diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/AutoReloadRunnable.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/AutoReloadRunnable.java
index c5009d3..8ac0307 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/AutoReloadRunnable.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/AutoReloadRunnable.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 import com.google.inject.Inject;
 import com.google.inject.Provider;
 import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.List;
 
 public class AutoReloadRunnable implements Runnable {
   private static final FluentLogger logger = FluentLogger.forEnclosingClass();
@@ -29,6 +30,7 @@
   private final Path pluginDataDir;
   private final EventBus eventBus;
   private final Provider<ReplicationQueue> replicationQueue;
+  private final ReplicationConfigValidator configValidator;
 
   private ReplicationFileBasedConfig loadedConfig;
   private String loadedConfigVersion;
@@ -36,6 +38,7 @@
 
   @Inject
   public AutoReloadRunnable(
+      ReplicationConfigValidator configValidator,
       ReplicationFileBasedConfig config,
       SitePaths site,
       @PluginData Path pluginDataDir,
@@ -48,6 +51,7 @@
     this.pluginDataDir = pluginDataDir;
     this.eventBus = eventBus;
     this.replicationQueue = replicationQueue;
+    this.configValidator = configValidator;
   }
 
   @Override
@@ -67,10 +71,13 @@
   synchronized void reload() {
     String pendingConfigVersion = loadedConfig.getVersion();
     try {
-      loadedConfig = new ReplicationFileBasedConfig(site, pluginDataDir);
-      loadedConfigVersion = loadedConfig.getVersion();
+      ReplicationFileBasedConfig newConfig = new ReplicationFileBasedConfig(site, pluginDataDir);
+      final List<DestinationConfiguration> newValidDestinations =
+          configValidator.validateConfig(newConfig);
+      loadedConfig = newConfig;
+      loadedConfigVersion = newConfig.getVersion();
       lastFailedConfigVersion = "";
-      eventBus.post(loadedConfig);
+      eventBus.post(newValidDestinations);
     } catch (Exception e) {
       logger.atSevere().withCause(e).log(
           "Cannot reload replication configuration: keeping existing settings");
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/Destination.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/Destination.java
index 996cb2a..47664d7 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/Destination.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/Destination.java
@@ -607,21 +607,7 @@
   }
 
   boolean isSingleProjectMatch() {
-    List<String> projects = config.getProjects();
-    boolean ret = (projects.size() == 1);
-    if (ret) {
-      String projectMatch = projects.get(0);
-      if (ReplicationFilter.getPatternType(projectMatch)
-          != ReplicationFilter.PatternType.EXACT_MATCH) {
-        // projectMatch is either regular expression, or wild-card.
-        //
-        // Even though they might refer to a single project now, they need not
-        // after new projects have been created. Hence, we do not treat them as
-        // matching a single project.
-        ret = false;
-      }
-    }
-    return ret;
+    return config.isSingleProjectMatch();
   }
 
   boolean wouldPushRef(String ref) {
@@ -666,7 +652,7 @@
         } else if (!remoteNameStyle.equals("slash")) {
           repLog.debug("Unknown remoteNameStyle: {}, falling back to slash", remoteNameStyle);
         }
-        String replacedPath = replaceName(uri.getPath(), name, isSingleProjectMatch());
+        String replacedPath = replaceName(uri.getPath(), name, config.isSingleProjectMatch());
         if (replacedPath != null) {
           uri = uri.setPath(replacedPath);
           r.add(uri);
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/DestinationConfiguration.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/DestinationConfiguration.java
index 815b1b7..053739c 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/DestinationConfiguration.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/DestinationConfiguration.java
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 import com.google.common.base.MoreObjects;
 import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.config.ConfigUtil;
+import java.util.List;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.Config;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.transport.RemoteConfig;
@@ -155,6 +156,24 @@
     return cfg.getInt("remote", rc.getName(), name, defValue);
   }
 
+  boolean isSingleProjectMatch() {
+    List<String> projects = getProjects();
+    boolean ret = (projects.size() == 1);
+    if (ret) {
+      String projectMatch = projects.get(0);
+      if (ReplicationFilter.getPatternType(projectMatch)
+          != ReplicationFilter.PatternType.EXACT_MATCH) {
+        // projectMatch is either regular expression, or wild-card.
+        //
+        // Even though they might refer to a single project now, they need not
+        // after new projects have been created. Hence, we do not treat them as
+        // matching a single project.
+        ret = false;
+      }
+    }
+    return ret;
+  }
+
   public int getSlowLatencyThreshold() {
     return slowLatencyThreshold;
   }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/DestinationsCollection.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/DestinationsCollection.java
index a1f0095..88df5f6 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/DestinationsCollection.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/DestinationsCollection.java
@@ -52,12 +52,11 @@
 import org.eclipse.jgit.transport.URIish;
 
