diff --git a/arkindex_worker/worker/transcription.py b/arkindex_worker/worker/transcription.py
index f54d3cc430ffe2641753137ab22dcdee44574040..ab8486282ae5e6d7a6caf1f0851b9aa522d12e8f 100644
--- a/arkindex_worker/worker/transcription.py
+++ b/arkindex_worker/worker/transcription.py
@@ -167,6 +167,12 @@ class TranscriptionMixin(object):
             if orientation:
                 transcription["orientation"] = orientation.value
 
+        if self.is_read_only:
+            logger.warning(
+                "Cannot create transcription as this worker is in read-only mode"
+            )
+            return
+
         created_trs = self.request(
             "CreateTranscriptions",
             body={