diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 836097b42389..acb061bf8a74 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -205,7 +205,7 @@ _TARGET_ARCH?=	${MACHINE_ARCH}
 # The user can define ALWAYS_CHECK_MAKE to have this check performed
 # for all targets.
 #
-.if defined(ALWAYS_CHECK_MAKE)
+.if defined(ALWAYS_CHECK_MAKE) || !defined(.PARSEDIR)
 ${TGTS}: upgrade_checks
 .else
 buildworld: upgrade_checks