diff --git a/apps/req.c b/apps/req.c
index bd18708e3a..2666124546 100644
--- a/apps/req.c
+++ b/apps/req.c
@@ -289,6 +289,7 @@ int req_main(int argc, char **argv)
             break;
         case OPT_X509:
             x509 = 1;
+            newreq = 1;
             break;
         case OPT_DAYS:
             days = atoi(opt_arg());
@@ -578,7 +579,7 @@ int req_main(int argc, char **argv)
         }
     }
 
-    if (newreq || x509) {
+    if (newreq) {
         if (pkey == NULL) {
             BIO_printf(bio_err, "you need to specify a private key\n");
             goto end;