diff --git a/uvicorn/protocols/websockets/wsproto_impl.py b/uvicorn/protocols/websockets/wsproto_impl.py
index 62378dcb6..d717861c7 100644
--- a/uvicorn/protocols/websockets/wsproto_impl.py
+++ b/uvicorn/protocols/websockets/wsproto_impl.py
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
 
 import h11
 import wsproto
-from packaging import version
 from wsproto import ConnectionType, events
 from wsproto.connection import ConnectionState
 from wsproto.extensions import PerMessageDeflate
@@ -13,10 +12,6 @@
 from uvicorn.logging import TRACE_LOG_LEVEL
 from uvicorn.protocols.utils import get_local_addr, get_remote_addr, is_ssl
 
-assert version.parse(wsproto.__version__) >= version.parse(
-    "0.13"
-), "Uvicorn requires wsproto version 0.13 or higher"
-
 
 class WSProtocol(asyncio.Protocol):
     def __init__(self, config, server_state, _loop=None):