diff --git a/python/lancedb/table.py b/python/lancedb/table.py
index 0b8fa9c6..c9170e2d 100644
--- a/python/lancedb/table.py
+++ b/python/lancedb/table.py
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import lance
 import numpy as np
 import pyarrow as pa
 import pyarrow.compute as pc
+import pyarrow.fs as pa_fs
 from lance import LanceDataset
 from lance.vector import vec_to_table
 
@@ -575,7 +576,9 @@ class LanceTable(Table):
         )
         self._reset_dataset()
 
-    def create_fts_index(self, field_names: Union[str, List[str]]):
+    def create_fts_index(
+        self, field_names: Union[str, List[str]], *, replace: bool = False
+    ):
         """Create a full-text search index on the table.
 
         Warning - this API is highly experimental and is highly likely to change
@@ -585,11 +588,25 @@ class LanceTable(Table):
         ----------
         field_names: str or list of str
             The name(s) of the field to index.
+        replace: bool, default False
+            If True, replace the existing index if it exists. Note that this is
+            not yet an atomic operation; the index will be temporarily
+            unavailable while the new index is being created.
         """
         from .fts import create_index, populate_index
 
         if isinstance(field_names, str):
             field_names = [field_names]
+
+        fs, path = fs_from_uri(self._get_fts_index_path())
+        index_exists = fs.get_file_info(path).type != pa_fs.FileType.NotFound
+        if index_exists:
+            if not replace:
+                raise ValueError(
+                    f"Index already exists. Use replace=True to overwrite."
+                )
+            fs.delete_dir(path)
+
         index = create_index(self._get_fts_index_path(), field_names)
         populate_index(index, self, field_names)
 
diff --git a/python/tests/test_fts.py b/python/tests/test_fts.py
index 301a4d23..2a61f3ca 100644
--- a/python/tests/test_fts.py
+++ b/python/tests/test_fts.py
@@ -83,6 +83,24 @@ def test_create_index_from_table(tmp_path, table):
     assert len(df) == 10
     assert "text" in df.columns
 
+    # Check whether it can be updated
+    table.add(
+        [
+            {
+                "vector": np.random.randn(128),
+                "text": "gorilla",
+                "text2": "gorilla",
+                "nested": {"text": "gorilla"},
+            }
+        ]
+    )
+
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="already exists"):
+        table.create_fts_index("text")
+
+    table.create_fts_index("text", replace=True)
+    assert len(table.search("gorilla").limit(1).to_pandas()) == 1
+
 
 def test_create_index_multiple_columns(tmp_path, table):
     table.create_fts_index(["text", "text2"])