diff --git a/code/_helpers/logging.dm b/code/_helpers/logging.dm
index 5a98ad4f20..b37c9b9ec4 100644
--- a/code/_helpers/logging.dm
+++ b/code/_helpers/logging.dm
@@ -264,7 +264,7 @@
 
 /proc/log_to_dd(text)
 	to_world_log(text) //this comes before the config check because it can't possibly runtime
-	if(CONFIG_GET(flag/log_world_output))
+	if(config?.loaded && CONFIG_GET(flag/log_world_output))
 		WRITE_LOG(GLOB.diary, "DD_OUTPUT: [text]")
 
 /proc/log_error(text)