diff --git a/lib/jsdoc/tag/validator.js b/lib/jsdoc/tag/validator.js
index b3a8bd8c..0e78bf6e 100644
--- a/lib/jsdoc/tag/validator.js
+++ b/lib/jsdoc/tag/validator.js
@@ -37,10 +37,7 @@ exports.validate = function(tag, tagDef, meta) {
     }
 
     // check for errors that make the tag useless
-    if (!tagDef && !env.conf.tags.allowUnknownTags) {
-        logger.error( buildMessage(tag.title, meta, 'is not a known tag') );
-    }
-    else if (!tag.text && tagDef.mustHaveValue) {
+    if (!tag.text && tagDef.mustHaveValue) {
         logger.error( buildMessage(tag.title, meta, 'requires a value') );
     }