diff --git a/library/waku_thread/inter_thread_communication/requests/node_lifecycle_request.nim b/library/waku_thread/inter_thread_communication/requests/node_lifecycle_request.nim
index 087a78d3e..9bd0017ab 100644
--- a/library/waku_thread/inter_thread_communication/requests/node_lifecycle_request.nim
+++ b/library/waku_thread/inter_thread_communication/requests/node_lifecycle_request.nim
@@ -67,6 +67,11 @@ proc createWaku(
             formattedString & ". expected type: " & $typeof(confValue)
         )
 
+  # Don't send relay app callbacks if relay is disabled
+  if not conf.relay and not appCallbacks.isNil():
+    appCallbacks.relayHandler = nil
+    appCallbacks.topicHealthChangeHandler = nil
+
   let wakuRes = Waku.new(conf, appCallbacks).valueOr:
     error "waku initialization failed", error = error
     return err("Failed setting up Waku: " & $error)