diff --git a/libraries/chain/controller.cpp b/libraries/chain/controller.cpp
index 402b61df0cf..3f1d5cf7837 100644
--- a/libraries/chain/controller.cpp
+++ b/libraries/chain/controller.cpp
@@ -992,6 +992,9 @@ struct controller_impl {
       transaction_trace_ptr trace;
       try {
          auto start = fc::time_point::now();
+         const bool check_auth = !self.skip_auth_check() && !trx->implicit;
+         // call recover keys so that trx->sig_cpu_usage is set correctly
+         const flat_set<public_key_type>& recovered_keys = check_auth ? trx->recover_keys( chain_id ) : flat_set<public_key_type>();
          if( !explicit_billed_cpu_time ) {
             fc::microseconds already_consumed_time( EOS_PERCENT(trx->sig_cpu_usage.count(), conf.sig_cpu_bill_pct) );
 
@@ -1024,10 +1027,10 @@ struct controller_impl {
 
             trx_context.delay = fc::seconds(trn.delay_sec);
 
-            if( !self.skip_auth_check() && !trx->implicit ) {
+            if( check_auth ) {
                authorization.check_authorization(
                        trn.actions,
-                       trx->recover_keys( chain_id ),
+                       recovered_keys,
                        {},
                        trx_context.delay,
                        [](){}