diff --git a/http.go b/http.go
index ea35560..7822d9d 100644
--- a/http.go
+++ b/http.go
@@ -36,8 +36,13 @@ func toHttpHandler(h http.Handler, parseToken oidc.ParseTokenFunc, setters ...op
 
 		tokenString, err := oidc.GetTokenString(r.Header.Get, opts.TokenString)
 		if err != nil {
-			onError(w, opts.ErrorHandler, http.StatusBadRequest, options.GetTokenErrorDescription, err)
-			return
+			if !opts.Permissive {
+				onError(w, opts.ErrorHandler, http.StatusBadRequest, options.GetTokenErrorDescription, err)
+				return
+			} else {
+				h.ServeHTTP(w, r)
+				return
+			}
 		}
 
 		token, err := parseToken(ctx, tokenString)