diff --git a/api/env.docker b/api/env.docker
index c8481245d..37f7580b5 100644
--- a/api/env.docker
+++ b/api/env.docker
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@ DJANGO_DATABASE_HOST=db
 UPSTREAM_DATABASE_HOST=upstream_db
 UPSTREAM_DATABASE_PORT=5432
 
+DJANGO_MIGRATE_DB_ON_STARTUP=False
+
 SEMANTIC_VERSION=1.0.0
 
 ELASTICSEARCH_URL=es
diff --git a/api/run.sh b/api/run.sh
index 16151b44c..04a525f37 100755
--- a/api/run.sh
+++ b/api/run.sh
@@ -8,4 +8,10 @@ while [ "$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}' "$es_url")" != "200" ]; do
 done
 echo "Elasticsearch connection established!"
 
+# Run any database migrations
+if [ "$DJANGO_MIGRATE_DB_ON_STARTUP" != "False" ]; then
+  echo "Running database migrations..."
+  python manage.py migrate
+fi
+
 exec "$@"