diff --git a/pkg/controller/acmeorders/sync.go b/pkg/controller/acmeorders/sync.go
index d27a807d6..17e0e7cf4 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/acmeorders/sync.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/acmeorders/sync.go
@@ -239,9 +239,10 @@ func (c *controller) updateOrderStatus(ctx context.Context, cl acmecl.Interface,
 	}
 	o.Status.FinalizeURL = acmeOrder.FinalizeURL
 	c.setOrderState(&o.Status, acmeOrder.Status)
-	// only set the authorizations field if the lengths mismatch.
-	// state can be rebuilt in this case on the next call to ProcessItem.
-	if len(o.Status.Authorizations) != len(acmeOrder.AuthzURLs) {
+	// once the 'authorizations' slice contains at least one item, it cannot be
+	// updated. If it does not contain any items, update it containing the list
+	// of authorizations returned on the Order.
+	if len(o.Status.Authorizations) == 0 {
 		o.Status.Authorizations = constructAuthorizations(acmeOrder)
 	}