diff --git a/blob/service.go b/blob/service.go
index 0b43493e27..0876a45a0c 100644
--- a/blob/service.go
+++ b/blob/service.go
@@ -193,8 +193,7 @@ func (s *Service) getByCommitment(
 
 	namespacedShares, err := s.shareGetter.GetSharesByNamespace(ctx, header.DAH, nID)
 	if err != nil {
-		if errors.Is(err, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound) ||
-			errors.Is(err, share.ErrNotFound) {
+		if errors.Is(err, share.ErrNotFound) {
 			err = ErrBlobNotFound
 		}
 		return nil, nil, err
diff --git a/share/availability/light/availability_test.go b/share/availability/light/availability_test.go
index 4980af031e..ca72596816 100644
--- a/share/availability/light/availability_test.go
+++ b/share/availability/light/availability_test.go
@@ -141,8 +141,9 @@ func TestService_GetSharesByNamespaceNotFound(t *testing.T) {
 	getter, root := GetterWithRandSquare(t, 1)
 	root.RowRoots = nil
 
-	_, err := getter.GetSharesByNamespace(context.Background(), root, namespace.RandomNamespace().Bytes())
-	assert.ErrorIs(t, err, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound)
+	emptyShares, err := getter.GetSharesByNamespace(context.Background(), root, namespace.RandomNamespace().Bytes())
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Empty(t, emptyShares.Flatten())
 }
 
 func BenchmarkService_GetSharesByNamespace(b *testing.B) {
diff --git a/share/getter.go b/share/getter.go
index b157e12f8d..a4bb22995e 100644
--- a/share/getter.go
+++ b/share/getter.go
@@ -17,13 +17,6 @@ import (
 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 the requested root does
-	// not include any shares from the given namespace. If the target namespace belongs to the
-	// namespace range of any rows of the requested root, the error will be returned along with
-	// collected non-inclusion proofs for those rows. It is the obligation of the requester to verify
-	// non-inclusion proofs for all rows that could possibly contain the target namespace by calling
-	// the Verify method.
-	ErrNamespaceNotFound = errors.New("share: namespace not found in data")
 )
 
 // Getter interface provides a set of accessors for shares by the Root.
@@ -39,8 +32,8 @@ type Getter interface {
 
 	// GetSharesByNamespace gets all shares from an EDS within the given namespace.
 	// Shares are returned in a row-by-row order if the namespace spans multiple rows.
-	// If data for the requested root does not include any shares from the given namespace
-	// ErrNamespaceNotFound will be returned along with non-inclusion proofs if there are any.
+	// Inclusion of returned data could be verified using Verify method on NamespacedShares.
+	// If no shares are found for target namespace non-inclusion could be also verified by calling Verify method.
 	GetSharesByNamespace(context.Context, *Root, namespace.ID) (NamespacedShares, error)
 }
 
diff --git a/share/getters/cascade.go b/share/getters/cascade.go
index 1a0d8fb274..725a924e85 100644
--- a/share/getters/cascade.go
+++ b/share/getters/cascade.go
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ func cascadeGetters[V any](
 		getCtx, cancel := ctxWithSplitTimeout(ctx, len(getters)-i, 0)
 		val, getErr := get(getCtx, getter)
 		cancel()
-		if getErr == nil || errors.Is(getErr, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound) {
+		if getErr == nil {
 			return val, getErr
 		}
 
diff --git a/share/getters/getter_test.go b/share/getters/getter_test.go
index c9bf82031a..20b7e25191 100644
--- a/share/getters/getter_test.go
+++ b/share/getters/getter_test.go
@@ -138,8 +138,9 @@ func TestStoreGetter(t *testing.T) {
 
 		// nid not found
 		nID = make([]byte, namespace.NamespaceSize)
-		_, err = sg.GetSharesByNamespace(ctx, &dah, nID)
-		require.ErrorIs(t, err, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound)
+		emptyShares, err := sg.GetSharesByNamespace(ctx, &dah, nID)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.Empty(t, emptyShares.Flatten())
 
 		// root not found
 		root := share.Root{}
@@ -216,13 +217,14 @@ func TestIPLDGetter(t *testing.T) {
 		// nid not found
 		nID = make([]byte, namespace.NamespaceSize)
 		emptyShares, err := sg.GetSharesByNamespace(ctx, &dah, nID)
-		require.ErrorIs(t, err, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
 		require.Nil(t, emptyShares)
 
 		// nid doesnt exist in root
 		root := share.Root{}
-		_, err = sg.GetSharesByNamespace(ctx, &root, nID)
-		require.ErrorIs(t, err, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound)
+		emptyShares, err = sg.GetSharesByNamespace(ctx, &root, nID)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.Empty(t, emptyShares.Flatten())
 	})
 }
 
diff --git a/share/getters/shrex.go b/share/getters/shrex.go
index b0aa790103..99da2f8758 100644
--- a/share/getters/shrex.go
+++ b/share/getters/shrex.go
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ func (sg *ShrexGetter) GetSharesByNamespace(
 	// 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
+		return nil, nil
 	}
 
 	for {
@@ -217,15 +217,16 @@ func (sg *ShrexGetter) GetSharesByNamespace(
 		nd, getErr := sg.ndClient.RequestND(reqCtx, root, id, peer)
 		cancel()
 		switch {
-		case getErr == nil, errors.Is(getErr, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound):
+		case getErr == nil:
 			// both inclusion and non-inclusion cases needs verification
 			if verErr := nd.Verify(root, id); verErr != nil {
+				getErr = verErr
 				setStatus(peers.ResultBlacklistPeer)
 				break
 			}
 			setStatus(peers.ResultNoop)
 			sg.metrics.recordNDAttempt(ctx, attempt, true)
-			return nd, getErr
+			return nd, nil
 		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 cb6efc3422..4026692381 100644
--- a/share/getters/shrex_test.go
+++ b/share/getters/shrex_test.go
@@ -108,11 +108,11 @@ func TestShrexGetter(t *testing.T) {
 		// check for namespace to be between max and min namespace in root
 		require.Len(t, filterRootsByNamespace(&dah, maxNID), 1)
 
-		sh, err := getter.GetSharesByNamespace(ctx, &dah, nID)
-		require.ErrorIs(t, err, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound)
+		emptyShares, err := getter.GetSharesByNamespace(ctx, &dah, nID)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
 		// no shares should be returned
-		require.Len(t, sh.Flatten(), 0)
-		require.Nil(t, sh.Verify(&dah, nID))
+		require.Empty(t, emptyShares.Flatten())
+		require.Nil(t, emptyShares.Verify(&dah, nID))
 	})
 
 	t.Run("ND_namespace_not_in_root", func(t *testing.T) {
@@ -134,11 +134,11 @@ func TestShrexGetter(t *testing.T) {
 		// check for namespace to be not in root
 		require.Len(t, filterRootsByNamespace(&dah, nID), 0)
 
-		sh, err := getter.GetSharesByNamespace(ctx, &dah, nID)
-		require.ErrorIs(t, err, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound)
+		emptyShares, err := getter.GetSharesByNamespace(ctx, &dah, nID)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
 		// no shares should be returned
-		require.Len(t, sh.Flatten(), 0)
-		require.Nil(t, sh.Verify(&dah, nID))
+		require.Empty(t, emptyShares.Flatten())
+		require.Nil(t, emptyShares.Verify(&dah, nID))
 	})
 
 	t.Run("EDS_Available", func(t *testing.T) {
diff --git a/share/getters/store.go b/share/getters/store.go
index e76a1c19cc..f39f41fc80 100644
--- a/share/getters/store.go
+++ b/share/getters/store.go
@@ -122,9 +122,9 @@ func (sg *StoreGetter) GetSharesByNamespace(
 	// wrap the read-only CAR blockstore in a getter
 	blockGetter := eds.NewBlockGetter(bs)
 	shares, err = collectSharesByNamespace(ctx, blockGetter, root, nID)
-	if err != nil && !errors.Is(err, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound) {
+	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("getter/store: failed to retrieve shares by namespace: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	return shares, err
+	return shares, nil
 }
diff --git a/share/getters/utils.go b/share/getters/utils.go
index 116acf2795..79438204bd 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.ErrNamespaceNotFound
+		return nil, nil
 	}
 
