diff --git a/drivers/watchdog/watchdog_dev.c b/drivers/watchdog/watchdog_dev.c
index 2ee017442dfc..f37255cd75fd 100644
--- a/drivers/watchdog/watchdog_dev.c
+++ b/drivers/watchdog/watchdog_dev.c
@@ -1037,8 +1037,8 @@ static int watchdog_cdev_register(struct watchdog_device *wdd)
 		if (wdd->id == 0) {
 			misc_deregister(&watchdog_miscdev);
 			old_wd_data = NULL;
-			put_device(&wd_data->dev);
 		}
+		put_device(&wd_data->dev);
 		return err;
 	}