diff --git a/mini-vault/tls.go b/mini-vault/tls.go
index 9649b9c..c0f5f1b 100644
--- a/mini-vault/tls.go
+++ b/mini-vault/tls.go
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ func CmdTLSRenew(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 	}
 
 	// load existing cert if it existed
-	if _, err := os.Stat(TLSCertPEM); err == nil {
+	if info, err := os.Stat(TLSCertPEM); err == nil && info.Size() > 0 {
 		fmt.Printf("Loading existing certificate: %s\n", TLSCertPEM)
 
 		data, err := os.ReadFile(TLSCertPEM)