diff --git a/subsys/bluetooth/host/l2cap.c b/subsys/bluetooth/host/l2cap.c
index b6ca2f3ea000c3..3b5cfe8286497a 100644
--- a/subsys/bluetooth/host/l2cap.c
+++ b/subsys/bluetooth/host/l2cap.c
@@ -717,6 +717,10 @@ static void cancel_data_ready(struct bt_l2cap_le_chan *le_chan)
 int bt_l2cap_send_pdu(struct bt_l2cap_le_chan *le_chan, struct net_buf *pdu,
 		      bt_conn_tx_cb_t cb, void *user_data)
 {
+	if (!le_chan->chan.conn || le_chan->chan.conn->state != BT_CONN_CONNECTED) {
+		return -ENOTCONN;
+	}
+
 	if (pdu->ref != 1) {
 		/* The host may alter the buf contents when fragmenting. Higher
 		 * layers cannot expect the buf contents to stay intact. Extra