diff --git a/include/libcamera/request.h b/include/libcamera/request.h
index e214a9d13..0c5939f7b 100644
--- a/include/libcamera/request.h
+++ b/include/libcamera/request.h
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ public:
 	ControlList &metadata() { return *metadata_; }
 	const BufferMap &buffers() const { return bufferMap_; }
 	int addBuffer(const Stream *stream, FrameBuffer *buffer,
-		      std::unique_ptr<Fence> fence = nullptr);
+		      std::unique_ptr<Fence> &&fence = {});
 	FrameBuffer *findBuffer(const Stream *stream) const;

 	uint32_t sequence() const;
diff --git a/src/libcamera/request.cpp b/src/libcamera/request.cpp
index 7f1e11e8f..26bba8f28 100644
--- a/src/libcamera/request.cpp
+++ b/src/libcamera/request.cpp
@@ -452,7 +452,9 @@ void Request::reuse(ReuseFlag flags)
  *
  * When a valid Fence is provided to this function, \a fence is moved to \a
  * buffer and this Request will only be queued to the device once the
- * fences of all its buffers have been correctly signalled.
+ * fences of all its buffers have been correctly signalled. Ownership of the
+ * fence will only be taken in case of success, otherwise the fence will
+ * be left unmodified.
  *
  * If the \a fence associated with \a buffer isn't signalled, the request will
  * fail after a timeout. The buffer will still contain the fence, which
@@ -468,7 +470,7 @@ void Request::reuse(ReuseFlag flags)
  * \retval -EINVAL The buffer does not reference a valid Stream
  */
 int Request::addBuffer(const Stream *stream, FrameBuffer *buffer,
-		       std::unique_ptr<Fence> fence)
+		       std::unique_ptr<Fence> &&fence)
 {
 	if (!stream) {
 		LOG(Request, Error) << "Invalid stream reference";