diff --git a/cmd/generic-handlers.go b/cmd/generic-handlers.go
index 583d7f4eb..fa4ba1666 100644
--- a/cmd/generic-handlers.go
+++ b/cmd/generic-handlers.go
@@ -371,7 +371,8 @@ func setRequestValidityHandler(h http.Handler) http.Handler {
 // is obtained from centralized etcd configuration service.
 func setBucketForwardingHandler(h http.Handler) http.Handler {
 	return http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
-		if guessIsHealthCheckReq(r) || guessIsMetricsReq(r) ||
+		if globalDNSConfig == nil || !globalBucketFederation ||
+			guessIsHealthCheckReq(r) || guessIsMetricsReq(r) ||
 			guessIsRPCReq(r) || guessIsLoginSTSReq(r) || isAdminReq(r) {
 			h.ServeHTTP(w, r)
 			return
diff --git a/cmd/routers.go b/cmd/routers.go
index 62a7b869f..c5f5de37c 100644
--- a/cmd/routers.go
+++ b/cmd/routers.go
@@ -58,6 +58,8 @@ var globalHandlers = []mux.MiddlewareFunc{
 	setRequestValidityHandler,
 	// set x-amz-request-id header.
 	addCustomHeaders,
+	// Add bucket forwarding handler
+	setBucketForwardingHandler,
 	// Add new handlers here.
 }
 
@@ -87,10 +89,6 @@ func configureServerHandler(endpointServerPools EndpointServerPools) (http.Handl
 	// Add API router
 	registerAPIRouter(router)
 
-	// Enable bucket forwarding handler only if bucket federation is enabled.
-	if globalDNSConfig != nil && globalBucketFederation {
-		globalHandlers = append(globalHandlers, setBucketForwardingHandler)
-	}
 	router.Use(globalHandlers...)
 
 	return router, nil