diff --git a/ietf/settings.py b/ietf/settings.py
index 4191f033f..54a7ec1f6 100644
--- a/ietf/settings.py
+++ b/ietf/settings.py
@@ -699,7 +699,7 @@ from settings_local import *            # pyflakes:ignore pylint: disable=wildca
 
 for app in INSTALLED_APPS:
     if app.startswith('ietf'):
-        app_settings_file = os.path.join(app.replace('.', os.sep), "settings.py")
+        app_settings_file = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, '../', app.replace('.', os.sep), "settings.py")
         if os.path.exists(app_settings_file):
             exec "from %s import *" % (app+".settings")