diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/commands/create_distributed_table.c b/src/backend/distributed/commands/create_distributed_table.c
index 825bf84d4..103fedc4f 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/commands/create_distributed_table.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/commands/create_distributed_table.c
@@ -110,6 +110,7 @@ master_create_distributed_table(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	bool requireEmpty = true;
 
 	EnsureCoordinator();
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
 
 	if (ReplicationModel != REPLICATION_MODEL_COORDINATOR)
 	{
@@ -147,6 +148,7 @@ create_distributed_table(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	char *colocateWithTableName = NULL;
 
 	EnsureCoordinator();
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
 
 	/* guard against a binary update without a function update */
 	if (PG_NARGS() >= 4)
@@ -233,13 +235,17 @@ static void
 CreateReferenceTable(Oid relationId)
 {
 	uint32 colocationId = INVALID_COLOCATION_ID;
-	List *workerNodeList = ActiveWorkerNodeList();
-	int replicationFactor = list_length(workerNodeList);
+	List *workerNodeList = NIL;
+	int replicationFactor = 0;
 	char *distributionColumnName = NULL;
 	bool requireEmpty = true;
 	char relationKind = 0;
 
 	EnsureCoordinator();
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
+	workerNodeList = ActiveWorkerNodeList();
+	replicationFactor = list_length(workerNodeList);
 
 	/* if there are no workers, error out */
 	if (replicationFactor == 0)
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/commands/drop_distributed_table.c b/src/backend/distributed/commands/drop_distributed_table.c
index 76b29f1c8..734d478d3 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/commands/drop_distributed_table.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/commands/drop_distributed_table.c
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ master_drop_distributed_table_metadata(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	char *tableName = text_to_cstring(tableNameText);
 
 	EnsureCoordinator();
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
 
 	CheckTableSchemaNameForDrop(relationId, &schemaName, &tableName);
 
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/executor/multi_utility.c b/src/backend/distributed/executor/multi_utility.c
index d322324f8..2142b90db 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/executor/multi_utility.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/executor/multi_utility.c
@@ -99,7 +99,6 @@ struct DropRelationCallbackState
 
 
 /* Local functions forward declarations for deciding when to perform processing/checks */
-static bool SkipCitusProcessingForUtility(Node *parsetree);
 static bool IsCitusExtensionStmt(Node *parsetree);
 
 /* Local functions forward declarations for Transmit statement */
@@ -185,23 +184,29 @@ multi_ProcessUtility(Node *parsetree,
 	Oid savedUserId = InvalidOid;
 	int savedSecurityContext = 0;
 	List *ddlJobs = NIL;
-	bool skipCitusProcessing = SkipCitusProcessingForUtility(parsetree);
+	bool checkExtensionVersion = false;
 
-	if (skipCitusProcessing)
+	if (IsA(parsetree, TransactionStmt))
 	{
-		bool checkExtensionVersion = IsCitusExtensionStmt(parsetree);
-
+		/*
+		 * Transaction statements (e.g. ABORT, COMMIT) can be run in aborted
+		 * transactions in which case a lot of checks cannot be done safely in
+		 * that state. Since we never need to intercept transaction statements,
+		 * skip our checks and immediately fall into standard_ProcessUtility.
+		 */
 		standard_ProcessUtility(parsetree, queryString, context,
 								params, dest, completionTag);
 
-		if (EnableVersionChecks && checkExtensionVersion)
-		{
-			ErrorIfUnstableCreateOrAlterExtensionStmt(parsetree);
-		}
-
 		return;
 	}
 
+	checkExtensionVersion = IsCitusExtensionStmt(parsetree);
+	if (EnableVersionChecks && checkExtensionVersion)
+	{
+		ErrorIfUnstableCreateOrAlterExtensionStmt(parsetree);
+	}
+
+
 	if (!CitusHasBeenLoaded())
 	{
 		/*
@@ -447,63 +452,6 @@ multi_ProcessUtility(Node *parsetree,
 }
 
 
-/*
- * SkipCitusProcessingForUtility simply returns whether a given utility should
- * bypass Citus processing and checks and be handled exclusively by standard
- * PostgreSQL utility processing. At present, CREATE/ALTER/DROP EXTENSION,
- * ABORT, COMMIT, ROLLBACK, and SET (GUC) statements are exempt from Citus.
- */
-static bool
-SkipCitusProcessingForUtility(Node *parsetree)
-{
-	switch (parsetree->type)
-	{
-		/*
-		 * In the CitusHasBeenLoaded check, we compare versions of loaded code,
-		 * the installed extension, and available extension. If they differ, we
-		 * force user to execute ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE. To allow this,
-		 * CREATE/DROP/ALTER extension must be omitted from Citus processing.
-		 */
-		case T_DropStmt:
-		{
-			DropStmt *dropStatement = (DropStmt *) parsetree;
-
-			if (dropStatement->removeType != OBJECT_EXTENSION)
-			{
-				return false;
-			}
-		}
-
-		/* no break, fall through */
-
-		case T_CreateExtensionStmt:
-		case T_AlterExtensionStmt:
-
-		/*
-		 * Transaction statements (e.g. ABORT, COMMIT) can be run in aborted
-		 * transactions in which case a lot of checks cannot be done safely in
-		 * that state. Since we never need to intercept transaction statements,
-		 * skip our checks and immediately fall into standard_ProcessUtility.
-		 */
-		case T_TransactionStmt:
-
-		/*
-		 * Skip processing of variable set statements, to allow changing the
-		 * enable_version_checks GUC during testing.
-		 */
-		case T_VariableSetStmt:
-		{
-			return true;
-		}
-
-		default:
-		{
-			return false;
-		}
-	}
-}
-
-
 /*
  * IsCitusExtensionStmt returns whether a given utility is a CREATE or ALTER
  * EXTENSION statement which references the citus extension. This function
@@ -1474,8 +1422,8 @@ ErrorIfUnstableCreateOrAlterExtensionStmt(Node *parsetree)
 		 * from the citus.control file. In case a new default is available, we
 		 * will force a compatibility check of the latest available version.
 		 */
-		availableExtensionVersion = NULL;
-		ErrorIfAvailableVersionMismatch();
+		citusVersionKnownCompatible = false;
+		CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/master/master_citus_tools.c b/src/backend/distributed/master/master_citus_tools.c
index b46b60739..946ec16cf 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/master/master_citus_tools.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/master/master_citus_tools.c
@@ -83,6 +83,8 @@ master_run_on_worker(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	int commandIndex = 0;
 	int commandCount = 0;
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	/* check to see if caller supports us returning a tuplestore */
 	if (!rsinfo || !(rsinfo->allowedModes & SFRM_Materialize))
 	{
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/master/master_create_shards.c b/src/backend/distributed/master/master_create_shards.c
index 56ec7e788..a56f283bf 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/master/master_create_shards.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/master/master_create_shards.c
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ master_create_worker_shards(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	Oid distributedTableId = ResolveRelationId(tableNameText);
 
 	EnsureCoordinator();
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
 
 	CreateShardsWithRoundRobinPolicy(distributedTableId, shardCount, replicationFactor);
 
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/master/master_delete_protocol.c b/src/backend/distributed/master/master_delete_protocol.c
index ed8418aa4..8f5943696 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/master/master_delete_protocol.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/master/master_delete_protocol.c
@@ -111,6 +111,7 @@ master_apply_delete_command(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	bool failOK = false;
 
 	EnsureCoordinator();
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
 
 	queryTreeNode = ParseTreeNode(queryString);
 	if (!IsA(queryTreeNode, DeleteStmt))
@@ -214,6 +215,7 @@ master_drop_all_shards(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	char *relationName = text_to_cstring(relationNameText);
 
 	EnsureCoordinator();
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
 
 	CheckTableSchemaNameForDrop(relationId, &schemaName, &relationName);
 
