diff --git a/lib/Service/RecoveryEmailService.php b/lib/Service/RecoveryEmailService.php
index 8ac6013a735f9a915f2da8ca0f06d3ae5fb95349..74a4f6194560df99b767d4e8b6933414831d3919 100644
--- a/lib/Service/RecoveryEmailService.php
+++ b/lib/Service/RecoveryEmailService.php
@@ -121,9 +121,6 @@ class RecoveryEmailService {
 		return true;
 	}
 	public function validateRecoveryEmail(string $recoveryEmail, string $username = '', string $language = 'en'): bool {
-		if (empty($recoveryEmail)) {
-			return true;
-		}
 		// Fetch user email if username is provided
 		$email = $this->getUserEmail($username);
 	
@@ -158,6 +155,9 @@ class RecoveryEmailService {
 	}
 
 	private function enforceBasicRecoveryEmailRules(string $recoveryEmail, string $username, string $email, IL10N $l): void {
+		if (empty($recoveryEmail)) {
+			return;
+		}
 	
 		if (!$this->isValidEmailFormat($recoveryEmail)) {
 			$this->logger->info("User $username's requested recovery email does not match email format");