diff --git a/clients/python/src/model_registry/_client.py b/clients/python/src/model_registry/_client.py
index c75a333c..9768cf05 100644
--- a/clients/python/src/model_registry/_client.py
+++ b/clients/python/src/model_registry/_client.py
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@
 from typing import Any, TypeVar, Union, get_args
 from warnings import warn
 
+from .utils import is_oci_uri, is_s3_uri
+
 from .core import ModelRegistryAPIClient
 from .exceptions import StoreError
 from .types import (
@@ -203,9 +205,9 @@ def upload_artifact_and_register_model(
         metadata: Mapping[str, SupportedTypes] | None = None,
         upload_client_params: Mapping[str, str] | None = None,
     ) -> RegisteredModel:
-        if destination_uri.startswith("s3://"):
+        if is_s3_uri(destination_uri):
             self._upload_to_s3(artifact_local_path, destination_uri, upload_client_params['region_name'])
-        elif destination_uri.startswith("oci://"):
+        elif is_oci_uri(destination_uri):
             self._upload_to_oci(artifact_local_path, destination_uri)
         else:
             msg = "Invalid destination URI. Must start with 's3://' or 'oci://'"
diff --git a/clients/python/src/model_registry/utils.py b/clients/python/src/model_registry/utils.py
index e60dcf5d..866d5e85 100644
--- a/clients/python/src/model_registry/utils.py
+++ b/clients/python/src/model_registry/utils.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import os
+import re
 
 from typing_extensions import overload
 
@@ -90,3 +91,46 @@ def s3_uri_from(
     # https://alexwlchan.net/2020/s3-keys-are-not-file-paths/ nor do they resolve to valid URls
     # FIXME: is this safe?
     return f"s3://{bucket}/{path}?endpoint={endpoint}&defaultRegion={region}"
+
+s3_prefix = "s3://"
+
+def is_s3_uri(uri: str):
+    """Checks whether a string is a valid S3 URI
+    
+    This helper function checks whether the string starts with the correct s3 prefix (s3://) and
+    whether the string contains both a bucket and a key.
+    
+    Args:
+        uri: The URI to check
+        
+    Returns:
+        Boolean indicating whether it is a valid S3 URI
+    """
+    if not uri.startswith(s3_prefix):
+        return False
+    # Slice the uri from prefix onward, then check if there are 2 components when splitting on "/"
+    path = uri[len(s3_prefix) :]
+    if len(path.split("/", 1)) != 2:
+        return False
+    return True
+
+oci_pattern = r'^oci://(?P<host>[^/]+)/(?P<repository>[A-Za-z0-9_\-/]+)(:(?P<tag>[A-Za-z0-9_.-]+))?$'
+
+def is_oci_uri(uri: str):
+    """Checks whether a string is a valid OCI URI
+    
+    The expected format is:
+        oci://<host>/<repository>[:<tag>]
+        
+    Examples of valid URIs:
+        oci://registry.example.com/my-namespace/my-repo:latest
+        oci://localhost:5000/my-repo
+
+    Args:
+        uri: The URI to check
+        
+    Returns:
+        Boolean indicating whether it is a valid OCI URI
+    """
+    return re.match(oci_pattern, uri) is not None
+    
\ No newline at end of file