 @Singleton
-public class DestinationsCollection implements ReplicationDestinations {
+public class DestinationsCollection implements ReplicationDestinations, ReplicationConfigValidator {
   private static final FluentLogger logger = FluentLogger.forEnclosingClass();
 
   private final Factory destinationFactory;
   private final Provider<ReplicationQueue> replicationQueue;
-  private volatile ReplicationFileBasedConfig replicationConfig;
   private volatile List<Destination> destinations;
   private boolean shuttingDown;
 
@@ -78,8 +77,7 @@
       throws ConfigInvalidException {
     this.destinationFactory = destinationFactory;
     this.replicationQueue = replicationQueue;
-    this.replicationConfig = replicationConfig;
-    this.destinations = allDestinations(destinationFactory);
+    this.destinations = allDestinations(destinationFactory, validateConfig(replicationConfig));
     eventBus.register(this);
   }
 
@@ -233,8 +231,7 @@
   }
 
   @Subscribe
-  public synchronized void onReload(ReplicationFileBasedConfig newConfig)
-      throws ConfigInvalidException {
+  public synchronized void onReload(List<DestinationConfiguration> destinationConfigurations) {
     if (shuttingDown) {
       logger.atWarning().log("Shutting down: configuration reload ignored");
       return;
@@ -242,15 +239,15 @@
 
     try {
       replicationQueue.get().stop();
-      replicationConfig = newConfig;
-      destinations = allDestinations(destinationFactory);
+      destinations = allDestinations(destinationFactory, destinationConfigurations);
       logger.atInfo().log("Configuration reloaded: %d destinations", getAll(FilterType.ALL).size());
     } finally {
       replicationQueue.get().start();
     }
   }
 
-  private List<Destination> allDestinations(Destination.Factory destinationFactory)
+  @Override
+  public List<DestinationConfiguration> validateConfig(ReplicationFileBasedConfig replicationConfig)
       throws ConfigInvalidException {
     if (!replicationConfig.getConfig().getFile().exists()) {
       logger.atWarning().log(
@@ -282,7 +279,7 @@
     boolean defaultForceUpdate =
         replicationConfig.getConfig().getBoolean("gerrit", "defaultForceUpdate", false);
 
-    ImmutableList.Builder<Destination> dest = ImmutableList.builder();
+    ImmutableList.Builder<DestinationConfiguration> confs = ImmutableList.builder();
     for (RemoteConfig c : allRemotes(replicationConfig.getConfig())) {
       if (c.getURIs().isEmpty()) {
         continue;
@@ -302,10 +299,10 @@
                 .setForceUpdate(defaultForceUpdate));
       }
 
-      Destination destination =
-          destinationFactory.create(new DestinationConfiguration(c, replicationConfig.getConfig()));
+      DestinationConfiguration destinationConfiguration =
+          new DestinationConfiguration(c, replicationConfig.getConfig());
 
-      if (!destination.isSingleProjectMatch()) {
+      if (!destinationConfiguration.isSingleProjectMatch()) {
         for (URIish u : c.getURIs()) {
           if (u.getPath() == null || !u.getPath().contains("${name}")) {
             throw new ConfigInvalidException(
@@ -316,7 +313,19 @@
         }
       }
 
-      dest.add(destination);
+      confs.add(destinationConfiguration);
+    }
+
+    return confs.build();
+  }
+
+  private List<Destination> allDestinations(
+      Destination.Factory destinationFactory,
+      List<DestinationConfiguration> destinationConfigurations) {
+
+    ImmutableList.Builder<Destination> dest = ImmutableList.builder();
+    for (DestinationConfiguration c : destinationConfigurations) {
+      dest.add(destinationFactory.create(c));
     }
     return dest.build();
   }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/ReplicationConfigValidator.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/ReplicationConfigValidator.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2a2ced1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/ReplicationConfigValidator.java
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+// Copyright (C) 2019 The Android Open Source Project
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication;
+
+import java.util.List;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.errors.ConfigInvalidException;
+
+public interface ReplicationConfigValidator {
+
+  /**
+   * validate the new replication.config
+   *
+   * @param newConfig new configuration detected
+   * @return List of validated {@link DestinationConfiguration}
+   * @throws ConfigInvalidException if the new configuration is not valid.
+   */
+  List<DestinationConfiguration> validateConfig(ReplicationFileBasedConfig newConfig)
+      throws ConfigInvalidException;
+}
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/ReplicationModule.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/ReplicationModule.java
index be6e7f6..da2b1b5 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/ReplicationModule.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/ReplicationModule.java
@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@
 
