diff --git a/openedx/core/djangoapps/user_api/accounts/__init__.py b/openedx/core/djangoapps/user_api/accounts/__init__.py
index 549d14b33a..d89a14600c 100644
--- a/openedx/core/djangoapps/user_api/accounts/__init__.py
+++ b/openedx/core/djangoapps/user_api/accounts/__init__.py
@@ -2,13 +2,9 @@
 Account constants
 """
 
+from django.utils.text import format_lazy
 from django.utils.translation import ugettext_lazy as _
 
-# In Django 1.11, there's django.utils.text.format_lazy.
-from django.utils.functional import allow_lazy
-
-format_lazy = allow_lazy(lambda s, *a, **kw: s.format(*a, **kw), unicode)
-
 
 # The minimum and maximum length for the name ("full name") account field
 NAME_MIN_LENGTH = 2