diff --git a/include/asm-generic/gpio.h b/include/asm-generic/gpio.h
index 7e77b6f..464c5b3 100644
--- a/include/asm-generic/gpio.h
+++ b/include/asm-generic/gpio.h
@@ -16,6 +16,12 @@
 #define ARCH_NR_GPIOS		256
 #endif
 
+static inline int gpio_is_valid(int number)
+{
+	/* only some non-negative numbers are valid */
+	return ((unsigned)number) < ARCH_NR_GPIOS;
+}
+
 struct seq_file;
 struct module;
 
@@ -99,6 +105,12 @@
 
 #else
 
+static inline int gpio_is_valid(int number)
+{
+	/* only non-negative numbers are valid */
+	return number >= 0;
+}
+
 /* platforms that don't directly support access to GPIOs through I2C, SPI,
  * or other blocking infrastructure can use these wrappers.
  */