diff --git a/src/paperless/checks.py b/src/paperless/checks.py
index ed3789d4a..5d9da91c4 100644
--- a/src/paperless/checks.py
+++ b/src/paperless/checks.py
@@ -337,23 +337,6 @@ def check_deprecated_v2_ocr_env_vars(
     return warnings
 
 
-@register()
-def check_remote_ocr_mode(app_configs: Any, **kwargs: Any) -> list[Error]:
-    # Import here because checks.py runs before the app registry is ready
-    from paperless.models import RemoteOCRMode
-
-    valid_modes = {mode.value for mode in RemoteOCRMode}
-    if settings.REMOTE_OCR_MODE not in valid_modes:
-        return [
-            Error(
-                f"PAPERLESS_REMOTE_OCR_MODE is set to {settings.REMOTE_OCR_MODE!r}, "
-                f"expected one of {sorted(valid_modes)}.",
-            ),
-        ]
-
-    return []
-
-
 def get_tesseract_langs():
     proc = subprocess.run(
         [shutil.which("tesseract"), "--list-langs"],
diff --git a/src/paperless/settings/__init__.py b/src/paperless/settings/__init__.py
index 732f330e0..16478ef57 100644
--- a/src/paperless/settings/__init__.py
+++ b/src/paperless/settings/__init__.py
@@ -1197,7 +1197,11 @@ WEBHOOKS_ALLOW_INTERNAL_REQUESTS = get_bool_from_env(
 REMOTE_OCR_ENGINE = os.getenv("PAPERLESS_REMOTE_OCR_ENGINE")
 REMOTE_OCR_API_KEY = os.getenv("PAPERLESS_REMOTE_OCR_API_KEY")
 REMOTE_OCR_ENDPOINT = os.getenv("PAPERLESS_REMOTE_OCR_ENDPOINT")
-REMOTE_OCR_MODE = os.getenv("PAPERLESS_REMOTE_OCR_MODE", "always")
+REMOTE_OCR_MODE = get_choice_from_env(
+    "PAPERLESS_REMOTE_OCR_MODE",
+    {"always", "workflow_only"},
+    default="always",
+)
 
 ################################################################################
 # AI Settings                                                                  #
diff --git a/src/paperless/tests/test_checks.py b/src/paperless/tests/test_checks.py
index 17c3be3d0..b85618a21 100644
--- a/src/paperless/tests/test_checks.py
+++ b/src/paperless/tests/test_checks.py
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ from paperless.checks import audit_log_check
 from paperless.checks import binaries_check
 from paperless.checks import check_default_language_available
 from paperless.checks import check_deprecated_db_settings
-from paperless.checks import check_remote_ocr_mode
 from paperless.checks import check_v3_minimum_upgrade_version
 from paperless.checks import debug_mode_check
 from paperless.checks import paths_check
@@ -631,23 +630,6 @@ class TestV3MinimumUpgradeVersionCheck:
         assert check_v3_minimum_upgrade_version(None) == []
 
 
-class TestRemoteOCRModeCheck:
-    def test_valid_mode(self, settings: SettingsWrapper) -> None:
-        settings.REMOTE_OCR_MODE = "workflow_only"
-
-        msgs = check_remote_ocr_mode(None)
-
-        assert len(msgs) == 0
-
-    def test_invalid_mode(self, settings: SettingsWrapper) -> None:
-        settings.REMOTE_OCR_MODE = "sometimes"
-
-        msgs = check_remote_ocr_mode(None)
-
-        assert len(msgs) == 1
-        assert "PAPERLESS_REMOTE_OCR_MODE is set to 'sometimes'" in msgs[0].msg
-
-
 class TestTesseractChecks:
     def test_default_language(self) -> None:
         check_default_language_available(None)