diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/crypto/certificate_complete_chain.py b/lib/ansible/modules/crypto/certificate_complete_chain.py
index 26d98fcb189..4f8b01ed06a 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/crypto/certificate_complete_chain.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/crypto/certificate_complete_chain.py
@@ -230,6 +230,7 @@ def load_PEM_list(module, path, fail_on_error=True):
             module.fail_json(msg=msg)
         else:
             module.warn(msg)
+            return []
 
 
 class CertificateSet(object):