diff --git a/devito/types/dense.py b/devito/types/dense.py
index dfae835c5b..a4ea53b699 100644
--- a/devito/types/dense.py
+++ b/devito/types/dense.py
@@ -865,6 +865,7 @@ def _arg_check(self, args, intervals, **kwargs):
 
         if args.options['index-mode'] == 'int32' and \
            args.options['linearize'] and \
+           self.is_regular and \
            data.size - 1 >= np.iinfo(np.int32).max:
             raise InvalidArgument("`%s`, with its %d elements, is too big for "
                                   "int32 pointer arithmetic. Consider using the "