diff --git a/lib/api/apiUtils/object/expirationHeaders.js b/lib/api/apiUtils/object/expirationHeaders.js
index 94d3037f2e..a815619777 100644
--- a/lib/api/apiUtils/object/expirationHeaders.js
+++ b/lib/api/apiUtils/object/expirationHeaders.js
@@ -39,8 +39,10 @@ const AMZ_ABORT_ID_HEADER = 'x-amz-abort-rule-id';
 
 function _generateExpHeadersObjects(rules, params, datetime) {
     const tags = {
-        TagSet: Object.keys(params.tags)
-            .map(key => ({ Key: key, Value: params.tags[key] })),
+        TagSet: params.tags
+            ? Object.keys(params.tags)
+                .map(key => ({ Key: key, Value: params.tags[key] }))
+            : [],
     };
 
     const objectInfo = { Key: params.key };
diff --git a/tests/unit/api/apiUtils/expirationHeaders.js b/tests/unit/api/apiUtils/expirationHeaders.js
index d1bc0ddaf5..41fa1af48c 100644
--- a/tests/unit/api/apiUtils/expirationHeaders.js
+++ b/tests/unit/api/apiUtils/expirationHeaders.js
@@ -103,6 +103,16 @@ describe('generateExpirationHeaders', () => {
             },
             {},
         ],
+        [
+            'should provide correct headers for compatibility with legacy objects missing the tags property',
+            {
+                lifecycleConfig: lifecycleExpirationDays,
+                objectParams: { key: 'object', date: objectDate },
+            },
+            {
+                'x-amz-expiration': `expiry-date="${expectedDaysExpiryDate}", rule-id="test-days"`,
+            },
+        ],
         [
             'should return correct headers for object (days)',
             {