diff --git a/setup.c b/setup.c
index e96a316452..b59dbe7f51 100644
--- a/setup.c
+++ b/setup.c
@@ -388,7 +388,6 @@ int check_repository_format(void)
 const char *setup_git_directory(void)
 {
 	const char *retval = setup_git_directory_gently(NULL);
-	check_repository_format();
 
 	/* If the work tree is not the default one, recompute prefix */
 	if (inside_work_tree < 0) {