diff --git a/salt/common/tools/sbin/so-status b/salt/common/tools/sbin/so-status
index 61db01ada..619849fca 100755
--- a/salt/common/tools/sbin/so-status
+++ b/salt/common/tools/sbin/so-status
@@ -28,6 +28,11 @@ cat <<HELP_USAGE
 HELP_USAGE
 }
 
+if ! [ "$(id -u)" = 0 ]; then
+   echo "${0}: This command must be run as root"
+   exit 1
+fi
+
 # Constants
 QUIET=false
 EXITCODE=0
@@ -294,11 +299,6 @@ is_tty() {
 
 # {% endraw %}
 
-if ! [ "$(id -u)" = 0 ]; then
-   echo "${0}: This command must be run as root"
-   exit 1
-fi
-
 while getopts ':hq' OPTION; do
   case "$OPTION" in
     h)