diff --git a/arch/arm/kernel/smp.c b/arch/arm/kernel/smp.c
index addbbe8028c2..11c4148b8abb 100644
--- a/arch/arm/kernel/smp.c
+++ b/arch/arm/kernel/smp.c
@@ -454,6 +454,9 @@ static struct local_timer_ops *lt_ops;
 #ifdef CONFIG_LOCAL_TIMERS
 int local_timer_register(struct local_timer_ops *ops)
 {
+	if (!is_smp() || !setup_max_cpus)
+		return -ENXIO;
+
 	if (lt_ops)
 		return -EBUSY;