diff --git a/net/appletalk/ddp.c b/net/appletalk/ddp.c
index c3f002717378..5abce07fb50a 100644
--- a/net/appletalk/ddp.c
+++ b/net/appletalk/ddp.c
@@ -815,9 +815,6 @@ static int atif_ioctl(int cmd, void __user *arg)
 				return -EPERM;
 			if (sa->sat_family != AF_APPLETALK)
 				return -EINVAL;
-			if (!atif)
-				return -EADDRNOTAVAIL;
-
 			/*
 			 * for now, we only support proxy AARP on ELAP;
 			 * we should be able to do it for LocalTalk, too.