diff --git a/selfdrive/boardd/boardd.cc b/selfdrive/boardd/boardd.cc
index e6afe9f8fb..8f5375e6e1 100644
--- a/selfdrive/boardd/boardd.cc
+++ b/selfdrive/boardd/boardd.cc
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ Panda *connect(std::string serial="", uint32_t index=0) {
   }
   //panda->enable_deepsleep();
 
-  if (!panda->up_to_date()) {
+  if (!panda->up_to_date() && !getenv("BOARDD_SKIP_FW_CHECK")) {
     throw std::runtime_error("Panda firmware out of date. Run pandad.py to update.");
   }
 
@@ -655,4 +655,4 @@ void boardd_main_thread(std::vector<std::string> serials) {
   for (Panda *panda : pandas) {
     delete panda;
   }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}