diff --git a/internal/conf/path.go b/internal/conf/path.go
index b11b2c6b..689fb727 100644
--- a/internal/conf/path.go
+++ b/internal/conf/path.go
@@ -110,10 +110,6 @@ func (pconf *PathConf) checkAndFillMissing(name string) error {
 			return fmt.Errorf("'%s' is not a valid RTSP URL", pconf.Source)
 		}
 
-		if strings.HasPrefix(pconf.Source, "rtsps://") && pconf.SourceFingerprint == "" {
-			return fmt.Errorf("sourceFingerprint is required with a RTSPS URL")
-		}
-
 	case strings.HasPrefix(pconf.Source, "rtmp://"):
 		if pconf.Regexp != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("a path with a regular expression (or path 'all') cannot have a RTMP source; use another path")
diff --git a/internal/core/rtsp_source.go b/internal/core/rtsp_source.go
index 3fbab4ae..41ed33f9 100644
--- a/internal/core/rtsp_source.go
+++ b/internal/core/rtsp_source.go
@@ -117,24 +117,28 @@ func (s *rtspSource) run() {
 func (s *rtspSource) runInner() bool {
 	s.log(logger.Debug, "connecting")
 
+	tlsConfig := &tls.Config{}
+
+	if s.fingerprint != "" {
+		tlsConfig.InsecureSkipVerify = true
+		tlsConfig.VerifyConnection = func(cs tls.ConnectionState) error {
+			h := sha256.New()
+			h.Write(cs.PeerCertificates[0].Raw)
+			hstr := hex.EncodeToString(h.Sum(nil))
+			fingerprintLower := strings.ToLower(s.fingerprint)
+
+			if hstr != fingerprintLower {
+				return fmt.Errorf("server fingerprint do not match: expected %s, got %s",
+					fingerprintLower, hstr)
+			}
+
+			return nil
+		}
+	}
+
 	client := &gortsplib.Client{
-		Transport: s.proto.Transport,
-		TLSConfig: &tls.Config{
-			InsecureSkipVerify: true,
-			VerifyConnection: func(cs tls.ConnectionState) error {
-				h := sha256.New()
-				h.Write(cs.PeerCertificates[0].Raw)
-				hstr := hex.EncodeToString(h.Sum(nil))
-				fingerprintLower := strings.ToLower(s.fingerprint)
-
-				if hstr != fingerprintLower {
-					return fmt.Errorf("server fingerprint do not match: expected %s, got %s",
-						fingerprintLower, hstr)
-				}
-
-				return nil
-			},
-		},
+		Transport:       s.proto.Transport,
+		TLSConfig:       tlsConfig,
 		ReadTimeout:     time.Duration(s.readTimeout),
 		WriteTimeout:    time.Duration(s.writeTimeout),
 		ReadBufferCount: s.readBufferCount,
diff --git a/rtsp-simple-server.yml b/rtsp-simple-server.yml
index 74d22b7a..555e8f0e 100644
--- a/rtsp-simple-server.yml
+++ b/rtsp-simple-server.yml
@@ -144,9 +144,10 @@ paths:
     # when interacting with old cameras that require it.
     sourceAnyPortEnable: no
 
-    # if the source is an RTSPS URL, the fingerprint of the certificate of the source
-    # must be provided in order to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks.
-    # it can be obtained from the source by running:
+    # if the source is a RTSPS URL, and the source certificate is self-signed
+    # or invalid, you can provide the fingerprint of the certificate in order to
+    # validate it anyway, and at the same time prevent man-in-the-middle attacks.
+    # the fingerprint can be obtained by running:
     # openssl s_client -connect source_ip:source_port </dev/null 2>/dev/null | sed -n '/BEGIN/,/END/p' > server.crt
     # openssl x509 -in server.crt -noout -fingerprint -sha256 | cut -d "=" -f2 | tr -d ':'
     sourceFingerprint: