diff --git a/cli/cmd/check.go b/cli/cmd/check.go
index 83c59a2107777..30d93975cf50b 100644
--- a/cli/cmd/check.go
+++ b/cli/cmd/check.go
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ type checkOptions struct {
 	dataPlaneOnly   bool
 	wait            time.Duration
 	namespace       string
-	cniEnabled      bool
 	output          string
 }
 
@@ -33,7 +32,6 @@ func newCheckOptions() *checkOptions {
 		dataPlaneOnly:   false,
 		wait:            300 * time.Second,
 		namespace:       "",
-		cniEnabled:      false,
 		output:          tableOutput,
 	}
 }
@@ -42,7 +40,6 @@ func newCheckOptions() *checkOptions {
 func (options *checkOptions) nonConfigFlagSet() *pflag.FlagSet {
 	flags := pflag.NewFlagSet("non-config-check", pflag.ExitOnError)
 
-	flags.BoolVar(&options.cniEnabled, "linkerd-cni-enabled", options.cniEnabled, "When running pre-installation checks (--pre), assume the linkerd-cni plugin is already installed, and a NET_ADMIN check is not needed")
 	flags.StringVarP(&options.namespace, "namespace", "n", options.namespace, "Namespace to use for --proxy checks (default: all namespaces)")
 	flags.BoolVar(&options.preInstallOnly, "pre", options.preInstallOnly, "Only run pre-installation checks, to determine if the control plane can be installed")
 	flags.BoolVar(&options.dataPlaneOnly, "proxy", options.dataPlaneOnly, "Only run data-plane checks, to determine if the data plane is healthy")
@@ -146,9 +143,6 @@ func configureAndRunChecks(wout io.Writer, werr io.Writer, stage string, options
 
 	if options.preInstallOnly {
 		checks = append(checks, healthcheck.LinkerdPreInstallChecks)
-		if !options.cniEnabled {
-			checks = append(checks, healthcheck.LinkerdPreInstallCapabilityChecks)
-		}
 	} else {
 		checks = append(checks, healthcheck.LinkerdConfigChecks)
 
diff --git a/pkg/healthcheck/healthcheck.go b/pkg/healthcheck/healthcheck.go
index 72d80ada4434a..e839fa0c810c1 100644
--- a/pkg/healthcheck/healthcheck.go
+++ b/pkg/healthcheck/healthcheck.go
@@ -49,12 +49,6 @@ const (
 	// checks must be added first.
 	LinkerdPreInstallChecks CategoryID = "pre-kubernetes-setup"
 
-	// LinkerdPreInstallCapabilityChecks adds a check to validate the user has the
-	// capabilities necessary to deploy Linkerd. For example, the NET_ADMIN
-	// capability is required by the `linkerd-init` container to modify IP tables.
-	// These checks are no run when the `--linkerd-cni-enabled` flag is set.
-	LinkerdPreInstallCapabilityChecks CategoryID = "pre-kubernetes-capability"
-
 	// LinkerdConfigChecks enabled by `linkerd check config`
 
 	// LinkerdConfigChecks adds a series of checks to validate that the Linkerd
@@ -309,6 +303,13 @@ func (hc *HealthChecker) allCategories() []category {
 						return hc.checkCanCreate("", "apiextensions.k8s.io", "v1beta1", "customresourcedefinitions")
 					},
 				},
+				{
+					description: "can create PodSecurityPolicies",
+					hintAnchor:  "pre-k8s",
+					check: func(context.Context) error {
+						return hc.checkCanCreate(hc.ControlPlaneNamespace, "policy", "v1beta1", "podsecuritypolicies")
+					},
+				},
 				{
 					description: "can create ServiceAccounts",
 					hintAnchor:  "pre-k8s",
@@ -346,18 +347,6 @@ func (hc *HealthChecker) allCategories() []category {
 				},
 			},
 		},
-		{
-			id: LinkerdPreInstallCapabilityChecks,
-			checkers: []checker{
-				{
-					description: "has NET_ADMIN capability",
-					hintAnchor:  "pre-k8s-cluster-net-admin",
-					check: func(context.Context) error {
-						return hc.checkNetAdmin()
-					},
-				},
-			},
-		},
 		{
 			id: LinkerdConfigChecks,
 			checkers: []checker{
@@ -966,48 +955,6 @@ func (hc *HealthChecker) checkCanCreate(namespace, group, version, resource stri
 	)
 }
 
-func (hc *HealthChecker) checkNetAdmin() error {
-	if hc.kubeAPI == nil {
-		// we should never get here
-		return fmt.Errorf("unexpected error: Kubernetes ClientSet not initialized")
-	}
-
-	pspList, err := hc.kubeAPI.PolicyV1beta1().PodSecurityPolicies().List(metav1.ListOptions{})
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-
-	if len(pspList.Items) == 0 {
-		// no PodSecurityPolicies found, assume PodSecurityPolicy admission controller is disabled
-		return nil
-	}
-
-	// if PodSecurityPolicies are found, validate one exists that:
-	// 1) permits usage
-	// AND
-	// 2) provides NET_ADMIN
-	for _, psp := range pspList.Items {
-		err := k8s.ResourceAuthz(
-			hc.kubeAPI,
-			"",
-			"use",
-			"policy",
-			"v1beta1",
-			"podsecuritypolicies",
-			psp.GetName(),
-		)
-		if err == nil {
-			for _, capability := range psp.Spec.AllowedCapabilities {
-				if capability == "*" || capability == "NET_ADMIN" {
-					return nil
-				}
-			}
-		}
-	}
-
-	return fmt.Errorf("found %d PodSecurityPolicies, but none provide NET_ADMIN", len(pspList.Items))
-}
-
 func (hc *HealthChecker) checkClockSkew() error {
 	if hc.kubeAPI == nil {
 		// we should never get here
diff --git a/pkg/healthcheck/healthcheck_test.go b/pkg/healthcheck/healthcheck_test.go
index 15d2f7c52154f..fe0ec3882d7ec 100644
--- a/pkg/healthcheck/healthcheck_test.go
+++ b/pkg/healthcheck/healthcheck_test.go
@@ -386,54 +386,6 @@ status:
 
 }
 
-func TestCheckNetAdmin(t *testing.T) {
-	tests := []struct {
-		k8sConfigs []string
-		err        error
-	}{
-		{
-			[]string{},
-			nil,
-		},
-		{
-			[]string{`apiVersion: policy/v1beta1
-kind: PodSecurityPolicy
-metadata:
-  name: restricted
-spec:
-  requiredDropCapabilities:
-    - ALL`,
-			},
-			fmt.Errorf("found 1 PodSecurityPolicies, but none provide NET_ADMIN"),
-		},
-	}
-
-	for i, test := range tests {
-		test := test // pin
-		t.Run(fmt.Sprintf("%d: returns expected NET_ADMIN result", i), func(t *testing.T) {
-			hc := NewHealthChecker(
-				[]CategoryID{},
-				&Options{},
-			)
-
-			var err error
-			hc.kubeAPI, err = k8s.NewFakeAPI(test.k8sConfigs...)
-			if err != nil {
-				t.Fatalf("Unexpected error: %s", err)
-			}
-
-			err = hc.checkNetAdmin()
-			if err != nil || test.err != nil {
-				if (err == nil && test.err != nil) ||
-					(err != nil && test.err == nil) ||
-					(err.Error() != test.err.Error()) {
-					t.Fatalf("Unexpected error (Expected: %s, Got: %s)", test.err, err)
-				}
-			}
-		})
-	}
-}
-
 func TestConfigExists(t *testing.T) {
 	testCases := []struct {
 		k8sConfigs []string
diff --git a/test/testdata/check.pre.golden b/test/testdata/check.pre.golden
index d6a19efc05d1a..a621157788026 100644
--- a/test/testdata/check.pre.golden
+++ b/test/testdata/check.pre.golden
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ pre-kubernetes-setup
 √ can create ClusterRoles
 √ can create ClusterRoleBindings
 √ can create CustomResourceDefinitions
+√ can create PodSecurityPolicies
 √ can create ServiceAccounts
 √ can create Services
 √ can create Deployments