diff --git a/whisper_live/server.py b/whisper_live/server.py
index 47a4543..c2e01de 100644
--- a/whisper_live/server.py
+++ b/whisper_live/server.py
@@ -414,7 +414,8 @@ class TranscriptionServer:
         self.cache_path = cache_path
         self.client_manager = ClientManager(max_clients, max_connection_time)
         if faster_whisper_custom_model_path is not None and not os.path.exists(faster_whisper_custom_model_path):
-            raise ValueError(f"Custom faster_whisper model '{faster_whisper_custom_model_path}' is not a valid path.")
+            if "/" not in faster_whisper_custom_model_path:
+                raise ValueError(f"Custom faster_whisper model '{faster_whisper_custom_model_path}' is not a valid path or HuggingFace model.")
         if whisper_tensorrt_path is not None and not os.path.exists(whisper_tensorrt_path):
             raise ValueError(f"TensorRT model '{whisper_tensorrt_path}' is not a valid path.")
         if single_model: