diff --git a/cmake/CMakeLists.txt b/cmake/CMakeLists.txt
index 87dd9bc3ad..f7b2e2342e 100644
--- a/cmake/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/cmake/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -490,7 +490,9 @@ if(PKG_USER-ATC)
   target_compile_definitions(atc PRIVATE -DLAMMPS_${LAMMPS_SIZES})
 endif()
 
-include(Packages/USER-H5MD)
+if(PKG_USER-H5MD)
+  include(Packages/USER-H5MD)
+endif()
 
 ######################################################################
 # packages which selectively include variants based on enabled styles
diff --git a/cmake/Modules/Packages/USER-H5MD.cmake b/cmake/Modules/Packages/USER-H5MD.cmake
index 2893f7903c..4fcae93027 100644
--- a/cmake/Modules/Packages/USER-H5MD.cmake
+++ b/cmake/Modules/Packages/USER-H5MD.cmake
@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
-if(PKG_USER-H5MD)
-  enable_language(C)
+enable_language(C)
 
-  find_package(HDF5 REQUIRED)
-  target_link_libraries(h5md PRIVATE ${HDF5_LIBRARIES})
-  target_include_directories(h5md PUBLIC ${HDF5_INCLUDE_DIRS})
-endif()
+find_package(HDF5 REQUIRED)
+target_link_libraries(h5md PRIVATE ${HDF5_LIBRARIES})
+target_include_directories(h5md PUBLIC ${HDF5_INCLUDE_DIRS})