diff --git a/src/emu/validity.cpp b/src/emu/validity.cpp
index 79c10cad412..3a70385b3e1 100644
--- a/src/emu/validity.cpp
+++ b/src/emu/validity.cpp
@@ -298,8 +298,7 @@ void validity_checker::validate_one(const game_driver &driver)
 	// wrap in try/except to catch fatalerrors
 	try
 	{
-		emu_options options;
-		machine_config config(driver, options);
+		machine_config config(driver, m_blank_options);
 		m_current_config = &config;
 		validate_driver();
 		validate_roms();
diff --git a/src/emu/validity.h b/src/emu/validity.h
index 05b2ac5cf63..a845bac4610 100644
--- a/src/emu/validity.h
+++ b/src/emu/validity.h
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 #pragma once
 
 #include "drivenum.h"
+#include "emuopts.h"
 
 
 //**************************************************************************
@@ -98,6 +99,9 @@ private:
 	// internal driver list
 	driver_enumerator       m_drivlist;
 
+	// blank options for use during validation
+	emu_options				m_blank_options;
+
 	// error tracking
 	int                     m_errors;
 	int                     m_warnings;