diff --git a/fs/btrfs/ioctl.c b/fs/btrfs/ioctl.c
index da8de6cfdb5a..6fb455802759 100644
--- a/fs/btrfs/ioctl.c
+++ b/fs/btrfs/ioctl.c
@@ -706,6 +706,9 @@ long btrfs_ioctl_trans_start(struct file *file)
 	struct btrfs_trans_handle *trans;
 	int ret = 0;
 
+	if (!capable(CAP_SYS_ADMIN))
+		return -EPERM;
+
 	mutex_lock(&root->fs_info->fs_mutex);
 	if (file->private_data) {
 		ret = -EINPROGRESS;