diff --git a/src/java/org/apache/poi/poifs/filesystem/TempFilePOIFSFileSystem.java b/src/java/org/apache/poi/poifs/filesystem/TempFilePOIFSFileSystem.java
index 6a7e1f6d68..c7145925a2 100644
--- a/src/java/org/apache/poi/poifs/filesystem/TempFilePOIFSFileSystem.java
+++ b/src/java/org/apache/poi/poifs/filesystem/TempFilePOIFSFileSystem.java
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ public class TempFilePOIFSFileSystem extends POIFSFileSystem {
     }
 
     public void close() throws IOException {
-        tempFile.delete();
+        if (tempFile != null) tempFile.delete();
         super.close();
     }