diff --git a/src/freedombone-app-irc b/src/freedombone-app-irc
index 3515fb72..a5182ae6 100755
--- a/src/freedombone-app-irc
+++ b/src/freedombone-app-irc
@@ -57,7 +57,13 @@ irc_variables=(MY_USERNAME
 
 function start_irc_bouncer {
     update_default_domain
-    su -c 'znc' - znc
+    if [ ! -f /home/znc/.znc/znc.pem ]; then
+        # no certificate exists
+        su -c 'znc -p' - znc
+    else
+        # an existing certificate is being used
+        su -c 'znc' - znc
+    fi
 }
 
 function stop_irc_bouncer {