diff --git a/src/broadcom/vulkan/v3dv_util.c b/src/broadcom/vulkan/v3dv_util.c
index a1fe59e99b6..d26369f9f56 100644
--- a/src/broadcom/vulkan/v3dv_util.c
+++ b/src/broadcom/vulkan/v3dv_util.c
@@ -45,12 +45,12 @@ __vk_errorf(struct v3dv_instance *instance, VkResult error, const char *file,
    va_list ap;
    char buffer[256];
 
-   const char *error_str = vk_Result_to_str(error);
-
 #ifndef DEBUG
       return error;
 #endif
 
+   const char *error_str = vk_Result_to_str(error);
+
    if (format) {
       va_start(ap, format);
       vsnprintf(buffer, sizeof(buffer), format, ap);