diff --git a/certbot/util.py b/certbot/util.py
index a95ef62b9..98424b496 100644
--- a/certbot/util.py
+++ b/certbot/util.py
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ ANSI_SGR_RESET = "\033[0m"
 
 PERM_ERR_FMT = os.linesep.join((
     "The following error was encountered:", "{0}",
-    "If running as non-root, set --config-dir, "
+    "Either run as root, or set --config-dir, "
     "--work-dir, and --logs-dir to writeable paths."))