diff --git a/lib/pk11wrap/pk11cert.c b/lib/pk11wrap/pk11cert.c
index 40c0969a3f..804db6da98 100644
--- a/lib/pk11wrap/pk11cert.c
+++ b/lib/pk11wrap/pk11cert.c
@@ -741,6 +741,11 @@ find_certs_from_nickname(const char *nickname, void *wincx)
     char *delimit = NULL;
     char *tokenName;
 
+    if (!strncmp(nickname, "pkcs11:", strlen("pkcs11:"))) {
+        certs = find_certs_from_uri(nickname, wincx);
+        if (certs)
+            return certs;
+    }
     nickCopy = PORT_Strdup(nickname);
     if (!nickCopy) {
         /* error code is set */