diff --git a/config.go b/config.go
index 2d41a2a0..ec892ac4 100644
--- a/config.go
+++ b/config.go
@@ -552,6 +552,13 @@ func loadConfig() (*config, error) {
 			return nil, err
 		}
 
+		if cfg.Litecoin.MainNet && cfg.DebugHTLC {
+			str := "%s: debug-htlc mode cannot be used " +
+				"on litecoin mainnet"
+			err := fmt.Errorf(str, funcName)
+			return nil, err
+		}
+
 		// The litecoin chain is the current active chain. However
 		// throughout the codebase we required chaincfg.Params. So as a
 		// temporary hack, we'll mutate the default net params for
@@ -634,6 +641,13 @@ func loadConfig() (*config, error) {
 			return nil, err
 		}
 
+		if cfg.Bitcoin.MainNet && cfg.DebugHTLC {
+			str := "%s: debug-htlc mode cannot be used " +
+				"on bitcoin mainnet"
+			err := fmt.Errorf(str, funcName)
+			return nil, err
+		}
+
 		if cfg.Bitcoin.Node == "neutrino" && cfg.Bitcoin.MainNet {
 			str := "%s: neutrino isn't yet supported for " +
 				"bitcoin's mainnet"