     bind(EventBus.class).in(Scopes.SINGLETON);
     bind(ReplicationDestinations.class).to(DestinationsCollection.class);
+    bind(ReplicationConfigValidator.class).to(DestinationsCollection.class);
 
     if (getReplicationConfig().getBoolean("gerrit", "autoReload", false)) {
       bind(ReplicationConfig.class).to(AutoReloadConfigDecorator.class);
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/AutoReloadConfigDecoratorTest.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/AutoReloadConfigDecoratorTest.java
index 4b16314..d85f622 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/AutoReloadConfigDecoratorTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/AutoReloadConfigDecoratorTest.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.errors.ConfigInvalidException;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.storage.file.FileBasedConfig;
 import org.junit.Before;
 import org.junit.Test;
@@ -97,9 +98,10 @@
     assertThat(destinationsCollections.getAll(FilterType.ALL)).isEqualTo(destinations);
   }
 
-  private AutoReloadConfigDecorator newAutoReloadConfig() {
+  private AutoReloadConfigDecorator newAutoReloadConfig() throws ConfigInvalidException {
     AutoReloadRunnable autoReloadRunnable =
         new AutoReloadRunnable(
+            newDestinationsCollections(replicationFileBasedConfig),
             replicationFileBasedConfig,
             sitePaths,
             pluginDataPath,
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/AutoReloadRunnableTest.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/AutoReloadRunnableTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c302271
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/AutoReloadRunnableTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+// Copyright (C) 2019 The Android Open Source Project
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication;
+
+import static com.google.common.truth.Truth.assertThat;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
+
+import com.google.common.eventbus.EventBus;
+import com.google.common.eventbus.Subscribe;
+import com.google.gerrit.server.config.SitePaths;
+import com.google.inject.util.Providers;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.List;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.errors.ConfigInvalidException;
+import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+public class AutoReloadRunnableTest {
+
+  private SitePaths sitePaths;
+  private EventBus eventBus;
+  private ReloadTrackerSubscriber onReloadSubscriber;
+  private String pluginName;
+  private ReplicationQueue replicationQueueMock;
+
+  @Before
+  public void setUp() throws IOException {
+    Path tmp = Files.createTempFile(pluginName, "_site");
+    Files.deleteIfExists(tmp);
+    sitePaths = new SitePaths(tmp);
+    pluginName = "replication";
+    eventBus = new EventBus();
+    onReloadSubscriber = new ReloadTrackerSubscriber();
+    eventBus.register(onReloadSubscriber);
+
+    replicationQueueMock = mock(ReplicationQueue.class);
+    when(replicationQueueMock.isRunning()).thenReturn(Boolean.TRUE);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void configurationIsReloadedWhenValidationSucceeds() {
+    ReplicationConfigValidator validator = new TestValidConfigurationListener();
+
+    attemptAutoReload(validator);
+
+    assertThat(onReloadSubscriber.reloaded).isTrue();
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void configurationIsNotReloadedWhenValidationFails() {
+    ReplicationConfigValidator validator = new TestInvalidConfigurationListener();
+
+    attemptAutoReload(validator);
+
+    assertThat(onReloadSubscriber.reloaded).isFalse();
+  }
+
+  private void attemptAutoReload(ReplicationConfigValidator validator) {
+    final AutoReloadRunnable autoReloadRunnable =
+        new AutoReloadRunnable(
+            validator,
+            newVersionConfig(),
+            sitePaths,
+            sitePaths.data_dir,
+            eventBus,
+            Providers.of(replicationQueueMock));
+
+    autoReloadRunnable.run();
+  }
+
+  private ReplicationFileBasedConfig newVersionConfig() {
+    return new ReplicationFileBasedConfig(sitePaths, sitePaths.data_dir) {
+      @Override
+      public String getVersion() {
+        return String.format("%s", System.nanoTime());
+      }
+    };
+  }
+
+  private static class ReloadTrackerSubscriber {
+    public boolean reloaded = false;
+
+    @Subscribe
+    public void onReload(
+        @SuppressWarnings("unused") List<DestinationConfiguration> destinationConfigurations) {
+      reloaded = true;
+    }
+  }
+
+  private static class TestValidConfigurationListener implements ReplicationConfigValidator {
+    @Override
+    public List<DestinationConfiguration> validateConfig(ReplicationFileBasedConfig newConfig) {
+      return Collections.emptyList();
+    }
+  }
+
+  private static class TestInvalidConfigurationListener implements ReplicationConfigValidator {
+    @Override
+    public List<DestinationConfiguration> validateConfig(
+        ReplicationFileBasedConfig configurationChangeEvent) throws ConfigInvalidException {
+      throw new ConfigInvalidException("expected test failure");
+    }
+  }
+}