diff --git a/src/grib_dumper_class_default.cc b/src/grib_dumper_class_default.cc
index 7a7442959..5e093186b 100644
--- a/src/grib_dumper_class_default.cc
+++ b/src/grib_dumper_class_default.cc
@@ -219,6 +219,9 @@ static void dump_bits(grib_dumper* d, grib_accessor* a, const char* comment)
     int err       = 0;
     int isDouble  = 0;
 
+    if ((a->flags & GRIB_ACCESSOR_FLAG_DUMP) == 0)
+        return;
+
     switch (a->get_native_type()) {
         case GRIB_TYPE_LONG:
             a->unpack_long(&lvalue, &size);
@@ -231,9 +234,6 @@ static void dump_bits(grib_dumper* d, grib_accessor* a, const char* comment)
             break;
     }
 
-    if ((a->flags & GRIB_ACCESSOR_FLAG_DUMP) == 0)
-        return;
-
     print_offset(self->dumper.out, d, a);
 
     if ((d->option_flags & GRIB_DUMP_FLAG_TYPE) != 0) {
diff --git a/tests/grib_dump_samples.sh b/tests/grib_dump_samples.sh
index ba4f7d870..740750ba2 100755
--- a/tests/grib_dump_samples.sh
+++ b/tests/grib_dump_samples.sh
@@ -61,5 +61,10 @@ for s in $g2_samples; do
     grib_check_key_equals $sf "edition,packingType" "2 grid_ccsds"
 done
 
+# Test dump_bits
+sample_polar="$ECCODES_SAMPLES_PATH/polar_stereographic_pl_grib2.tmpl"
+${tools_dir}/grib_dump $sample_polar > $temp
+grep -q "resolutionAndComponentFlags" $temp
 
+# Clean up
 rm -f $temp