diff --git a/api/sys_policy.go b/api/sys_policy.go
index ea57a69ad8..ec47eaaf87 100644
--- a/api/sys_policy.go
+++ b/api/sys_policy.go
@@ -20,13 +20,13 @@ func (c *Sys) ListPolicies() ([]string, error) {
 func (c *Sys) GetPolicy(name string) (string, error) {
 	r := c.c.NewRequest("GET", fmt.Sprintf("/v1/sys/policy/%s", name))
 	resp, err := c.c.RawRequest(r)
-	if resp.StatusCode == 404 {
-		return "", nil
-	}
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", err
 	}
 	defer resp.Body.Close()
+	if resp.StatusCode == 404 {
+		return "", nil
+	}
 
 	var result getPoliciesResp
 	err = resp.DecodeJSON(&result)