diff --git a/litellm/proxy/auth/user_api_key_auth.py b/litellm/proxy/auth/user_api_key_auth.py
index 5dd58466b9..8d2c728f59 100644
--- a/litellm/proxy/auth/user_api_key_auth.py
+++ b/litellm/proxy/auth/user_api_key_auth.py
@@ -1275,6 +1275,8 @@ def _get_request_ip_address(
         client_ip = request.headers["x-forwarded-for"]
     elif request.client is not None:
         client_ip = request.client.host
+    else:
+        client_ip = ""
 
     return client_ip