diff --git a/scripts/nagios/check-rabbitmq-queue b/scripts/nagios/check-rabbitmq-queue
index 768e0b16a2..1e2272eec4 100755
--- a/scripts/nagios/check-rabbitmq-queue
+++ b/scripts/nagios/check-rabbitmq-queue
@@ -32,15 +32,15 @@ states = {
 }
 
 pattern = re.compile(r'(\w+)\t(\d+)')
+if 'USER' in os.environ and not os.environ['USER'] in ['root', 'rabbitmq']:
+    print("This script must be run as the root or rabbitmq user")
+
 output = subprocess.check_output(['/usr/sbin/rabbitmqctl', 'list_queues'], universal_newlines=True)
 
 status = 0
 max_count = 0
 warn_queues = []
 
-if 'USER' in os.environ and not os.environ['USER'] in ['root', 'rabbitmq']:
-    print("This script must be run as the root or rabbitmq user")
-
 for line in output.split("\n"):
     line = line.strip()
     m = pattern.match(line)