diff --git a/kpatch-build/kpatch-build b/kpatch-build/kpatch-build
index 5f531ef..5d02b40 100755
--- a/kpatch-build/kpatch-build
+++ b/kpatch-build/kpatch-build
@@ -184,8 +184,8 @@ fi
 
 echo "Testing patch file"
 cd "$SRCDIR" || die
+patch -N -p1 < "$PATCHFILE" || die "source patch file failed to apply"
 cp "$PATCHFILE" "$APPLIEDPATCHFILE" || die
-patch -N -p1 < "$APPLIEDPATCHFILE" || die "source patch file failed to apply"
 patch -p1 -R < "$APPLIEDPATCHFILE" &> /dev/null || die "reverse patch apply failed"
 
 echo "Building original kernel"