 	errGroup, ctx := errgroup.WithContext(ctx)
@@ -83,13 +83,6 @@ func collectSharesByNamespace(
 	if err := errGroup.Wait(); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-
-	// return ErrNamespaceNotFound along with collected proofs if no shares are found for the
-	// namespace.ID
-	if len(rootCIDs) == 1 && len(shares[0].Shares) == 0 {
-		return shares, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound
-	}
-
 	return shares, nil
 }
 
diff --git a/share/p2p/shrexnd/client.go b/share/p2p/shrexnd/client.go
index 72c445913d..f591a0970d 100644
--- a/share/p2p/shrexnd/client.go
+++ b/share/p2p/shrexnd/client.go
@@ -55,8 +55,8 @@ func (c *Client) RequestND(
 	peer peer.ID,
 ) (share.NamespacedShares, error) {
 	shares, err := c.doRequest(ctx, root, nID, peer)
-	if err == nil || errors.Is(err, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound) {
-		return shares, err
+	if err == nil {
+		return shares, nil
 	}
 	if errors.Is(err, context.DeadlineExceeded) || errors.Is(err, context.Canceled) {
 		c.metrics.ObserveRequests(ctx, 1, p2p.StatusTimeout)
@@ -119,24 +119,11 @@ func (c *Client) doRequest(
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("client-nd: reading response: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	err = c.statusToErr(ctx, resp.Status)
-	if errors.Is(err, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound) {
-		shares := convertToNonInclusionProofs(resp.Rows)
-		return shares, err
-	}
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("client-nd: response code is not OK: %w", err)
-	}
-
-	shares, err := convertToNamespacedShares(resp.Rows)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("client-nd: converting response to shares: %w", err)
-	}
-	return shares, nil
+	return c.convertResponse(ctx, resp)
 }
 
 // convertToNamespacedShares converts proto Rows to share.NamespacedShares
-func convertToNamespacedShares(rows []*pb.Row) (share.NamespacedShares, error) {
+func convertToNamespacedShares(rows []*pb.Row) share.NamespacedShares {
 	shares := make([]share.NamespacedRow, 0, len(rows))
 	for _, row := range rows {
 		var proof *nmt.Proof
@@ -155,7 +142,7 @@ func convertToNamespacedShares(rows []*pb.Row) (share.NamespacedShares, error) {
 			Proof:  proof,
 		})
 	}
-	return shares, nil
+	return shares
 }
 
 func convertToNonInclusionProofs(rows []*pb.Row) share.NamespacedShares {
@@ -203,22 +190,22 @@ func (c *Client) setStreamDeadlines(ctx context.Context, stream network.Stream)
 	}
 }
 
-func (c *Client) statusToErr(ctx context.Context, code pb.StatusCode) error {
-	switch code {
+func (c *Client) convertResponse(ctx context.Context, resp pb.GetSharesByNamespaceResponse) (share.NamespacedShares, error) {
+	switch resp.Status {
 	case pb.StatusCode_OK:
 		c.metrics.ObserveRequests(ctx, 1, p2p.StatusSuccess)
-		return nil
+		return convertToNamespacedShares(resp.Rows), nil
+	case pb.StatusCode_NAMESPACE_NOT_FOUND:
+		return convertToNonInclusionProofs(resp.Rows), nil
 	case pb.StatusCode_NOT_FOUND:
 		c.metrics.ObserveRequests(ctx, 1, p2p.StatusNotFound)
-		return p2p.ErrNotFound
-	case pb.StatusCode_NAMESPACE_NOT_FOUND:
-		return share.ErrNamespaceNotFound
+		return nil, p2p.ErrNotFound
 	case pb.StatusCode_INVALID:
 		log.Debug("client-nd: invalid request")
 		fallthrough
 	case pb.StatusCode_INTERNAL:
 		fallthrough
 	default:
-		return p2p.ErrInvalidResponse
+		return nil, p2p.ErrInvalidResponse
 	}
 }
diff --git a/share/p2p/shrexnd/exchange_test.go b/share/p2p/shrexnd/exchange_test.go
index 8c5a132fdc..25528595d7 100644
--- a/share/p2p/shrexnd/exchange_test.go
+++ b/share/p2p/shrexnd/exchange_test.go
@@ -49,8 +49,9 @@ func TestExchange_RequestND_NotFound(t *testing.T) {
 		require.NoError(t, edsStore.Put(ctx, dah.Hash(), eds))
 
