diff --git a/src/components/entity/ha-entity-picker.ts b/src/components/entity/ha-entity-picker.ts
index 680910d8b8..ccb233fffb 100644
--- a/src/components/entity/ha-entity-picker.ts
+++ b/src/components/entity/ha-entity-picker.ts
@@ -409,7 +409,7 @@ export class HaEntityPicker extends LitElement {
     ev.stopPropagation();
     const newValue = ev.detail.value;
 
-    if (newValue.startsWith(CREATE_ID)) {
+    if (newValue && newValue.startsWith(CREATE_ID)) {
       const domain = newValue.substring(CREATE_ID.length);
       showHelperDetailDialog(this, {
         domain,