diff --git a/src/systemd/_sd-common.h b/src/systemd/_sd-common.h
index 8158ee733e..1055b00d07 100644
--- a/src/systemd/_sd-common.h
+++ b/src/systemd/_sd-common.h
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 
 /* This is a private header; never even think of including this directly! */
 
-#if defined(__INCLUDE_LEVEL__) && __INCLUDE_LEVEL__ <= 1
+#if defined(__INCLUDE_LEVEL__) && __INCLUDE_LEVEL__ <= 1 && !defined(__COVERITY__)
 #  error "Do not include _sd-common.h directly; it is a private header."
 #endif