diff --git a/Gemfile.lock b/Gemfile.lock
index 3637805..10db436 100644
--- a/Gemfile.lock
+++ b/Gemfile.lock
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 PATH
   remote: .
   specs:
-    esse (0.4.0.rc1)
+    esse (0.4.0.rc2)
       multi_json
       thor (>= 0.19)
 
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ GEM
       lint_roller (~> 1.0)
       rubocop-performance (~> 1.16.0)
     strscan (3.1.0)
-    thor (1.3.1)
+    thor (1.3.2)
     unicode-display_width (2.5.0)
     webmock (3.23.1)
       addressable (>= 2.8.0)
diff --git a/gemfiles/Gemfile.elasticsearch-1.x.lock b/gemfiles/Gemfile.elasticsearch-1.x.lock
index 24f54b7..08a30f9 100644
--- a/gemfiles/Gemfile.elasticsearch-1.x.lock
+++ b/gemfiles/Gemfile.elasticsearch-1.x.lock
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 PATH
   remote: ..
   specs:
-    esse (0.4.0.rc1)
+    esse (0.4.0.rc2)
       multi_json
       thor (>= 0.19)
 
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ GEM
       lint_roller (~> 1.0)
       rubocop-performance (~> 1.16.0)
     strscan (3.1.0)
-    thor (1.3.1)
+    thor (1.3.2)
     unicode-display_width (2.5.0)
     webmock (3.23.1)
       addressable (>= 2.8.0)
diff --git a/gemfiles/Gemfile.elasticsearch-2.x.lock b/gemfiles/Gemfile.elasticsearch-2.x.lock
index 6170440..6bb2f70 100644
--- a/gemfiles/Gemfile.elasticsearch-2.x.lock
+++ b/gemfiles/Gemfile.elasticsearch-2.x.lock
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 PATH
   remote: ..
   specs:
-    esse (0.4.0.rc1)
+    esse (0.4.0.rc2)
       multi_json
       thor (>= 0.19)
 
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ GEM
       lint_roller (~> 1.0)
       rubocop-performance (~> 1.16.0)
     strscan (3.1.0)
-    thor (1.3.1)
+    thor (1.3.2)
     unicode-display_width (2.5.0)
     webmock (3.23.1)
       addressable (>= 2.8.0)
diff --git a/gemfiles/Gemfile.elasticsearch-5.x.lock b/gemfiles/Gemfile.elasticsearch-5.x.lock
index 418a138..f4b4952 100644
--- a/gemfiles/Gemfile.elasticsearch-5.x.lock
+++ b/gemfiles/Gemfile.elasticsearch-5.x.lock
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 PATH
   remote: ..
   specs:
-    esse (0.4.0.rc1)
+    esse (0.4.0.rc2)
       multi_json
       thor (>= 0.19)
 
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ GEM
       lint_roller (~> 1.0)
       rubocop-performance (~> 1.16.0)
     strscan (3.1.0)
-    thor (1.3.1)
+    thor (1.3.2)
     unicode-display_width (2.5.0)
     webmock (3.23.1)
       addressable (>= 2.8.0)
diff --git a/gemfiles/Gemfile.elasticsearch-6.x.lock b/gemfiles/Gemfile.elasticsearch-6.x.lock
index 242087c..6b79618 100644
--- a/gemfiles/Gemfile.elasticsearch-6.x.lock
+++ b/gemfiles/Gemfile.elasticsearch-6.x.lock
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 PATH
   remote: ..
   specs:
-    esse (0.4.0.rc1)
+    esse (0.4.0.rc2)
       multi_json
       thor (>= 0.19)
 
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ GEM
       lint_roller (~> 1.0)
       rubocop-performance (~> 1.16.0)
     strscan (3.1.0)
-    thor (1.3.1)
+    thor (1.3.2)
     unicode-display_width (2.5.0)
     webmock (3.23.1)
       addressable (>= 2.8.0)
diff --git a/gemfiles/Gemfile.elasticsearch-7.x.lock b/gemfiles/Gemfile.elasticsearch-7.x.lock
index 131a12f..b055529 100644
--- a/gemfiles/Gemfile.elasticsearch-7.x.lock
+++ b/gemfiles/Gemfile.elasticsearch-7.x.lock
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 PATH
   remote: ..
   specs:
-    esse (0.4.0.rc1)
+    esse (0.4.0.rc2)
       multi_json
       thor (>= 0.19)
 
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ GEM
       lint_roller (~> 1.0)
       rubocop-performance (~> 1.16.0)
     strscan (3.1.0)
-    thor (1.3.1)
+    thor (1.3.2)
     unicode-display_width (2.5.0)
     webmock (3.23.1)
       addressable (>= 2.8.0)
diff --git a/gemfiles/Gemfile.elasticsearch-8.x.lock b/gemfiles/Gemfile.elasticsearch-8.x.lock
index bffe836..e47e461 100644
--- a/gemfiles/Gemfile.elasticsearch-8.x.lock
+++ b/gemfiles/Gemfile.elasticsearch-8.x.lock
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 PATH
   remote: ..
   specs:
-    esse (0.4.0.rc1)
+    esse (0.4.0.rc2)
       multi_json
       thor (>= 0.19)
 
