diff --git a/libexec/rc/rc b/libexec/rc/rc
--- a/libexec/rc/rc
+++ b/libexec/rc/rc
@@ -72,6 +72,11 @@
 set +o verify
 load_rc_config $rc_config_xtra
 
+if have DebugOn; then
+	# allow DEBUG_SH to be set from loader prompt
+	export DEBUG_SH=${DEBUG_SH:-$(kenv -q DEBUG_SH)}
+fi
+
 # If we receive a SIGALRM, re-source /etc/rc.conf; this allows rc.d
 # scripts to perform "boot-time configuration" including enabling and
 # disabling rc.d scripts which appear later in the boot order.
diff --git a/libexec/rc/rc.subr b/libexec/rc/rc.subr
--- a/libexec/rc/rc.subr
+++ b/libexec/rc/rc.subr
@@ -2767,10 +2767,7 @@
 
 # Ensure we can still operate if debug.sh and
 # safe_eval.sh are not found.
-if have DebugOn; then
-	# allow DEBUG_SH to be set from loader prompt
-	DEBUG_SH=${DEBUG_SH:-$(kenv -q DEBUG_SH)}
-else
+if ! have DebugOn; then
 	DebugOn() { return 0; }
 	DebugOff() { return 0; }
 fi