diff --git a/tests/admin_scripts/tests.py b/tests/admin_scripts/tests.py
index 28f2dcb841..6e1f916996 100644
--- a/tests/admin_scripts/tests.py
+++ b/tests/admin_scripts/tests.py
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ class AdminScriptTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
             settings_file_path = os.path.join(test_dir, filename)
 
         with open(settings_file_path, 'w') as settings_file:
+            settings_file.write('# -*- coding: utf-8 -*\n')
             settings_file.write('# Settings file automatically generated by admin_scripts test case\n')
             exports = [
                 'DATABASES',