diff --git a/datatrails_scitt_samples/scripts/verify_receipt.py b/datatrails_scitt_samples/scripts/verify_receipt.py
index ac2e520..be04895 100644
--- a/datatrails_scitt_samples/scripts/verify_receipt.py
+++ b/datatrails_scitt_samples/scripts/verify_receipt.py
@@ -97,7 +97,9 @@ def main(args=None) -> int:
 
     # Note: the context is only used if --entryid is
     # used to obtain the leaf hash directly from datatrails
-    cfg_overrides = {}
+    cfg_overrides = {
+        'require_auth': args.entryid is not None
+    }
     if args.datatrails_url:
         cfg_overrides["datatrails_url"] = args.datatrails_url
     ctx = ServiceContext.from_env("verify-receipt", **cfg_overrides)