diff --git a/dvc/fs/gdrive.py b/dvc/fs/gdrive.py
index 3198ad0283..ca7ae4b6de 100644
--- a/dvc/fs/gdrive.py
+++ b/dvc/fs/gdrive.py
@@ -109,6 +109,7 @@ def _validate_config(self):
         if (
             self._use_service_account
             and not self._service_account_json_file_path
+            and GDriveFileSystem.GDRIVE_CREDENTIALS_DATA not in os.environ
         ):
             raise DvcException(
                 "To use service account, set "
diff --git a/tests/unit/remote/test_gdrive.py b/tests/unit/remote/test_gdrive.py
index 9c23c323be..e03ff5642f 100644
--- a/tests/unit/remote/test_gdrive.py
+++ b/tests/unit/remote/test_gdrive.py
@@ -41,3 +41,11 @@ def test_drive(self, dvc, monkeypatch):
         )
         with pytest.raises(GDriveAuthError):
             assert fs.fs
+
+    def test_service_account_using_env_var(self, dvc, monkeypatch):
+        monkeypatch.setenv(GDriveFileSystem.GDRIVE_CREDENTIALS_DATA, "foo")
+        GDriveFileSystem(
+            gdrive_credentials_tmp_dir=dvc.tmp_dir,
+            gdrive_use_service_account=True,
+            **self.CONFIG
+        )