diff --git a/fillpdf.module b/fillpdf.module
index 1aacf481e8c9881ffe18cef90fcb33e3028ec130..beeb51e645ad7715e617bc4ba9ba5323106f4c2f 100644
--- a/fillpdf.module
+++ b/fillpdf.module
@@ -2070,6 +2070,18 @@ function fillpdf_scheme_options() {
   return $options;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Returns the configured template scheme for FillPDF.
+ *
+ * Template files are less sensitive, so if the configured FillPDF template
+ * scheme is unavailable, we may fall back to the system's file default scheme.
+ */
+function fillpdf_template_scheme() {
+  $template_scheme = variable_get('fillpdf_scheme');
+  $scheme_options = fillpdf_scheme_options();
+  return $template_scheme && isset($scheme_options[$template_scheme]) ? $template_scheme : variable_get('file_default_scheme', 'public');
+}
+
 /**
  * Returns the default scheme for PDF files populated by FillPDF.
  *