diff --git a/pycsw/ogc/api/records.py b/pycsw/ogc/api/records.py
index 83c3179ee..238297260 100644
--- a/pycsw/ogc/api/records.py
+++ b/pycsw/ogc/api/records.py
@@ -1021,6 +1021,8 @@ def get_collection_info(self, collection_name: str = 'metadata:main',
             if 'federatedcatalogues' in self.config:
                 LOGGER.debug('Adding federated catalogues')
                 collection_info['federatedCatalogues'] = []
+                if not self.config['federatedcatalogues']: # if empty in config
+                    self.config['federatedcatalogues'] = []
                 for fc in self.config.get('federatedcatalogues', []):
                     collection_info['federatedCatalogues'].append({
                         'type': 'OGC API - Records',