diff --git a/CONTRIBUTORS.rst b/CONTRIBUTORS.rst
index 90af4ec829..a5c0b0142b 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTORS.rst
+++ b/CONTRIBUTORS.rst
@@ -163,6 +163,7 @@ Contributors
 * Jesse Legg
 * Tim Leguijt
 * Luiz Boaretto
+* Jonathon Moore
 
 Translators
 ===========
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/templatetags/wagtailuserbar.py b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/templatetags/wagtailuserbar.py
index a8e62cdd0f..ab31e72fe0 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/templatetags/wagtailuserbar.py
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/templatetags/wagtailuserbar.py
@@ -36,8 +36,14 @@ def wagtailuserbar(context, position='bottom-right'):
     except KeyError:
         return ''
 
+    # Don't render without a user because we can't check their permissions
+    try:
+        user = request.user
+    except AttributeError:
+        return ''
+
     # Don't render if user doesn't have permission to access the admin area
-    if not request.user.has_perm('wagtailadmin.access_admin'):
+    if not user.has_perm('wagtailadmin.access_admin'):
         return ''
 
     # Don't render if this is a preview. Since some routes can render the userbar without going through Page.serve(),