define("MIN_PHP_VERSION", "5.4.0");
         define("HAS_PHP_VERSION", version_compare(PHP_VERSION, MIN_PHP_VERSION) >= 0);
         define("HAS_PHP_EXIF", function_exists("exif_thumbnail"));
         $has_php_jpg = false;