diff --git a/controllers/test_common.go b/controllers/test_common.go
index 6fb9d6b34..5c04667cd 100644
--- a/controllers/test_common.go
+++ b/controllers/test_common.go
@@ -104,6 +104,7 @@ func SetupKuadrantOperatorForTest(s *runtime.Scheme, cfg *rest.Config) {
 	err = (&TLSPolicyReconciler{
 		BaseReconciler:      tlsPolicyBaseReconciler,
 		TargetRefReconciler: reconcilers.TargetRefReconciler{Client: mgr.GetClient()},
+		RestMapper:          mgr.GetRESTMapper(),
 	}).SetupWithManager(mgr)
 
 	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
diff --git a/controllers/tlspolicy_controller.go b/controllers/tlspolicy_controller.go
index b0c9080b1..54839ccbd 100644
--- a/controllers/tlspolicy_controller.go
+++ b/controllers/tlspolicy_controller.go
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import (
 
 	certmanagerv1 "github.com/cert-manager/cert-manager/pkg/apis/certmanager/v1"
 	apierrors "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/meta"
 	ctrl "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/builder"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
@@ -47,6 +48,7 @@ const TLSPolicyFinalizer = "kuadrant.io/tls-policy"
 type TLSPolicyReconciler struct {
 	*reconcilers.BaseReconciler
 	TargetRefReconciler reconcilers.TargetRefReconciler
+	RestMapper          meta.RESTMapper
 }
 
 //+kubebuilder:rbac:groups=kuadrant.io,resources=tlspolicies,verbs=get;list;watch;update;patch;delete
@@ -200,6 +202,15 @@ func (r *TLSPolicyReconciler) SetupWithManager(mgr ctrl.Manager) error {
 		return nil
 	}
 
+	ok, err = kuadrantgatewayapi.IsCertManagerInstalled(mgr.GetRESTMapper())
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if !ok {
+		r.Logger().Info("TLSPolicy controller disabled. CertManager was not found")
+		return nil
+	}
+
 	gatewayEventMapper := mappers.NewGatewayEventMapper(mappers.WithLogger(r.Logger().WithName("gatewayEventMapper")), mappers.WithClient(mgr.GetClient()))
 
 	issuerStatusChangedPredicate := predicate.Funcs{
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 6b04ec7fa..3853017d0 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -208,6 +208,7 @@ func main() {
 	if err = (&controllers.TLSPolicyReconciler{
 		BaseReconciler:      tlsPolicyBaseReconciler,
 		TargetRefReconciler: reconcilers.TargetRefReconciler{Client: mgr.GetClient()},
+		RestMapper:          mgr.GetRESTMapper(),
 	}).SetupWithManager(mgr); err != nil {
 		setupLog.Error(err, "unable to create controller", "controller", "TLSPolicy")
 		os.Exit(1)
diff --git a/pkg/library/gatewayapi/utils.go b/pkg/library/gatewayapi/utils.go
index 09f9ba5df..88e940cca 100644
--- a/pkg/library/gatewayapi/utils.go
+++ b/pkg/library/gatewayapi/utils.go
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ import (
 	"reflect"
 	"strings"
 
+	"github.com/cert-manager/cert-manager/pkg/apis/certmanager"
+	certmanv1 "github.com/cert-manager/cert-manager/pkg/apis/certmanager/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/meta"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/schema"
@@ -165,3 +167,19 @@ func IsGatewayAPIInstalled(restMapper meta.RESTMapper) (bool, error) {
 
 	return false, err
 }
+
+func IsCertManagerInstalled(restMapper meta.RESTMapper) (bool, error) {
+	_, err := restMapper.RESTMapping(
+		schema.GroupKind{Group: certmanager.GroupName, Kind: certmanv1.CertificateKind},
+		certmanv1.SchemeGroupVersion.Version,
+	)
+	if err == nil {
+		return true, nil
+	}
+
+	if meta.IsNoMatchError(err) {
+		return false, nil
+	}
+
+	return false, err
+}