diff --git a/src/query/v2/plan/operator.cpp b/src/query/v2/plan/operator.cpp
index 432a8c7e8..26b123bad 100644
--- a/src/query/v2/plan/operator.cpp
+++ b/src/query/v2/plan/operator.cpp
@@ -199,7 +199,9 @@ VertexAccessor &CreateLocalVertexAtomically(const NodeCreationInfo &node_info, F
     }
   }
   // TODO Remove later on since that will be enforced from grammar side
-  MG_ASSERT(!node_info.labels.empty(), "There must be at least one label!");
+  if (node_info.labels.empty()) {
+    throw QueryRuntimeException("There must be a primary label defined.");
+  }
   const auto primary_label = node_info.labels[0];
   std::vector<storage::v3::LabelId> secondary_labels(node_info.labels.begin() + 1, node_info.labels.end());
   auto maybe_new_node = dba.InsertVertexAndValidate(primary_label, secondary_labels, properties);