diff --git a/bgpd/bgpd.c b/bgpd/bgpd.c
index d8eba0ab2234..5c795350893d 100644
--- a/bgpd/bgpd.c
+++ b/bgpd/bgpd.c
@@ -3620,10 +3620,13 @@ struct bgp *bgp_lookup_by_name(const char *name)
 	struct bgp *bgp;
 	struct listnode *node, *nnode;
 
-	for (ALL_LIST_ELEMENTS(bm->bgp, node, nnode, bgp))
+	for (ALL_LIST_ELEMENTS(bm->bgp, node, nnode, bgp)) {
+		if (CHECK_FLAG(bgp->vrf_flags, BGP_VRF_AUTO))
+			continue;
 		if ((bgp->name == NULL && name == NULL)
 		    || (bgp->name && name && strcmp(bgp->name, name) == 0))
 			return bgp;
+	}
 	return NULL;
 }