diff --git a/dom/m_dom_error.f90 b/dom/m_dom_error.f90
index fb1c0d16..c6fdae41 100644
--- a/dom/m_dom_error.f90
+++ b/dom/m_dom_error.f90
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ module m_dom_error
   private
 
   type DOMException
+    private
     type(error_stack) :: stack
   end type DOMException