diff --git a/src/retriever/data_tiers/tier_1/elasticsearch/driver.py b/src/retriever/data_tiers/tier_1/elasticsearch/driver.py
index 4c38bb98..ad43f493 100644
--- a/src/retriever/data_tiers/tier_1/elasticsearch/driver.py
+++ b/src/retriever/data_tiers/tier_1/elasticsearch/driver.py
@@ -250,10 +250,11 @@ async def legacy_get_operations(
         return operations, nodes
 
     @override
-    async def get_metadata(self) -> dict[str, Any] | None:
+    async def get_metadata(self, bypass_cache: bool = False) -> dict[str, Any] | None:
         return await get_t1_metadata(
             es_connection=self.es_connection,
             indices_alias=CONFIG.tier1.elasticsearch.index_name,
+            bypass_cache=bypass_cache,
         )
 
     @override
@@ -263,11 +264,11 @@ async def get_operations(
         # return await self.legacy_get_metadata()
         return await self.get_t1_operations()
 
-    async def get_t1_operations(
-        self,
-    ) -> tuple[list[Operation], dict[BiolinkEntity, OperationNode]]:
-        """Get tier1 operations based on metadata."""
-        metadata_blob = await self.get_metadata()
+    async def get_valid_metadata(
+        self, bypass_cache: bool = False
+    ) -> tuple[dict[str, Any], list[str]]:
+        """Get valid metadata and raise exception if failed."""
+        metadata_blob = await self.get_metadata(bypass_cache)
 
         if metadata_blob is None:
             raise ValueError(
@@ -280,8 +281,24 @@ async def get_t1_operations(
 
         indices = await get_t1_indices(self.es_connection)
 
-        metadata_list = extract_metadata_entries_from_blob(metadata_blob, indices)
+        # ensure metadata matches indices
+        mismatched = any(metadata_blob.get(i) is None for i in indices)
+
+        if mismatched:
+            if not bypass_cache:
+                log.error("Possibly stale data got from cache. Refetching remotely.")
+                return await self.get_valid_metadata(bypass_cache=True)
+            else:
+                raise ValueError("Invalid metadata retrieved.")
 
+        return metadata_blob, indices
+
+    async def get_t1_operations(
+        self,
+    ) -> tuple[list[Operation], dict[BiolinkEntity, OperationNode]]:
+        """Get tier1 operations based on metadata."""
+        metadata_blob, indices = await self.get_valid_metadata()
+        metadata_list = extract_metadata_entries_from_blob(metadata_blob, indices)
         operations, nodes = await generate_operations(metadata_list)
 
         return operations, nodes
diff --git a/src/retriever/data_tiers/tier_1/elasticsearch/meta.py b/src/retriever/data_tiers/tier_1/elasticsearch/meta.py
index c2897cad..ac843344 100644
--- a/src/retriever/data_tiers/tier_1/elasticsearch/meta.py
+++ b/src/retriever/data_tiers/tier_1/elasticsearch/meta.py
@@ -115,10 +115,13 @@ async def retrieve_metadata_from_es(
 
 
 async def get_t1_metadata(
-    es_connection: AsyncElasticsearch | None, indices_alias: str, retries: int = 0
+    es_connection: AsyncElasticsearch | None,
+    indices_alias: str,
+    bypass_cache: bool,
+    retries: int = 0,
 ) -> T1MetaData | None:
     """Caller to orchestrate retrieving t1 metadata."""
-    meta_blob = await read_metadata_cache(CACHE_KEY)
+    meta_blob = None if bypass_cache else await read_metadata_cache(CACHE_KEY)
     if not meta_blob:
         try:
             if es_connection is None:
@@ -133,7 +136,9 @@ async def get_t1_metadata(
                 "Invalid Elasticsearch connection"
             ):
                 return None
-            return await get_t1_metadata(es_connection, indices_alias, retries + 1)
+            return await get_t1_metadata(
+                es_connection, indices_alias, bypass_cache=True, retries=retries + 1
+            )
 
     log.success("DINGO Metadata retrieved!")
     return meta_blob
diff --git a/tests/data_tiers/tier_1/elasticsearch_tests/test_tier1_driver.py b/tests/data_tiers/tier_1/elasticsearch_tests/test_tier1_driver.py
index 80999deb..1a6813b4 100644
--- a/tests/data_tiers/tier_1/elasticsearch_tests/test_tier1_driver.py
+++ b/tests/data_tiers/tier_1/elasticsearch_tests/test_tier1_driver.py
@@ -91,12 +91,12 @@ def mock_elasticsearch_config(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> Iterator[None]
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
     "payload, expected",
     [
-        (PAYLOAD_0, 1),
+        (PAYLOAD_0, 0),
         (PAYLOAD_1, 4),
         (PAYLOAD_2, 32),
         (
                 [PAYLOAD_0, PAYLOAD_1, PAYLOAD_2],
-                [1, 4, 32]
+                [0, 4, 32]
         )
     ],
     ids=[
@@ -117,6 +117,11 @@ async def test_elasticsearch_driver(payload: ESPayload | list[ESPayload], expect
     hits: list[ESEdge] | list[ESEdge] = await driver.run_query(payload)
 
     def assert_single_result(res, expected_result_num: int):
+        if res is None:
+            if expected_result_num != 0:
+                raise AssertionError(f"Expected empty result, got {type(res)}")
+            else:
+                return
         if not isinstance(res, list):
             raise AssertionError(f"Expected results to be list, got {type(res)}")
         if not len(res) == expected_result_num:
@@ -201,7 +206,7 @@ async def test_metadata_retrieval():
     "qgraph, expected_hits",
     [
         (DINGO_QGRAPH, 8),
-        (ID_BYPASS_PAYLOAD, 6395),  # <-- adjust to the real number
+        (ID_BYPASS_PAYLOAD, 6776),  # <-- adjust to the real number
     ],
 )
 async def test_end_to_end(qgraph, expected_hits):
@@ -244,4 +249,4 @@ async def test_ubergraph_info_retrieval():
     #     print(k, v)
 
     assert "mapping" in info
-    assert len(info["mapping"]) == 581143
+    assert len(info["mapping"]) == 122707