diff --git a/channeldb/db.go b/channeldb/db.go
index 6b92f2287..b617d1008 100644
--- a/channeldb/db.go
+++ b/channeldb/db.go
@@ -479,6 +479,12 @@ func initChannelDB(db kvdb.Backend) error {
 			return err
 		}
 
+		for _, tlb := range dbTopLevelBuckets {
+			if _, err := tx.CreateTopLevelBucket(tlb); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+		}
+
 		meta := &Meta{}
 		// Check if DB is already initialized.
 		err := FetchMeta(meta, tx)
@@ -486,12 +492,6 @@ func initChannelDB(db kvdb.Backend) error {
 			return nil
 		}
 
-		for _, tlb := range dbTopLevelBuckets {
-			if _, err := tx.CreateTopLevelBucket(tlb); err != nil {
-				return err
-			}
-		}
-
 		meta.DbVersionNumber = getLatestDBVersion(dbVersions)
 		return putMeta(meta, tx)
 	}, func() {})