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ GEM
       lint_roller (~> 1.0)
       rubocop-performance (~> 1.16.0)
     strscan (3.1.0)
-    thor (1.3.1)
+    thor (1.3.2)
     unicode-display_width (2.5.0)
     webmock (3.23.1)
       addressable (>= 2.8.0)
diff --git a/gemfiles/Gemfile.opensearch-1.x.lock b/gemfiles/Gemfile.opensearch-1.x.lock
index 99463dd..780d07f 100644
--- a/gemfiles/Gemfile.opensearch-1.x.lock
+++ b/gemfiles/Gemfile.opensearch-1.x.lock
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 PATH
   remote: ..
   specs:
-    esse (0.4.0.rc1)
+    esse (0.4.0.rc2)
       multi_json
       thor (>= 0.19)
 
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ GEM
       lint_roller (~> 1.0)
       rubocop-performance (~> 1.16.0)
     strscan (3.1.0)
-    thor (1.3.1)
+    thor (1.3.2)
     unicode-display_width (2.5.0)
     webmock (3.23.1)
       addressable (>= 2.8.0)
diff --git a/gemfiles/Gemfile.opensearch-2.x.lock b/gemfiles/Gemfile.opensearch-2.x.lock
index 438ab0f..b36c8f7 100644
--- a/gemfiles/Gemfile.opensearch-2.x.lock
+++ b/gemfiles/Gemfile.opensearch-2.x.lock
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 PATH
   remote: ..
   specs:
-    esse (0.4.0.rc1)
+    esse (0.4.0.rc2)
       multi_json
       thor (>= 0.19)
 
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ GEM
       lint_roller (~> 1.0)
       rubocop-performance (~> 1.16.0)
     strscan (3.1.0)
-    thor (1.3.1)
+    thor (1.3.2)
     unicode-display_width (2.5.0)
     webmock (3.23.1)
       addressable (>= 2.8.0)
diff --git a/lib/esse/errors.rb b/lib/esse/errors.rb
index 2780e8d..0c788b8 100644
--- a/lib/esse/errors.rb
+++ b/lib/esse/errors.rb
@@ -15,6 +15,19 @@ def initialize
       end
     end
 
+    class BulkResponseError < ::Esse::Error
+      attr_reader :response
+
+      def initialize(response)
+        @response = response
+        super(response)
+      end
+
+      def items
+        response.fetch('items', []).select { |item| item.values.dig(0, 'error') }
+      end
+    end
+
     ES_TRANSPORT_ERRORS = {
       'MultipleChoices' => 'MultipleChoicesError', # 300
       'MovedPermanently' => 'MovedPermanentlyError', # 301
diff --git a/lib/esse/import/bulk.rb b/lib/esse/import/bulk.rb
index 60c9f69..9b15813 100644
--- a/lib/esse/import/bulk.rb
+++ b/lib/esse/import/bulk.rb
@@ -49,9 +49,7 @@ def each_request(max_retries: 4, last_retry_in_small_chunks: true)
           requests.each do |request|
             next unless request.body?
             resp = yield request
-            if resp&.[]('errors')
-              raise resp&.fetch('items', [])&.select { |item| item.values.first['error'] }&.join("\n")
-            end
+            raise Esse::Transport::BulkResponseError.new(resp) if resp&.[]('errors')
           end
         rescue Faraday::TimeoutError, Esse::Transport::RequestTimeoutError => e
           retry_count += 1
diff --git a/lib/esse/repository/documents.rb b/lib/esse/repository/documents.rb
index 69e4f3b..1402876 100644
--- a/lib/esse/repository/documents.rb
+++ b/lib/esse/repository/documents.rb
@@ -10,8 +10,31 @@ def import(**kwargs)
       def update_documents_attribute(name, ids_or_doc_headers = [], kwargs = {})
         batch = documents_for_lazy_attribute(name, ids_or_doc_headers)
         return if batch.empty?
+        kwargs = kwargs.transform_keys(&:to_sym)
 
-        index.bulk(**kwargs.transform_keys(&:to_sym), update: batch)
+        if kwargs.delete(:index_on_missing) { true }
+          begin
+            index.bulk(**kwargs, update: batch)
+          rescue Esse::Transport::BulkResponseError => ex
+            ids = ex.items.map { |item| item.dig('update', '_id') }.compact
+            raise ex if ids.empty?
+
+            each_serialized_batch(eager_load_lazy_attributes: false, preload_lazy_attributes: false, id: ids) do |entries|
+              entries.each do |entry|
+                partial_doc = batch.find { |doc| doc.eql?(entry, match_lazy_doc_header: true) }
+                next unless partial_doc
+
+                partial_doc.source.each do |attr_name, attr_value|
+                  entry.mutate(attr_name) { attr_value }
+                end
+              end
+
+              index.bulk(**kwargs, index: entries)
+            end
+          end
+        else
+          index.bulk(**kwargs, update: batch)
+        end
       end
 
