diff --git a/tests/pytests/unit/utils/test_nacl.py b/tests/pytests/unit/utils/test_nacl.py
index 8e48a8a13163..c23f6bc08468 100644
--- a/tests/pytests/unit/utils/test_nacl.py
+++ b/tests/pytests/unit/utils/test_nacl.py
@@ -9,7 +9,17 @@
 import salt.utils.files
 from tests.support.mock import patch
 
-pytest.importorskip("libnacl")
+try:
+    import salt.utils.nacl as nacl
+
+    HAS_PYNACL = nacl.check_requirements
+except (ImportError, OSError, AttributeError):
+    HAS_PYNACL = False
+
+
+@pytest.mark.skipif(
+    not HAS_PYNACL, reason="skipping test_nacl, reason=PyNaCl is unavailable"
+)
 @pytest.fixture
 def configure_loader_modules():
     return {