 		randNID := dah.RowRoots[(len(dah.RowRoots)-1)/2][:namespace.NamespaceSize]
-		_, err := client.RequestND(ctx, &dah, randNID, server.host.ID())
-		require.ErrorIs(t, err, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound)
+		emptyShares, err := client.RequestND(ctx, &dah, randNID, server.host.ID())
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.Empty(t, emptyShares.Flatten())
 	})
 }
 
@@ -119,7 +120,7 @@ func (m notFoundGetter) GetEDS(
 func (m notFoundGetter) GetSharesByNamespace(
 	_ context.Context, _ *share.Root, _ nmtnamespace.ID,
 ) (share.NamespacedShares, error) {
-	return nil, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound
+	return nil, nil
 }
 
 func newStore(t *testing.T) *eds.Store {
diff --git a/share/p2p/shrexnd/server.go b/share/p2p/shrexnd/server.go
index 2e08cf0cb1..72c5231eff 100644
--- a/share/p2p/shrexnd/server.go
+++ b/share/p2p/shrexnd/server.go
@@ -136,17 +136,13 @@ func (srv *Server) handleNamespacedData(ctx context.Context, stream network.Stre
 		logger.Warn("server: nd not found")
 		srv.respondNotFoundError(ctx, logger, stream)
 		return
-	case errors.Is(err, share.ErrNamespaceNotFound):
-		resp := namespacedSharesToResponse(shares, false)
-		srv.respond(ctx, logger, stream, resp)
-		return
 	case err != nil:
 		logger.Errorw("server: retrieving shares", "err", err)
 		srv.respondInternalError(ctx, logger, stream)
 		return
 	}
 
-	resp := namespacedSharesToResponse(shares, true)
+	resp := namespacedSharesToResponse(shares)
 	srv.respond(ctx, logger, stream, resp)
 }
 
@@ -181,26 +177,24 @@ func (srv *Server) respondInternalError(ctx context.Context,
 }
 
 // namespacedSharesToResponse encodes shares into proto and sends it to client with OK status code
-func namespacedSharesToResponse(shares share.NamespacedShares, found bool) *pb.GetSharesByNamespaceResponse {
+func namespacedSharesToResponse(shares share.NamespacedShares) *pb.GetSharesByNamespaceResponse {
 	rows := make([]*pb.Row, 0, len(shares))
 	for _, row := range shares {
-		proof := &pb.Proof{
-			Start:    int64(row.Proof.Start()),
-			End:      int64(row.Proof.End()),
-			Nodes:    row.Proof.Nodes(),
-			Hashleaf: row.Proof.LeafHash(),
-		}
-
 		row := &pb.Row{
 			Shares: row.Shares,
-			Proof:  proof,
+			Proof: &pb.Proof{
+				Start:    int64(row.Proof.Start()),
+				End:      int64(row.Proof.End()),
+				Nodes:    row.Proof.Nodes(),
+				Hashleaf: row.Proof.LeafHash(),
+			},
 		}
 
 		rows = append(rows, row)
 	}
 
 	status := pb.StatusCode_OK
-	if !found {
+	if len(shares) == 0 || (len(shares) == 1 && len(shares[0].Shares) == 0) {
 		status = pb.StatusCode_NAMESPACE_NOT_FOUND
 	}