diff --git a/aiida/cmdline/commands/cmd_database.py b/aiida/cmdline/commands/cmd_database.py
index 6c0329221c..e3f1a63776 100644
--- a/aiida/cmdline/commands/cmd_database.py
+++ b/aiida/cmdline/commands/cmd_database.py
@@ -31,7 +31,9 @@ def database_version():
     """
     from aiida.manage.manager import get_manager
 
-    backend_manager = get_manager().get_backend_manager()
+    manager = get_manager()
+    manager._load_backend(schema_check=False)  # pylint: disable=protected-access
+    backend_manager = manager.get_backend_manager()
 
     echo.echo('Generation: ', bold=True, nl=False)
     echo.echo(backend_manager.get_schema_generation_database())