diff --git a/offlineimap.conf b/offlineimap.conf
index 11b3a21..e866f09 100644
--- a/offlineimap.conf
+++ b/offlineimap.conf
@@ -844,8 +844,8 @@ remotehost = examplehost
 #   - ssl3 (less desirable than tls1)
 #   - ssl23 (can fallback up to ssl3)
 #
-# When tls_level is not set to tls_compat, the ssl_version configuration option
-# must be explicitly set.
+# When tls_level is not set to tls_compat and ssl is still enabled,
+# the ssl_version configuration option must be explicitly set.
 #
 #tls_level = tls_compat
 
diff --git a/offlineimap/imapserver.py b/offlineimap/imapserver.py
index 879e352..a412b7d 100644
--- a/offlineimap/imapserver.py
+++ b/offlineimap/imapserver.py
@@ -100,7 +100,9 @@ class IMAPServer(object):
         self.sslversion = repos.getsslversion()
         self.starttls = repos.getstarttls()
 
-        if self.tlslevel is not "tls_compat" and self.sslversion is None:
+        if self.usessl \
+           and self.tlslevel is not "tls_compat" \
+           and self.sslversion is None:
             raise Exception("When 'tls_level' is not 'tls_compat' "
                 "the 'ssl_version' must be set explicitly.")