diff --git a/src/dbnode/namespace/schema_registry_updater.go b/src/dbnode/namespace/schema_registry_updater.go
index ee20633653..472da93c96 100644
--- a/src/dbnode/namespace/schema_registry_updater.go
+++ b/src/dbnode/namespace/schema_registry_updater.go
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ package namespace
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"strings"
 
 	xerrors "github.com/m3db/m3/src/x/errors"
 
@@ -38,7 +39,8 @@ func UpdateSchemaRegistry(newNamespaces Map, schemaReg SchemaRegistry, log *zap.
 			curSchemaNone = true
 		)
 		curSchema, err := schemaReg.GetLatestSchema(metadata.ID())
-		if err != nil {
+		// NB(bodu): Schema history not found is a valid error as this occurs on initial bootstrap for the db.
+		if err != nil && !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "schema history is not found for") {
 			multiErr = multiErr.Add(fmt.Errorf("cannot get latest namespace schema: %v", err))
 			continue
 		}