diff --git a/core/types/transaction_marshalling.go b/core/types/transaction_marshalling.go
index e3950b2a76..c0b5b31152 100644
--- a/core/types/transaction_marshalling.go
+++ b/core/types/transaction_marshalling.go
@@ -474,8 +474,8 @@ func (tx *Transaction) UnmarshalJSON(input []byte) error {
 		if dec.AccessList != nil {
 			itx.AccessList = *dec.AccessList
 		}
-		if dec.AuthorizationList == nil {
-			return errors.New("missing required field 'authorizationList' in transaction")
+		if len(dec.AuthorizationList) == 0 {
+			return errors.New("'authorizationList' must contain at least one authorization")
 		}
 		itx.AuthList = dec.AuthorizationList