diff --git a/share/availability/light/availability_test.go b/share/availability/light/availability_test.go
index a0586c12bc..146cb8554a 100644
--- a/share/availability/light/availability_test.go
+++ b/share/availability/light/availability_test.go
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ func TestService_GetSharesByNamespaceNotFound(t *testing.T) {
 	root.RowsRoots = nil
 
 	_, err := getter.GetSharesByNamespace(context.Background(), root, []byte{1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1})
-	assert.ErrorIs(t, err, share.ErrNotFound)
+	assert.ErrorIs(t, err, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound)
 }
 
 func BenchmarkService_GetSharesByNamespace(b *testing.B) {
diff --git a/share/getter.go b/share/getter.go
index 325253e974..163741f925 100644
--- a/share/getter.go
+++ b/share/getter.go
@@ -12,8 +12,13 @@ import (
 	"github.com/celestiaorg/rsmt2d"
 )
 
-// ErrNotFound is used to indicated that requested data could not be found.
-var ErrNotFound = errors.New("data not found")
+var (
+	// ErrNotFound is used to indicate that requested data could not be found.
+	ErrNotFound = errors.New("share: data not found")
+	// ErrNamespaceNotFound is returned by GetSharesByNamespace when data for requested root does
+	// not include any shares from the given namespace
+	ErrNamespaceNotFound = errors.New("share: namespace not found in data")
+)
 
 // Getter interface provides a set of accessors for shares by the Root.
 // Automatically verifies integrity of shares(exceptions possible depending on the implementation).
diff --git a/share/getters/cascade.go b/share/getters/cascade.go
index cca1eab944..3dcb2a472b 100644
--- a/share/getters/cascade.go
+++ b/share/getters/cascade.go
@@ -124,6 +124,9 @@ func cascadeGetters[V any](
 		if getErr == nil {
 			return val, nil
 		}
+		if errors.Is(share.ErrNamespaceNotFound, getErr) {
+			return zero, getErr
+		}
 
 		if !errors.Is(getErr, errOperationNotSupported) {
 			err = errors.Join(err, getErr)
diff --git a/share/getters/getter_test.go b/share/getters/getter_test.go
index 6075f6678e..8751f49da0 100644
--- a/share/getters/getter_test.go
+++ b/share/getters/getter_test.go
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ func TestStoreGetter(t *testing.T) {
 		// nid not found
 		nID = make([]byte, 8)
 		_, err = sg.GetSharesByNamespace(ctx, &dah, nID)
-		require.ErrorIs(t, err, share.ErrNotFound)
+		require.ErrorIs(t, err, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound)
 
 		// root not found
 		root := share.Root{}
@@ -206,6 +206,7 @@ func TestIPLDGetter(t *testing.T) {
 		err = edsStore.Put(ctx, dah.Hash(), eds)
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 
+		// first check that shares are returned correctly if they exist
 		shares, err := sg.GetSharesByNamespace(ctx, &dah, nID)
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 		require.NoError(t, shares.Verify(&dah, nID))
@@ -213,13 +214,14 @@ func TestIPLDGetter(t *testing.T) {
 
 		// nid not found
 		nID = make([]byte, 8)
-		_, err = sg.GetSharesByNamespace(ctx, &dah, nID)
-		require.ErrorIs(t, err, share.ErrNotFound)
+		emptyShares, err := sg.GetSharesByNamespace(ctx, &dah, nID)
+		require.ErrorIs(t, err, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound)
+		require.Nil(t, emptyShares)
 
-		// root not found
+		// nid doesnt exist in root
 		root := share.Root{}
 		_, err = sg.GetSharesByNamespace(ctx, &root, nID)
-		require.ErrorIs(t, err, share.ErrNotFound)
+		require.ErrorIs(t, err, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound)
 	})
 }
 
diff --git a/share/getters/shrex.go b/share/getters/shrex.go
index dc26d6ed7a..c860e01532 100644
--- a/share/getters/shrex.go
+++ b/share/getters/shrex.go
@@ -187,6 +187,13 @@ func (sg *ShrexGetter) GetSharesByNamespace(
 		attempt int
 		err     error
 	)
+
+	// verify that the namespace could exist inside the roots before starting network requests
+	roots := filterRootsByNamespace(root, id)
+	if len(roots) == 0 {
+		return nil, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound
+	}
+
 	for {
 		if ctx.Err() != nil {
 			sg.metrics.recordNDAttempt(ctx, attempt, false)
@@ -210,10 +217,10 @@ func (sg *ShrexGetter) GetSharesByNamespace(
 		nd, getErr := sg.ndClient.RequestND(reqCtx, root, id, peer)
 		cancel()
 		switch {
-		case getErr == nil:
+		case getErr == nil, errors.Is(getErr, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound):
 			setStatus(peers.ResultNoop)
 			sg.metrics.recordNDAttempt(ctx, attempt, true)
-			return nd, nil
+			return nd, getErr
 		case errors.Is(getErr, context.DeadlineExceeded),
 			errors.Is(getErr, context.Canceled):
 			setStatus(peers.ResultCooldownPeer)
diff --git a/share/getters/shrex_test.go b/share/getters/shrex_test.go
index 01322b014c..1e86d8255e 100644
--- a/share/getters/shrex_test.go
+++ b/share/getters/shrex_test.go
@@ -87,6 +87,25 @@ func TestShrexGetter(t *testing.T) {
 		require.ErrorIs(t, err, share.ErrNotFound)
 	})
 
+	t.Run("ND_namespace_not_found", func(t *testing.T) {
+		ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, time.Second)
+		t.Cleanup(cancel)
+
+		// generate test data
+		eds, dah, nID := generateTestEDS(t)
+		require.NoError(t, edsStore.Put(ctx, dah.Hash(), eds))
+		peerManager.Validate(ctx, srvHost.ID(), shrexsub.Notification{
+			DataHash: dah.Hash(),
+			Height:   1,
+		})
+
+		// corrupt NID
+		nID[4]++
+
+		_, err := getter.GetSharesByNamespace(ctx, &dah, nID)
+		require.ErrorIs(t, err, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound)
+	})
+
 	t.Run("EDS_Available", func(t *testing.T) {
 		ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, time.Second)
 		t.Cleanup(cancel)
@@ -150,7 +169,8 @@ func generateTestEDS(t *testing.T) (*rsmt2d.ExtendedDataSquare, da.DataAvailabil
 	return eds, dah, randNID
 }
 
-func testManager(ctx context.Context, host host.Host, headerSub libhead.Subscriber[*header.ExtendedHeader],
+func testManager(
+	ctx context.Context, host host.Host, headerSub libhead.Subscriber[*header.ExtendedHeader],
 ) (*peers.Manager, error) {
 	shrexSub, err := shrexsub.NewPubSub(ctx, host, "test")
 	if err != nil {
@@ -177,7 +197,8 @@ func testManager(ctx context.Context, host host.Host, headerSub libhead.Subscrib
 	return manager, err
 }
 
-func newNDClientServer(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, edsStore *eds.Store, srvHost, clHost host.Host,
+func newNDClientServer(
+	ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, edsStore *eds.Store, srvHost, clHost host.Host,
 ) (*shrexnd.Client, *shrexnd.Server) {
 	params := shrexnd.DefaultParameters()
 
@@ -196,7 +217,8 @@ func newNDClientServer(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, edsStore *eds.Store, s
 	return client, server
 }
 
-func newEDSClientServer(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, edsStore *eds.Store, srvHost, clHost host.Host,
+func newEDSClientServer(
+	ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, edsStore *eds.Store, srvHost, clHost host.Host,
 ) (*shrexeds.Client, *shrexeds.Server) {
 	params := shrexeds.DefaultParameters()
 
diff --git a/share/getters/store.go b/share/getters/store.go
index 1c88206577..156c9cf2ee 100644
--- a/share/getters/store.go
+++ b/share/getters/store.go
@@ -128,5 +128,6 @@ func (sg *StoreGetter) GetSharesByNamespace(
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("getter/store: failed to retrieve shares by namespace: %w", err)
 	}
+
 	return shares, nil
 }
diff --git a/share/getters/utils.go b/share/getters/utils.go
index 6c7c2ba7e6..a6fd4a7beb 100644
--- a/share/getters/utils.go
+++ b/share/getters/utils.go
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ func collectSharesByNamespace(
 
 	rootCIDs := filterRootsByNamespace(root, nID)
 	if len(rootCIDs) == 0 {
-		return nil, share.ErrNotFound
+		return nil, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound
 	}
 
 	errGroup, ctx := errgroup.WithContext(ctx)
@@ -84,9 +84,9 @@ func collectSharesByNamespace(
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
-	// return ErrNotFound if no shares are found for namespaceID
+	// return ErrNamespaceNotFound if no shares are found for the namespace.ID
 	if len(rootCIDs) == 1 && len(shares[0].Shares) == 0 {
-		return nil, share.ErrNotFound
+		return nil, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound
 	}
 
 	return shares, nil
diff --git a/share/p2p/shrexnd/client.go b/share/p2p/shrexnd/client.go
index b5ae66f51f..ff51ef1fe0 100644
--- a/share/p2p/shrexnd/client.go
+++ b/share/p2p/shrexnd/client.go
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ func (c *Client) RequestND(
 			return nil, context.DeadlineExceeded
 		}
 	}
-	if err != p2p.ErrNotFound {
+	if err != p2p.ErrNotFound && err != share.ErrNamespaceNotFound {
 		log.Warnw("client-nd: peer returned err", "err", err)
 	}
 	return nil, err
@@ -195,6 +195,8 @@ func (c *Client) statusToErr(ctx context.Context, code pb.StatusCode) error {
 	case pb.StatusCode_NOT_FOUND:
 		c.metrics.ObserveRequests(ctx, 1, p2p.StatusNotFound)
 		return p2p.ErrNotFound
+	case pb.StatusCode_NAMESPACE_NOT_FOUND:
+		return share.ErrNamespaceNotFound
 	case pb.StatusCode_INVALID:
 		log.Debug("client-nd: invalid request")
 		fallthrough
diff --git a/share/p2p/shrexnd/exchange_test.go b/share/p2p/shrexnd/exchange_test.go
index 05bca67237..944b763229 100644
--- a/share/p2p/shrexnd/exchange_test.go
+++ b/share/p2p/shrexnd/exchange_test.go
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ func TestExchange_RequestND_NotFound(t *testing.T) {
 		require.ErrorIs(t, err, p2p.ErrNotFound)
 	})
 
-	t.Run("Getter_err_not_found", func(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("ErrNamespaceNotFound", func(t *testing.T) {
 		ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, time.Second)
 		t.Cleanup(cancel)
 
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ func TestExchange_RequestND_NotFound(t *testing.T) {
 
 		randNID := dah.RowsRoots[(len(dah.RowsRoots)-1)/2][:8]
 		_, err := client.RequestND(ctx, &dah, randNID, server.host.ID())
-		require.ErrorIs(t, err, p2p.ErrNotFound)
+		require.ErrorIs(t, err, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound)
 	})
 }
 
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ func (m notFoundGetter) GetEDS(
 func (m notFoundGetter) GetSharesByNamespace(
 	_ context.Context, _ *share.Root, _ namespace.ID,
 ) (share.NamespacedShares, error) {
-	return nil, share.ErrNotFound
+	return nil, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound
 }
 
 func newStore(t *testing.T) *eds.Store {
diff --git a/share/p2p/shrexnd/params.go b/share/p2p/shrexnd/params.go
index 1acf65ba96..a645267962 100644
--- a/share/p2p/shrexnd/params.go
+++ b/share/p2p/shrexnd/params.go
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/celestiaorg/celestia-node/share/p2p"
 )
 
-const protocolString = "/shrex/nd/0.0.1"
+const protocolString = "/shrex/nd/v0.0.2"
 
 var log = logging.Logger("shrex/nd")
 
diff --git a/share/p2p/shrexnd/pb/share.pb.go b/share/p2p/shrexnd/pb/share.pb.go
index bb9d1e4d40..d902570410 100644
--- a/share/p2p/shrexnd/pb/share.pb.go
+++ b/share/p2p/shrexnd/pb/share.pb.go
@@ -25,10 +25,11 @@ const _ = proto.GoGoProtoPackageIsVersion3 // please upgrade the proto package
 type StatusCode int32
 
 const (
-	StatusCode_INVALID   StatusCode = 0
-	StatusCode_OK        StatusCode = 1
-	StatusCode_NOT_FOUND StatusCode = 2
-	StatusCode_INTERNAL  StatusCode = 3
+	StatusCode_INVALID             StatusCode = 0
+	StatusCode_OK                  StatusCode = 1
+	StatusCode_NOT_FOUND           StatusCode = 2
+	StatusCode_INTERNAL            StatusCode = 3
+	StatusCode_NAMESPACE_NOT_FOUND StatusCode = 4
 )
 
 var StatusCode_name = map[int32]string{
@@ -36,13 +37,15 @@ var StatusCode_name = map[int32]string{
 	1: "OK",
 	2: "NOT_FOUND",
 	3: "INTERNAL",
+	4: "NAMESPACE_NOT_FOUND",
 }
 
 var StatusCode_value = map[string]int32{
-	"INVALID":   0,
-	"OK":        1,
-	"NOT_FOUND": 2,
-	"INTERNAL":  3,
+	"INVALID":             0,
+	"OK":                  1,
+	"NOT_FOUND":           2,
+	"INTERNAL":            3,
+	"NAMESPACE_NOT_FOUND": 4,
 }
 
 func (x StatusCode) String() string {
@@ -280,31 +283,32 @@ func init() {
 func init() { proto.RegisterFile("share/p2p/shrexnd/pb/share.proto", fileDescriptor_ed9f13149b0de397) }
 
 var fileDescriptor_ed9f13149b0de397 = []byte{
-	// 374 bytes of a gzipped FileDescriptorProto
-	0x1f, 0x8b, 0x08, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0xff, 0x6c, 0x91, 0xc1, 0x6a, 0xdb, 0x40,
-	0x10, 0x86, 0x25, 0x6d, 0xad, 0xda, 0x23, 0xb5, 0x88, 0xa5, 0xb4, 0x2a, 0x2e, 0xc2, 0xd5, 0xc9,
-	0xb4, 0x20, 0x81, 0x0a, 0x3d, 0x16, 0xec, 0xda, 0x6d, 0x45, 0xcd, 0xba, 0xac, 0xdd, 0xdc, 0x82,
-	0x91, 0xa3, 0x0d, 0xca, 0x21, 0xda, 0x8d, 0x76, 0x8d, 0x93, 0x73, 0x5e, 0x20, 0x8f, 0x95, 0xa3,
-	0x8f, 0x39, 0x06, 0xfb, 0x45, 0x82, 0x56, 0x4e, 0x72, 0x88, 0x6f, 0xfa, 0xff, 0xf9, 0xe6, 0x9f,
-	0x19, 0x2d, 0xf4, 0x64, 0x91, 0x55, 0x2c, 0x16, 0x89, 0x88, 0x65, 0x51, 0xb1, 0xcb, 0x32, 0x8f,
-	0xc5, 0x32, 0xd6, 0x66, 0x24, 0x2a, 0xae, 0x38, 0xc6, 0x7b, 0x91, 0x88, 0x48, 0x13, 0x51, 0x99,
-	0x87, 0xc7, 0xd0, 0xfd, 0xcd, 0xd4, 0xac, 0x2e, 0xc8, 0xe1, 0x15, 0xc9, 0xce, 0x99, 0x14, 0xd9,
-	0x09, 0xa3, 0xec, 0x62, 0xc5, 0xa4, 0xc2, 0x5d, 0xe8, 0x54, 0x9c, 0xab, 0x45, 0x91, 0xc9, 0xc2,
-	0x37, 0x7b, 0x66, 0xdf, 0xa5, 0xed, 0xda, 0xf8, 0x93, 0xc9, 0x02, 0x7f, 0x06, 0xb7, 0x7c, 0x6c,
-	0x58, 0x9c, 0xe5, 0xbe, 0xa5, 0xeb, 0xce, 0x93, 0x97, 0xe6, 0xe1, 0xb5, 0x09, 0x9f, 0x0e, 0xe7,
-	0x4b, 0xc1, 0x4b, 0xc9, 0xf0, 0x77, 0xb0, 0xa5, 0xca, 0xd4, 0x4a, 0xea, 0xf4, 0xb7, 0x49, 0x10,
-	0xbd, 0x5c, 0x32, 0x9a, 0x69, 0xe2, 0x27, 0xcf, 0x19, 0xdd, 0xd3, 0xf8, 0x2b, 0xbc, 0xaa, 0xf8,
-	0x5a, 0xfa, 0x56, 0x0f, 0xf5, 0x9d, 0xe4, 0xc3, 0xa1, 0x2e, 0xca, 0xd7, 0x54, 0x43, 0x21, 0x01,
-	0x44, 0xf9, 0x1a, 0xbf, 0x07, 0x5b, 0x63, 0xf5, 0x2c, 0xd4, 0x77, 0xe9, 0x5e, 0xe1, 0x18, 0x5a,
-	0xa2, 0xe2, 0xfc, 0x54, 0x1f, 0xe0, 0x24, 0x1f, 0x0f, 0x85, 0xfd, 0xab, 0x01, 0xda, 0x70, 0xe1,
-	0x18, 0x5a, 0x5a, 0xe3, 0x77, 0xd0, 0x92, 0x2a, 0xab, 0x94, 0x5e, 0x1e, 0xd1, 0x46, 0x60, 0x0f,
-	0x10, 0x2b, 0x9b, 0xdf, 0x81, 0x68, 0xfd, 0x59, 0x73, 0x84, 0xe7, 0x4c, 0xfa, 0x48, 0x0f, 0x6e,
-	0xc4, 0x97, 0x1f, 0x00, 0xcf, 0x97, 0x61, 0x07, 0x5e, 0xa7, 0xe4, 0x68, 0x30, 0x49, 0x47, 0x9e,
-	0x81, 0x6d, 0xb0, 0xa6, 0x7f, 0x3d, 0x13, 0xbf, 0x81, 0x0e, 0x99, 0xce, 0x17, 0xbf, 0xa6, 0xff,
-	0xc9, 0xc8, 0xb3, 0xb0, 0x0b, 0xed, 0x94, 0xcc, 0xc7, 0x94, 0x0c, 0x26, 0x1e, 0x1a, 0xfa, 0xb7,
-	0xdb, 0xc0, 0xdc, 0x6c, 0x03, 0xf3, 0x7e, 0x1b, 0x98, 0x37, 0xbb, 0xc0, 0xd8, 0xec, 0x02, 0xe3,
-	0x6e, 0x17, 0x18, 0x4b, 0x5b, 0x3f, 0xf8, 0xb7, 0x87, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0xff, 0x00, 0x23,
-	0xba, 0xf9, 0x14, 0x02, 0x00, 0x00,
+	// 386 bytes of a gzipped FileDescriptorProto
+	0x1f, 0x8b, 0x08, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0xff, 0x6c, 0x92, 0xc1, 0xae, 0x93, 0x40,
+	0x14, 0x86, 0x81, 0xb9, 0xc5, 0x7b, 0x0f, 0x68, 0xc8, 0x68, 0xbc, 0x98, 0x6b, 0x48, 0x65, 0xd5,
+	0x68, 0x02, 0x09, 0x26, 0xee, 0x69, 0x8b, 0x4a, 0xac, 0xd3, 0x66, 0x5a, 0x75, 0x65, 0x08, 0x95,
+	0x31, 0xb8, 0x90, 0x19, 0x99, 0x69, 0xaa, 0x6b, 0x5f, 0xc0, 0xc7, 0x72, 0xd9, 0xa5, 0x4b, 0xd3,
+	0xbe, 0x88, 0x61, 0xa8, 0x76, 0x61, 0x77, 0xfc, 0xff, 0xf9, 0xce, 0x7f, 0xce, 0x21, 0x03, 0x43,
+	0x59, 0x97, 0x2d, 0x8b, 0x45, 0x22, 0x62, 0x59, 0xb7, 0xec, 0x6b, 0x53, 0xc5, 0x62, 0x1d, 0x6b,
+	0x33, 0x12, 0x2d, 0x57, 0x1c, 0xe3, 0xa3, 0x48, 0x44, 0xa4, 0x89, 0xa8, 0xa9, 0xc2, 0xf7, 0x70,
+	0xf3, 0x82, 0xa9, 0x65, 0x57, 0x90, 0xe3, 0x6f, 0xa4, 0xfc, 0xcc, 0xa4, 0x28, 0x3f, 0x30, 0xca,
+	0xbe, 0x6c, 0x98, 0x54, 0xf8, 0x06, 0xae, 0x5a, 0xce, 0x55, 0x51, 0x97, 0xb2, 0xf6, 0xcd, 0xa1,
+	0x39, 0x72, 0xe9, 0x65, 0x67, 0xbc, 0x2c, 0x65, 0x8d, 0x1f, 0x81, 0xdb, 0xfc, 0x6d, 0x28, 0x3e,
+	0x55, 0xbe, 0xa5, 0xeb, 0xce, 0x3f, 0x2f, 0xaf, 0xc2, 0xef, 0x26, 0x3c, 0x3c, 0x9f, 0x2f, 0x05,
+	0x6f, 0x24, 0xc3, 0xcf, 0xc0, 0x96, 0xaa, 0x54, 0x1b, 0xa9, 0xd3, 0xef, 0x24, 0x41, 0xf4, 0xff,
+	0x92, 0xd1, 0x52, 0x13, 0x13, 0x5e, 0x31, 0x7a, 0xa4, 0xf1, 0x13, 0xb8, 0x68, 0xf9, 0x56, 0xfa,
+	0xd6, 0x10, 0x8d, 0x9c, 0xe4, 0xfa, 0x5c, 0x17, 0xe5, 0x5b, 0xaa, 0xa1, 0x90, 0x00, 0xa2, 0x7c,
+	0x8b, 0xef, 0x83, 0xad, 0xb1, 0x6e, 0x16, 0x1a, 0xb9, 0xf4, 0xa8, 0x70, 0x0c, 0x03, 0xd1, 0x72,
+	0xfe, 0x51, 0x1f, 0xe0, 0x24, 0x0f, 0xce, 0x85, 0x2d, 0x3a, 0x80, 0xf6, 0x5c, 0x98, 0xc1, 0x40,
+	0x6b, 0x7c, 0x0f, 0x06, 0x52, 0x95, 0xad, 0xd2, 0xcb, 0x23, 0xda, 0x0b, 0xec, 0x01, 0x62, 0x4d,
+	0xff, 0x3b, 0x10, 0xed, 0x3e, 0x3b, 0x8e, 0xf0, 0x8a, 0x49, 0x1f, 0xe9, 0xc1, 0xbd, 0x78, 0xfc,
+	0x0e, 0xe0, 0x74, 0x19, 0x76, 0xe0, 0x56, 0x4e, 0xde, 0xa6, 0xb3, 0x7c, 0xea, 0x19, 0xd8, 0x06,
+	0x6b, 0xfe, 0xca, 0x33, 0xf1, 0x6d, 0xb8, 0x22, 0xf3, 0x55, 0xf1, 0x7c, 0xfe, 0x86, 0x4c, 0x3d,
+	0x0b, 0xbb, 0x70, 0x99, 0x93, 0x55, 0x46, 0x49, 0x3a, 0xf3, 0x10, 0xbe, 0x86, 0xbb, 0x24, 0x7d,
+	0x9d, 0x2d, 0x17, 0xe9, 0x24, 0x2b, 0x4e, 0xd8, 0xc5, 0xd8, 0xff, 0xb9, 0x0f, 0xcc, 0xdd, 0x3e,
+	0x30, 0x7f, 0xef, 0x03, 0xf3, 0xc7, 0x21, 0x30, 0x76, 0x87, 0xc0, 0xf8, 0x75, 0x08, 0x8c, 0xb5,
+	0xad, 0x5f, 0xc2, 0xd3, 0x3f, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0xff, 0xba, 0xc1, 0x4e, 0xec, 0x2d, 0x02,
+	0x00, 0x00,
 }
 
 func (m *GetSharesByNamespaceRequest) Marshal() (dAtA []byte, err error) {
diff --git a/share/p2p/shrexnd/pb/share.proto b/share/p2p/shrexnd/pb/share.proto
index d181dd7010..3d6a896641 100644
--- a/share/p2p/shrexnd/pb/share.proto
+++ b/share/p2p/shrexnd/pb/share.proto
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ enum StatusCode {
   OK = 1;
   NOT_FOUND = 2;
   INTERNAL = 3;
+  NAMESPACE_NOT_FOUND = 4;
 };
 
 message Row {
diff --git a/share/p2p/shrexnd/server.go b/share/p2p/shrexnd/server.go
index 5c1fe80f52..748d9fbd10 100644
--- a/share/p2p/shrexnd/server.go
+++ b/share/p2p/shrexnd/server.go
@@ -130,12 +130,15 @@ func (srv *Server) handleNamespacedData(ctx context.Context, stream network.Stre
 	}
 
 	shares, err := srv.getter.GetSharesByNamespace(ctx, dah, req.NamespaceId)
-	if errors.Is(err, share.ErrNotFound) {
+	switch {
+	case errors.Is(err, share.ErrNotFound):
 		logger.Warn("server: nd not found")
 		srv.respondNotFoundError(ctx, logger, stream)
 		return
-	}
-	if err != nil {
+	case errors.Is(err, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound):
+		srv.respondNamespaceNotFoundError(ctx, logger, stream)
+		return
+	case err != nil:
 		logger.Errorw("server: retrieving shares", "err", err)
 		srv.respondInternalError(ctx, logger, stream)
 		return
@@ -157,7 +160,7 @@ func validateRequest(req pb.GetSharesByNamespaceRequest) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-// respondNotFoundError sends internal error response to client
+// respondNotFoundError sends a not found response to client
 func (srv *Server) respondNotFoundError(ctx context.Context,
 	logger *zap.SugaredLogger, stream network.Stream) {
 	resp := &pb.GetSharesByNamespaceResponse{
@@ -166,6 +169,15 @@ func (srv *Server) respondNotFoundError(ctx context.Context,
 	srv.respond(ctx, logger, stream, resp)
 }
 
+// respondNamespaceNotFoundError sends a namespace not found response to client
+func (srv *Server) respondNamespaceNotFoundError(ctx context.Context,
+	logger *zap.SugaredLogger, stream network.Stream) {
+	resp := &pb.GetSharesByNamespaceResponse{
+		Status: pb.StatusCode_NAMESPACE_NOT_FOUND,
+	}
+	srv.respond(ctx, logger, stream, resp)
+}
+
 // respondInternalError sends internal error response to client
 func (srv *Server) respondInternalError(ctx context.Context,
 	logger *zap.SugaredLogger, stream network.Stream) {