diff --git a/pkg/conversion/encode.go b/pkg/conversion/encode.go
index 0f17f6057ab..8b29c1841d7 100644
--- a/pkg/conversion/encode.go
+++ b/pkg/conversion/encode.go
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ import (
 //
 func (s *Scheme) EncodeToVersion(obj interface{}, destVersion string) (data []byte, err error) {
 	obj = maybeCopy(obj)
-	v, _ := enforcePtr(obj) // maybeCopy guarantees a pointer
+	v, _ := EnforcePtr(obj) // maybeCopy guarantees a pointer
 	if _, registered := s.typeToVersion[v.Type()]; !registered {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("type %v is not registered and it will be impossible to Decode it, therefore Encode will refuse to encode it.", v.Type())
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/conversion/scheme.go b/pkg/conversion/scheme.go
index 605bb8e7f35..cad4c4ff2db 100644
--- a/pkg/conversion/scheme.go
+++ b/pkg/conversion/scheme.go
@@ -228,7 +228,7 @@ func (s *Scheme) DataVersionAndKind(data []byte) (version, kind string, err erro
 // ObjectVersionAndKind returns the API version and kind of the go object,
 // or an error if it's not a pointer or is unregistered.
 func (s *Scheme) ObjectVersionAndKind(obj interface{}) (apiVersion, kind string, err error) {
-	v, err := enforcePtr(obj)
+	v, err := EnforcePtr(obj)
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", "", err
 	}
@@ -261,14 +261,3 @@ func maybeCopy(obj interface{}) interface{} {
 	v2.Elem().Set(v)
 	return v2.Interface()
 }
-
-// enforcePtr ensures that obj is a pointer of some sort. Returns a reflect.Value
-// of the dereferenced pointer, ensuring that it is settable/addressable.
-// Returns an error if this is not possible.
-func enforcePtr(obj interface{}) (reflect.Value, error) {
-	v := reflect.ValueOf(obj)
-	if v.Kind() != reflect.Ptr {
-		return reflect.Value{}, fmt.Errorf("expected pointer, but got %v", v.Type().Name())
-	}
-	return v.Elem(), nil
-}
diff --git a/pkg/runtime/scheme.go b/pkg/runtime/scheme.go
index 29d83c1f880..3e02e17d017 100644
--- a/pkg/runtime/scheme.go
+++ b/pkg/runtime/scheme.go
@@ -222,7 +222,7 @@ func (s *Scheme) Convert(in, out interface{}) error {
 // FindTypeMeta takes an arbitary api type, returns pointer to its TypeMeta field.
 // obj must be a pointer to an api type.
 func FindTypeMeta(obj Object) (TypeMetaInterface, error) {
-	v, err := enforcePtr(obj)
+	v, err := conversion.EnforcePtr(obj)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@ func FindTypeMeta(obj Object) (TypeMetaInterface, error) {
 	if v.Kind() != reflect.Struct {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("expected struct, but got %v: %v (%#v)", v.Kind(), name, v.Interface())
 	}
-	jsonBase := v.FieldByName("TypeMeta")
-	if !jsonBase.IsValid() {
+	typeMeta := v.FieldByName("TypeMeta")
+	if !typeMeta.IsValid() {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("struct %v lacks embedded JSON type", name)
 	}
-	g, err := newGenericTypeMeta(jsonBase)
+	g, err := newGenericTypeMeta(typeMeta)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}