diff --git a/@commitlint/lint/src/lint.test.ts b/@commitlint/lint/src/lint.test.ts
index 3104eb5fb7..52ef073c13 100644
--- a/@commitlint/lint/src/lint.test.ts
+++ b/@commitlint/lint/src/lint.test.ts
@@ -5,9 +5,12 @@ test('throws without params', async () => {
 	await expect(error).rejects.toThrow('Expected a raw commit');
 });
 
-test('throws with empty message', async () => {
-	const error = (lint as any)('');
-	await expect(error).rejects.toThrow('Expected a raw commit');
+test('positive on empty message', async () => {
+	expect(await lint('')).toMatchObject({
+		valid: true,
+		errors: [],
+		warnings: []
+	});
 });
 
 test('positive on stub message and no rule', async () => {
diff --git a/@commitlint/lint/src/lint.ts b/@commitlint/lint/src/lint.ts
index 873f1484fa..6917d74611 100644
--- a/@commitlint/lint/src/lint.ts
+++ b/@commitlint/lint/src/lint.ts
@@ -36,7 +36,25 @@ export default async function lint(
 	}
 
 	// Parse the commit message
-	const parsed = await parse(message, undefined, opts.parserOpts);
+	const parsed =
+		message === ''
+			? {header: null, body: null, footer: null}
+			: await parse(message, undefined, opts.parserOpts);
+
+	if (
+		parsed.header === null &&
+		parsed.body === null &&
+		parsed.footer === null
+	) {
+		// Commit is empty, skip
+		return {
+			valid: true,
+			errors: [],
+			warnings: [],
+			input: message
+		};
+	}
+
 	const allRules: Map<string, BaseRule<never, RuleType>> = new Map(
 		Object.entries(defaultRules)
 	);