diff --git a/python/lsst/daf/butler/formatters/yaml.py b/python/lsst/daf/butler/formatters/yaml.py
index 743c18af25..68d64ad958 100644
--- a/python/lsst/daf/butler/formatters/yaml.py
+++ b/python/lsst/daf/butler/formatters/yaml.py
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ def _toBytes(self, inMemoryDataset: Any) -> bytes:
 
         unsafe_dump = self.writeParameters.get("unsafe_dump", False)
         if unsafe_dump:
-            serialized = yaml.dump(inMemoryDataset)
+            serialized = yaml.dump(inMemoryDataset, sort_keys=False)
         else:
-            serialized = yaml.safe_dump(inMemoryDataset)
+            serialized = yaml.safe_dump(inMemoryDataset, sort_keys=False)
         return serialized.encode()