diff --git a/roles/ifstated/tasks/main.yml b/roles/ifstated/tasks/main.yml
index 27abc1d..959f9e7 100644
--- a/roles/ifstated/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/roles/ifstated/tasks/main.yml
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
     mode: 0644
     owner: root
     group: "{{ ansible_wheel }}"
+    validate: "ifstated -n -f %s"
   notify: restart ifstated
 
 - name: enable ifstated