diff --git a/src/qcbor_decode.c b/src/qcbor_decode.c
index ef28817..646c0d4 100644
--- a/src/qcbor_decode.c
+++ b/src/qcbor_decode.c
@@ -1323,9 +1323,11 @@
                                    QCBORItem           *pDecodedItem)
 {
    QCBORError uReturn;
-   int      nMajorType = 0;
-   uint64_t uArgument = 0;
-   int      nAdditionalInfo = 0;
+   int        nMajorType = 0;
+   uint64_t   uArgument = 0;
+   int        nAdditionalInfo = 0;
+
+   memset(pDecodedItem, 0, sizeof(QCBORItem));
 
    /* Decode the "head" that every CBOR item has into the major type,
     * argument and the additional info.
@@ -1335,8 +1337,6 @@
       return uReturn;
    }
 
-   memset(pDecodedItem, 0, sizeof(QCBORItem));
-
    /* All the functions below get inlined by the optimizer. This code
     * is easier to read with them all being similar functions, even if
     * some functions don't do much.