diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/system/setup.py b/lib/ansible/modules/system/setup.py
index d075311a07..86b91d7aaa 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/system/setup.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/system/setup.py
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ def main():
             gather_subset=dict(default=["all"], required=False, type='list'),
             gather_timeout=dict(default=10, required=False, type='int'),
             filter=dict(default="*", required=False),
-            fact_path=dict(default='/etc/ansible/facts.d', required=False),
+            fact_path=dict(default='/etc/ansible/facts.d', required=False, type='path'),
         ),
         supports_check_mode = True,
     )