       def documents_for_lazy_attribute(name, ids_or_doc_headers)
diff --git a/lib/esse/version.rb b/lib/esse/version.rb
index b4b4bf7..d13131b 100644
--- a/lib/esse/version.rb
+++ b/lib/esse/version.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # frozen_string_literal: true
 
 module Esse
-  VERSION = '0.4.0.rc1'
+  VERSION = '0.4.0.rc2'
 end
diff --git a/spec/support/shared_contexts/geos_index_definition.rb b/spec/support/shared_contexts/geos_index_definition.rb
index 5a22722..98f684c 100644
--- a/spec/support/shared_contexts/geos_index_definition.rb
+++ b/spec/support/shared_contexts/geos_index_definition.rb
@@ -70,6 +70,9 @@ def source
         collection do |**context, &block|
           dataset.fetch(:state).each do |batch|
             states = context[:conditions] ? batch.select(&context[:conditions]) : batch
+            if (ids = Esse::ArrayUtils.wrap(context[:id]).map(&:to_i)).any?
+              states = states.select { |s| ids.include?(s[:id]) }
+            end
             block.call(states, **context) unless states.empty?
           end
         end
@@ -79,6 +82,9 @@ def source
         collection do |**context, &block|
           dataset.fetch(:county).each do |batch|
             counties = context[:conditions] ? batch.select(&context[:conditions]) : batch
+            if (ids = Esse::ArrayUtils.wrap(context[:id]).map(&:to_i)).any?
+              counties = counties.select { |s| ids.include?(s[:id]) }
+            end
             block.call(counties, **context) unless counties.empty?
           end
         end
diff --git a/spec/support/shared_contexts/stories_index_definition.rb b/spec/support/shared_contexts/stories_index_definition.rb
index f8dd186..4e4d695 100644
--- a/spec/support/shared_contexts/stories_index_definition.rb
+++ b/spec/support/shared_contexts/stories_index_definition.rb
@@ -38,6 +38,9 @@
       repository :story do
         collection do |**context, &block|
           stories = context[:conditions] ? ds.select(&context[:conditions]) : ds
+          if (ids = Esse::ArrayUtils.wrap(context[:id]).map(&:to_i)).any?
+            stories = stories.select { |s| ids.include?(s[:id]) }
+          end
           block.call(stories, **context) unless stories.empty?
         end
         document do |story, **context|
diff --git a/spec/support/shared_contexts/venues_index_definition.rb b/spec/support/shared_contexts/venues_index_definition.rb
index eca38aa..01a6dfc 100644
--- a/spec/support/shared_contexts/venues_index_definition.rb
+++ b/spec/support/shared_contexts/venues_index_definition.rb
@@ -22,6 +22,9 @@
     stub_index(:venues) do
       repository :default do
         collection do |**context, &block|
+          if (ids = Esse::ArrayUtils.wrap(context[:id]).map(&:to_i)).any?
+            ds = ds.select { |s| ids.include?(s[:id]) }
+          end
           block.call(ds, **context) unless ds.empty?
         end
         document do |venue, **context|
diff --git a/spec/support/shared_examples/repository_documents_update_documents_attribute.rb b/spec/support/shared_examples/repository_documents_update_documents_attribute.rb
index d076dc5..fe83ae9 100644
--- a/spec/support/shared_examples/repository_documents_update_documents_attribute.rb
+++ b/spec/support/shared_examples/repository_documents_update_documents_attribute.rb
@@ -33,6 +33,49 @@
     end
   end
 
+  context 'when document does not exist' do
+    include_context 'with stories index definition'
+
+    it 'raises the Esse::Transport::BulkResponseError error when passing index_on_missing: false' do
+      es_client do |client, _conf, cluster|
+        StoriesIndex.create_index(alias: true)
+
+        expect {
+          StoriesIndex::Story.update_documents_attribute(:tags, [
+            { _id: '1001', routing: 'nyt' },
+          ], index_on_missing: false)
+        }.to raise_error(Esse::Transport::BulkResponseError)
+      end
+    end
+
+    it 'retries importing the document when passing index_on_missing: true' do
+      es_client do |client, _conf, cluster|
+        StoriesIndex.create_index(alias: true)
+
+        resp = nil
+        expect {
+          resp = StoriesIndex::Story.import(context: { conditions: ->(s) { s[:id] == 1_001 } })
+        }.not_to raise_error
+
+        StoriesIndex.refresh
+        expect(StoriesIndex.count).to eq(1)
+
+        expect {
+          resp = StoriesIndex::Story.update_documents_attribute(:tags, [
+            { _id: '1002', routing: 'nyt' },
+            { _id: '1003', routing: 'nyt' }
+          ], refresh: true)
+        }.not_to raise_error(Esse::Transport::BulkResponseError)
+
+        StoriesIndex.refresh
+        expect(StoriesIndex.count).to eq(nyt_stories.size)
+
+        doc = StoriesIndex.get(id: '1002', routing: 'nyt')
+        expect(doc.dig('_source', 'publication')).to eq('nyt')
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
   context 'when the index does not have routing' do
     include_context 'with geos index definition'