diff --git a/perl_lib/EPrints/MetaField/Id.pm b/perl_lib/EPrints/MetaField/Id.pm
index 483841b68..69e26bb58 100644
--- a/perl_lib/EPrints/MetaField/Id.pm
+++ b/perl_lib/EPrints/MetaField/Id.pm
@@ -45,6 +45,8 @@ sub value_from_sql_row
 {
 	my( $self, $session, $row ) = @_;
 
+	return undef unless defined $row->[0];
+
 	if( $session->{database}->{dbh}->{Driver}->{Name} eq "mysql" )
 	{
 		utf8::decode( $row->[0] );