diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d3dada5..2faef03 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -46,14 +46,16 @@ Unlike standard actions, this action just uses variables from the environment.
 | PULL_REQUEST_REVIEWERS | A list (string with spaces) of users to assign review | false | unset |
 | PULL_REQUEST_TEAM_REVIEWERS | A list (string with spaces) of teams to assign review | false | unset |
 | PASS_ON_ERROR | Instead of failing on an error response, pass | unset |
+| PASS_IF_EXISTS | Instead of failing if the pull request already exists, pass | unset |
 
-For `PULL_REQUEST_DRAFT`, `PASS_ON_ERROR`, and `MAINTAINER_CANT_MODIFY`, these are
+For `PULL_REQUEST_DRAFT`, `PASS_ON_ERROR`, `PASS_IF_EXISTS`, and `MAINTAINER_CANT_MODIFY`, these are
 treated as environment booleans. If they are defined in the environment, they trigger the
 "true" condition. E.g.,:
 
  - Define `MAINTAINER_CANT_MODIFY` if you don't want the maintainer to be able to modify the pull request.
  - Define `PULL_REQUEST_DRAFT` if you want the PR to be a draft.
  - Define `PASS_ON_ERROR` if you want the PR to not exit given any non 200/201 response.
+ - Define `PASS_IF_EXISTS` if you want the PR to not exit given the pull request is already open.
 
 For `PULL_REQUEST_ASSIGNEES`, `PULL_REQUEST_REVIEWERS`, and `PULL_REQUEST_TEAM_REVIEWERS` 
 you can provide a string of one or more GitHub usernames (or team names) to
diff --git a/pull-request.py b/pull-request.py
index a01d2e2..22a5bd0 100755
--- a/pull-request.py
+++ b/pull-request.py
@@ -73,13 +73,14 @@ def create_pull_request(
 ):
 
     # Check if the branch already has a pull request open
+    params = {"base": target, "head": source, "state": "open"}
     data = {"base": target, "head": source, "body": body}
-    print("Data for checking if pull request exists: %s" % data)
-    response = requests.get(PULLS_URL, json=data)
-    
+    print("Params for checking if pull request exists: %s" % params)
+    response = requests.get(PULLS_URL, params=params)
+
     # Case 1: 404 might warrant needing a token
     if response.status_code == 404:
-        response = requests.get(PULLS_URL, json=data, headers=HEADERS)
+        response = requests.get(PULLS_URL, params=params, headers=HEADERS)
     if response.status_code != 200:
         abort_if_fail(
             "Unable to retrieve information about pull requests: %s: %s"
@@ -96,9 +97,15 @@ def create_pull_request(
                 print("Pull request from %s to %s is already open!" % (source, target))
                 is_open = True
 
+                # Does the user want to pass if the pull request exists?
+                if os.environ.get("PASS_IF_EXISTS"):
+                    print("PASS_IF_EXISTS is set, exiting with success status.")
+                    sys.exit(0)
+                break
+
     # Option 2: Open a new pull request
     if not is_open:
-        print("%s does not have a pull request open, continuing!" % source)
+        print("No pull request from %s to %s is open, continuing!" % (source, target))
 
         # Post the pull request
         data = {