diff --git a/src/scribe_data/cli/convert.py b/src/scribe_data/cli/convert.py
index c350e679..a0e952b9 100644
--- a/src/scribe_data/cli/convert.py
+++ b/src/scribe_data/cli/convert.py
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ def export_json(
         return
 
     try:
-        with data_file.open("r") as file:
+        with data_file.open("r", encoding="utf-8") as file:
             data = json.load(file)
 
     except (IOError, json.JSONDecodeError) as e: