diff --git a/rs/ic_os/config/src/update_config.rs b/rs/ic_os/config/src/update_config.rs
index 6f7d3971e40..197c3d974ee 100644
--- a/rs/ic_os/config/src/update_config.rs
+++ b/rs/ic_os/config/src/update_config.rs
@@ -189,10 +189,12 @@ fn read_nns_conf(config_dir: &Path) -> Result<Vec<Url>> {
 
 fn read_reward_conf(config_dir: &Path) -> Result<Option<String>> {
     let reward_conf_path = config_dir.join("reward.conf");
-    let conf_map = read_conf_file(&reward_conf_path)?;
+    if !reward_conf_path.exists() {
+        return Ok(None);
+    }
 
+    let conf_map = read_conf_file(&reward_conf_path)?;
     let node_reward_type = conf_map.get("node_reward_type").cloned();
-
     Ok(node_reward_type)
 }