diff --git a/Lib/logging/__init__.py b/Lib/logging/__init__.py
index 6791259..ba40067 100644
--- a/Lib/logging/__init__.py
+++ b/Lib/logging/__init__.py
@@ -702,8 +702,10 @@
         #get the module data lock, as we're updating a shared structure.
         _acquireLock()
         try:    #unlikely to raise an exception, but you never know...
-            del _handlers[self]
-            _handlerList.remove(self)
+            if self in _handlers:
+                del _handlers[self]
+            if self in _handlerList:
+                _handlerList.remove(self)
         finally:
             _releaseLock()
 
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS b/Misc/NEWS
index f943618..62d4e59 100644
--- a/Misc/NEWS
+++ b/Misc/NEWS
@@ -33,6 +33,8 @@
 Library
 -------
 
+- Issue #8581: logging: removed errors raised when closing handlers twice.
+
 - Issue #4687: Fix accuracy of garbage collection runtimes displayed with
   gc.DEBUG_STATS.