diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 0106851936f..0ae0b4fc8ca 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 
 * [#7882](https://github.com/rubocop-hq/rubocop/pull/7882): Fix `Style/CaseEquality` when `AllowOnConstant` is `true` and the method receiver is implicit. ([@rafaelfranca][])
 * [#7790](https://github.com/rubocop-hq/rubocop/issues/7790): Fix `--parallel` and `--ignore-parent-exclusion` combination. ([@jonas054][])
+* [#7881](https://github.com/rubocop-hq/rubocop/issues/7881): Fix `--parallel` and `--force-default-config` combination. ([@jonas054][])
 
 ### Changes
 
diff --git a/lib/rubocop/cli.rb b/lib/rubocop/cli.rb
index 030043bc6c6..3ad675f23d4 100644
--- a/lib/rubocop/cli.rb
+++ b/lib/rubocop/cli.rb
@@ -35,9 +35,8 @@ def run(args = ARGV)
       if @options[:init]
         run_command(:init)
       else
-        set_options_to_config_loader
-        validate_options_vs_config
         act_on_options
+        validate_options_vs_config
         apply_default_formatter
         execute_runners
       end
@@ -84,6 +83,8 @@ def validate_options_vs_config
     end
 
     def act_on_options
+      set_options_to_config_loader
+
       @config_store.options_config = @options[:config] if @options[:config]
       @config_store.force_default_config! if @options[:force_default_config]
 
diff --git a/spec/rubocop/cli/cli_options_spec.rb b/spec/rubocop/cli/cli_options_spec.rb
index bca6206f797..64ab95cda6a 100644
--- a/spec/rubocop/cli/cli_options_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/rubocop/cli/cli_options_spec.rb
@@ -66,6 +66,20 @@
           expect($stdout.string).to match(/Inspecting 1 file/)
         end
       end
+
+      context 'in combination with --force-default-config' do
+        before do
+          create_file('.rubocop.yml', ['ALLCOPS:', # Faulty configuration
+                                       '  Exclude:',
+                                       '    - subdir/*'])
+          create_file('test.rb', 'puts 1')
+        end
+
+        it 'does not parse local configuration' do
+          cli.run ['--parallel', '--force-default-config']
+          expect($stdout.string).to match(/Inspecting 1 file/)
+        end
+      end
     end
   end