diff --git a/sys/include/net/gnrc/netreg.h b/sys/include/net/gnrc/netreg.h
index cea7d13635c5356d36957bdd364eb725932d92f4..ae8856f76773153c0bb0546af52703c675f9086e 100644
--- a/sys/include/net/gnrc/netreg.h
+++ b/sys/include/net/gnrc/netreg.h
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ typedef enum {
  *
  * @return  An initialized netreg entry
  */
-#ifdef MODULE_GNRC_NETAPI_MBOX
+#if defined(MODULE_GNRC_NETAPI_MBOX) || defined(MODULE_GNRC_NETAPI_CALLBACKS)
 #define GNRC_NETREG_ENTRY_INIT_PID(demux_ctx, pid)  { NULL, demux_ctx, \
                                                       GNRC_NETREG_TYPE_DEFAULT, \
                                                       { pid } }