diff --git a/src/includes/rc-misc.h b/src/includes/rc-misc.h
index 95ccbc33..9a55c413 100644
--- a/src/includes/rc-misc.h
+++ b/src/includes/rc-misc.h
@@ -71,5 +71,6 @@ bool _rc_can_find_pids(void);
 RC_SERVICE lookup_service_state(const char *service);
 void from_time_t(char *time_string, time_t tv);
 time_t to_time_t(char *timestring);
+pid_t get_pid(const char *applet, const char *pidfile);
 
 #endif
diff --git a/src/rc/rc-misc.c b/src/rc/rc-misc.c
index a6cc788e..d43f1274 100644
--- a/src/rc/rc-misc.c
+++ b/src/rc/rc-misc.c
@@ -474,3 +474,27 @@ time_t to_time_t(char *timestring)
 	}
 	return result;
 }
+
+pid_t get_pid(const char *applet,const char *pidfile)
+{
+	FILE *fp;
+	pid_t pid;
+
+	if (! pidfile)
+		return -1;
+
+	if ((fp = fopen(pidfile, "r")) == NULL) {
+		ewarnv("%s: fopen `%s': %s", applet, pidfile, strerror(errno));
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	if (fscanf(fp, "%d", &pid) != 1) {
+		ewarnv("%s: no pid found in `%s'", applet, pidfile);
+		fclose(fp);
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	fclose(fp);
+
+	return pid;
+}
diff --git a/src/rc/start-stop-daemon.c b/src/rc/start-stop-daemon.c
index c88bc962..451d4a5c 100644
--- a/src/rc/start-stop-daemon.c
+++ b/src/rc/start-stop-daemon.c
@@ -368,31 +368,6 @@ parse_schedule(const char *string, int timeout)
 	return;
 }
 
-static pid_t
-get_pid(const char *pidfile)
-{
-	FILE *fp;
-	pid_t pid;
-
-	if (! pidfile)
-		return -1;
-
-	if ((fp = fopen(pidfile, "r")) == NULL) {
-		ewarnv("%s: fopen `%s': %s", applet, pidfile, strerror(errno));
-		return -1;
-	}
-
-	if (fscanf(fp, "%d", &pid) != 1) {
-		ewarnv("%s: no pid found in `%s'", applet, pidfile);
-		fclose(fp);
-		return -1;
-	}
-
-	fclose(fp);
-
-	return pid;
-}
-
 /* return number of processed killed, -1 on error */
 static int
 do_stop(const char *exec, const char *const *argv,
@@ -472,7 +447,7 @@ run_stop_schedule(const char *exec, const char *const *argv,
 	}
 
 	if (pidfile) {
-		pid = get_pid(pidfile);
+		pid = get_pid(applet, pidfile);
 		if (pid == -1)
 			return 0;
 	}
@@ -1090,7 +1065,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	}
 
 	if (pidfile)
-		pid = get_pid(pidfile);
+		pid = get_pid(applet, pidfile);
 	else
 		pid = 0;
 
@@ -1365,7 +1340,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 				alive = true;
 		} else {
 			if (pidfile) {
-				pid = get_pid(pidfile);
+				pid = get_pid(applet, pidfile);
 				if (pid == -1) {
 					eerrorx("%s: did not "
 					    "create a valid"
diff --git a/src/rc/supervise-daemon.c b/src/rc/supervise-daemon.c
index dc6d6c12..c59fb099 100644
--- a/src/rc/supervise-daemon.c
+++ b/src/rc/supervise-daemon.c
@@ -147,30 +147,6 @@ static void cleanup(void)
 	free(changeuser);
 }
 
-static pid_t get_pid(const char *pidfile)
-{
-	FILE *fp;
-	pid_t pid;
-
-	if (! pidfile)
-		return -1;
-
-	if ((fp = fopen(pidfile, "r")) == NULL) {
-		ewarnv("%s: fopen `%s': %s", applet, pidfile, strerror(errno));
-		return -1;
-	}
-
-	if (fscanf(fp, "%d", &pid) != 1) {
-		ewarnv("%s: no pid found in `%s'", applet, pidfile);
-		fclose(fp);
-		return -1;
-	}
-
-	fclose(fp);
-
-	return pid;
-}
-
 static void child_process(char *exec, char **argv, char *svcname,
 		int start_count)
 {
@@ -673,7 +649,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 		    *exec_file ? exec_file : exec);
 
 	if (stop) {
-		pid = get_pid(pidfile);
+		pid = get_pid(applet, pidfile);
 		if (pid == -1)
 			i = pid;
 		else
@@ -697,7 +673,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 		exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
 	}
 
-	pid = get_pid(pidfile);
+	pid = get_pid(applet, pidfile);
 	if (pid != -1)
 		if (kill(pid, 0) == 0)
 			eerrorx("%s: %s is already running", applet, exec);