diff --git a/runtime/lua/vim/lsp.lua b/runtime/lua/vim/lsp.lua
index 69d8fd0b42..42953cbfee 100644
--- a/runtime/lua/vim/lsp.lua
+++ b/runtime/lua/vim/lsp.lua
@@ -776,6 +776,10 @@ function lsp.start_client(config)
   ---@param code (number) exit code of the process
   ---@param signal (number) the signal used to terminate (if any)
   function dispatch.on_exit(code, signal)
+    if config.on_exit then
+      pcall(config.on_exit, code, signal, client_id)
+    end
+
     active_clients[client_id] = nil
     uninitialized_clients[client_id] = nil
 
@@ -791,10 +795,6 @@ function lsp.start_client(config)
         vim.notify(msg, vim.log.levels.WARN)
       end)
     end
-
-    if config.on_exit then
-      pcall(config.on_exit, code, signal, client_id)
-    end
   end
 
   -- Start the RPC client.