diff --git a/terracotta/drivers/__init__.py b/terracotta/drivers/__init__.py
index 2a404568..08971aa6 100644
--- a/terracotta/drivers/__init__.py
+++ b/terracotta/drivers/__init__.py
@@ -99,6 +99,8 @@ def get_driver(
 
     """
     url_or_path = str(url_or_path)
+    if not url_or_path:
+        raise ValueError("Database url or path must not be empty")
 
     if provider is None:  # try and auto-detect
         provider = auto_detect_provider(url_or_path)
diff --git a/tests/drivers/test_drivers.py b/tests/drivers/test_drivers.py
index 8ec191af..6e660f71 100644
--- a/tests/drivers/test_drivers.py
+++ b/tests/drivers/test_drivers.py
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ def test_get_driver_invalid():
 
     with pytest.raises(ValueError) as exc:
         drivers.get_driver("", provider="foo")
-    assert "Unknown database provider" in str(exc.value)
+    assert "Database url or path must not be empty" in str(exc.value)
 
 
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("provider", TESTABLE_DRIVERS)