diff --git a/cmd/tailscaled/tailscaled.go b/cmd/tailscaled/tailscaled.go
index 376705c88..a8acf514c 100644
--- a/cmd/tailscaled/tailscaled.go
+++ b/cmd/tailscaled/tailscaled.go
@@ -103,10 +103,6 @@ func main() {
 		os.Exit(0)
 	}
 
-	if args.statepath == "" {
-		log.Fatalf("--state is required")
-	}
-
 	if args.socketpath == "" && runtime.GOOS != "windows" {
 		log.Fatalf("--socket is required")
 	}
@@ -140,6 +136,10 @@ func run() error {
 		return nil
 	}
 
+	if args.statepath == "" {
+		log.Fatalf("--state is required")
+	}
+
 	var debugMux *http.ServeMux
 	if args.debug != "" {
 		debugMux = newDebugMux()