diff --git a/lib/web/apiserver.go b/lib/web/apiserver.go
index dc9348c4f410d..d674d094248c8 100644
--- a/lib/web/apiserver.go
+++ b/lib/web/apiserver.go
@@ -1242,7 +1242,7 @@ func (h *Handler) getUserContext(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request, p httpr
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, trace.Wrap(err)
 	}
-	if !pingResp.LicenseExpiry.IsZero() {
+	if pingResp.LicenseExpiry != nil && !pingResp.LicenseExpiry.IsZero() {
 		userContext.Cluster.LicenseExpiry = pingResp.LicenseExpiry
 	}