diff --git a/internal/remoteconfig/remoteconfig.go b/internal/remoteconfig/remoteconfig.go
index 4076c2ad34..27230cb3eb 100644
--- a/internal/remoteconfig/remoteconfig.go
+++ b/internal/remoteconfig/remoteconfig.go
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import (
 	"sync"
 	"time"
 
+	"gopkg.in/DataDog/dd-trace-go.v1/internal"
 	"gopkg.in/DataDog/dd-trace-go.v1/internal/log"
 
 	rc "github.com/DataDog/datadog-agent/pkg/remoteconfig/state"
@@ -187,6 +188,10 @@ func Start(config ClientConfig) error {
 		if err != nil {
 			return
 		}
+		if !internal.BoolEnv("DD_REMOTE_CONFIGURATION_ENABLED", true) {
+			// Don't start polling if the feature is disabled explicitly
+			return
+		}
 		go func() {
 			ticker := time.NewTicker(client.PollInterval)
 			defer ticker.Stop()