diff --git a/tljh/configurer.py b/tljh/configurer.py
index b3d5567..ba88a63 100644
--- a/tljh/configurer.py
+++ b/tljh/configurer.py
@@ -31,12 +31,12 @@ default = {
 
 
 def apply_yaml_config(path, c):
-    if not os.path.exists(path):
+    if os.path.exists(path):
+        with open(path) as f:
+            tljh_config = _merge_dictionaries(yaml.safe_load(f), default)
+    else:
         tljh_config = copy.deepcopy(default)
 
-    with open(path) as f:
-        tljh_config = _merge_dictionaries(yaml.safe_load(f), default)
-
     update_auth(c, tljh_config)
     update_userlists(c, tljh_config)
     update_limits(c, tljh_config)