diff --git a/daemon/unbound.c b/daemon/unbound.c
index 32604728d..358d57bf1 100644
--- a/daemon/unbound.c
+++ b/daemon/unbound.c
@@ -668,9 +668,9 @@ run_daemon(const char* cfgfile, int cmdline_verbose, int debug_mode, int need_pi
 			config_lookup_uid(cfg);
 	
 		/* prepare */
-		if(!daemon_privileged(daemon))
-			fatal_exit("could not do privileged setup");
 		if(!done_setup) { 
+			if(!daemon_privileged(daemon))
+				fatal_exit("could not do privileged setup");
 			perform_setup(daemon, cfg, debug_mode, &cfgfile, need_pidfile);
 			done_setup = 1; 
 		} else {