diff --git a/app/main/views/register.py b/app/main/views/register.py
index c8759842d..476032784 100644
--- a/app/main/views/register.py
+++ b/app/main/views/register.py
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ def register():
             return redirect(url_for('main.verify'))
         else:
             flash('There was an error registering your account')
+            return render_template('views/register.html', form=form), 400
 
     return render_template('views/register.html', form=form)
 
diff --git a/tests/app/main/views/test_register.py b/tests/app/main/views/test_register.py
index b0fd9ce93..d61513784 100644
--- a/tests/app/main/views/test_register.py
+++ b/tests/app/main/views/test_register.py
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ def test_register_with_existing_email_returns_error(app_,
     with app_.test_request_context():
         response = app_.test_client().post(url_for('main.register'),
                                            data=user_data)
-        assert response.status_code == 200
+        assert response.status_code == 400
         page = BeautifulSoup(response.data.decode('utf-8'), 'html.parser')
         element = page.find('h1')
         assert element.text == 'Create an account'