diff --git a/usr.sbin/lpr/lpc/lpc.c b/usr.sbin/lpr/lpc/lpc.c
index e58911c0609..9d237ebf719 100644
--- a/usr.sbin/lpr/lpc/lpc.c
+++ b/usr.sbin/lpr/lpc/lpc.c
@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@ cmdscanner(void)
 		makeargv();
 		if (margc == 0)
 			continue;
-		if (el_parse(el, margc, margv) != -1)
+		if (el!= NULL && el_parse(el, margc, margv) != -1)
 			continue;
 
 		c = getcmd(margv[0]);