diff --git a/registry/storage/driver/gcs/gcs.go b/registry/storage/driver/gcs/gcs.go
index 9de432b4..1fa2bca8 100644
--- a/registry/storage/driver/gcs/gcs.go
+++ b/registry/storage/driver/gcs/gcs.go
@@ -38,6 +38,8 @@ import (
 	"google.golang.org/cloud"
 	"google.golang.org/cloud/storage"
 
+	"github.com/Sirupsen/logrus"
+
 	ctx "github.com/docker/distribution/context"
 	storagedriver "github.com/docker/distribution/registry/storage/driver"
 	"github.com/docker/distribution/registry/storage/driver/base"
@@ -469,43 +471,8 @@ func (d *driver) List(context ctx.Context, path string) ([]string, error) {
 // Move moves an object stored at sourcePath to destPath, removing the
 // original object.
 func (d *driver) Move(context ctx.Context, sourcePath string, destPath string) error {
-	prefix := d.pathToDirKey(sourcePath)
 	gcsContext := d.context(context)
-	keys, err := d.listAll(gcsContext, prefix)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	if len(keys) > 0 {
-		destPrefix := d.pathToDirKey(destPath)
-		copies := make([]string, 0, len(keys))
-		sort.Strings(keys)
-		var err error
-		for _, key := range keys {
-			dest := destPrefix + key[len(prefix):]
-			_, err = storageCopyObject(gcsContext, d.bucket, key, d.bucket, dest, nil)
-			if err == nil {
-				copies = append(copies, dest)
-			} else {
-				break
-			}
-		}
-		// if an error occurred, attempt to cleanup the copies made
-		if err != nil {
-			for i := len(copies) - 1; i >= 0; i-- {
-				_ = storageDeleteObject(gcsContext, d.bucket, copies[i])
-			}
-			return err
-		}
-		// delete originals
-		for i := len(keys) - 1; i >= 0; i-- {
-			err2 := storageDeleteObject(gcsContext, d.bucket, keys[i])
-			if err2 != nil {
-				err = err2
-			}
-		}
-		return err
-	}
-	_, err = storageCopyObject(gcsContext, d.bucket, d.pathToKey(sourcePath), d.bucket, d.pathToKey(destPath), nil)
+	_, err := storageCopyObject(gcsContext, d.bucket, d.pathToKey(sourcePath), d.bucket, d.pathToKey(destPath), nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		if status := err.(*googleapi.Error); status != nil {
 			if status.Code == http.StatusNotFound {
@@ -514,7 +481,13 @@ func (d *driver) Move(context ctx.Context, sourcePath string, destPath string) e
 		}
 		return err
 	}
-	return storageDeleteObject(gcsContext, d.bucket, d.pathToKey(sourcePath))
+	err = storageDeleteObject(gcsContext, d.bucket, d.pathToKey(sourcePath))
+	// if deleting the file fails, log the error, but do not fail; the file was succesfully copied,
+	// and the original should eventually be cleaned when purging the uploads folder.
+	if err != nil {
+		logrus.Infof("error deleting file: %v due to %v", sourcePath, err)
+	}
+	return nil
 }
 
 // listAll recursively lists all names of objects stored at "prefix" and its subpaths.
@@ -530,8 +503,8 @@ func (d *driver) listAll(context context.Context, prefix string) ([]string, erro
 		}
 		for _, obj := range objects.Results {
 			// GCS does not guarantee strong consistency between
-			// DELETE and LIST operationsCheck that the object is not deleted,
-			// so filter out any objects with a non-zero time-deleted
+			// DELETE and LIST operations. Check that the object is not deleted,
+			// and filter out any objects with a non-zero time-deleted
 			if obj.Deleted.IsZero() {
 				list = append(list, obj.Name)
 			}
diff --git a/registry/storage/driver/gcs/gcs_test.go b/registry/storage/driver/gcs/gcs_test.go
index 554d95e4..7059b953 100644
--- a/registry/storage/driver/gcs/gcs_test.go
+++ b/registry/storage/driver/gcs/gcs_test.go
@@ -175,3 +175,40 @@ func TestEmptyRootList(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+// TestMoveDirectory checks that moving a directory returns an error.
+func TestMoveDirectory(t *testing.T) {
+	if skipGCS() != "" {
+		t.Skip(skipGCS())
+	}
+
+	validRoot, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "driver-")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error creating temporary directory: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer os.Remove(validRoot)
+
+	driver, err := gcsDriverConstructor(validRoot)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error creating rooted driver: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	ctx := ctx.Background()
+	contents := []byte("contents")
+	// Create a regular file.
+	err = driver.PutContent(ctx, "/parent/dir/foo", contents)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error creating content: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer func() {
+		err := driver.Delete(ctx, "/parent")
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("failed to remove /parent due to %v\n", err)
+		}
+	}()
+
+	err = driver.Move(ctx, "/parent/dir", "/parent/other")
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Moving directory /parent/dir /parent/other should have return a non-nil error\n")
+	}
+}