diff --git a/arangod/Indexes/IndexFactory.cpp b/arangod/Indexes/IndexFactory.cpp
index ae2f789b3e..c0723b2851 100644
--- a/arangod/Indexes/IndexFactory.cpp
+++ b/arangod/Indexes/IndexFactory.cpp
@@ -213,8 +213,13 @@ TRI_idx_iid_t IndexFactory::validateSlice(arangodb::velocypack::Slice info,
 
   if (iid == 0 && !isClusterConstructor) {
     // Restore is not allowed to generate an id
-    TRI_ASSERT(generateKey);
-    iid = arangodb::Index::generateId();
+    VPackSlice type = info.get("type");
+    // dont generate ids for indexes of type "primary"
+    // id 0 is expected for primary indexes
+    if (!type.isString() || !type.isEqualString("primary")) {
+      TRI_ASSERT(generateKey);
+      iid = arangodb::Index::generateId();
+    }
   }
 
   return iid;