diff --git a/qemu-img.c b/qemu-img.c
index d118da5c2f..b3d2bc6f02 100644
--- a/qemu-img.c
+++ b/qemu-img.c
@@ -663,9 +663,7 @@ static int img_check(int argc, char **argv)
     ret = collect_image_check(bs, check, filename, fmt, fix);
 
     if (ret == -ENOTSUP) {
-        if (output_format == OFORMAT_HUMAN) {
-            error_report("This image format does not support checks");
-        }
+        error_report("This image format does not support checks");
         ret = 63;
         goto fail;
     }