diff --git a/start_putrecorder b/start_putrecorder
index 2fd7ca2812c77e39963d706bf511d11037222670..df9f29efa16d601cdc0781f1cc10803673c08157 100755
--- a/start_putrecorder
+++ b/start_putrecorder
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ fi
 
 
 cd ${EPICS_APP_PYTHON_DIR}
+export PYTHONPATH=${EPICS_APP_PYTHON_DIR}:$PYTHONPATH
 
 # start caputRecorder.py
 # The first prefix specifies the caputRecorder.db database instance that will