@@ -250,6 +252,8 @@ master_drop_sequences(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	StringInfo dropSeqCommand = makeStringInfo();
 	bool coordinator = IsCoordinator();
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	/* do nothing if DDL propagation is switched off or this is not the coordinator */
 	if (!EnableDDLPropagation || !coordinator)
 	{
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/master/master_expire_table_cache.c b/src/backend/distributed/master/master_expire_table_cache.c
index 70eef82aa..8d4f38b03 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/master/master_expire_table_cache.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/master/master_expire_table_cache.c
@@ -46,14 +46,21 @@ Datum
 master_expire_table_cache(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 {
 	Oid relationId = PG_GETARG_OID(0);
-	DistTableCacheEntry *cacheEntry = DistributedTableCacheEntry(relationId);
-	List *workerNodeList = ActiveWorkerNodeList();
+	DistTableCacheEntry *cacheEntry = NULL;
+	List *workerNodeList = NIL;
 	ListCell *workerNodeCell = NULL;
-	int shardCount = cacheEntry->shardIntervalArrayLength;
-	ShardInterval **shardIntervalArray = cacheEntry->sortedShardIntervalArray;
+	int shardCount = 0;
+	ShardInterval **shardIntervalArray = NULL;
 	List **placementListArray = NULL;
 	int shardIndex = 0;
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
+	cacheEntry = DistributedTableCacheEntry(relationId);
+	workerNodeList = ActiveWorkerNodeList();
+	shardCount = cacheEntry->shardIntervalArrayLength;
+	shardIntervalArray = cacheEntry->sortedShardIntervalArray;
+
 	if (shardCount == 0)
 	{
 		ereport(WARNING, (errmsg("Table has no shards, no action is taken")));
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/master/master_metadata_utility.c b/src/backend/distributed/master/master_metadata_utility.c
index e6bfa574b..4081ad35b 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/master/master_metadata_utility.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/master/master_metadata_utility.c
@@ -87,6 +87,8 @@ citus_total_relation_size(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	Oid relationId = PG_GETARG_OID(0);
 	uint64 totalRelationSize = 0;
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	totalRelationSize = DistributedTableSize(relationId,
 											 PG_TOTAL_RELATION_SIZE_FUNCTION);
 
@@ -104,6 +106,8 @@ citus_table_size(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	Oid relationId = PG_GETARG_OID(0);
 	uint64 tableSize = 0;
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	tableSize = DistributedTableSize(relationId, PG_TABLE_SIZE_FUNCTION);
 
 	PG_RETURN_INT64(tableSize);
@@ -120,6 +124,8 @@ citus_relation_size(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	Oid relationId = PG_GETARG_OID(0);
 	uint64 relationSize = 0;
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	relationSize = DistributedTableSize(relationId, PG_RELATION_SIZE_FUNCTION);
 
 	PG_RETURN_INT64(relationSize);
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/master/master_modify_multiple_shards.c b/src/backend/distributed/master/master_modify_multiple_shards.c
index 086846fde..f7838b08c 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/master/master_modify_multiple_shards.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/master/master_modify_multiple_shards.c
@@ -87,6 +87,8 @@ master_modify_multiple_shards(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	int32 affectedTupleCount = 0;
 
 	EnsureCoordinator();
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 
 	queryTreeNode = ParseTreeNode(queryString);
 	if (IsA(queryTreeNode, DeleteStmt))
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/master/master_node_protocol.c b/src/backend/distributed/master/master_node_protocol.c
index db83b2665..d7214cf04 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/master/master_node_protocol.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/master/master_node_protocol.c
@@ -105,6 +105,8 @@ master_get_table_metadata(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	Datum values[TABLE_METADATA_FIELDS];
 	bool isNulls[TABLE_METADATA_FIELDS];
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	/* find partition tuple for partitioned relation */
 	partitionEntry = DistributedTableCacheEntry(relationId);
 
@@ -194,6 +196,8 @@ master_get_table_ddl_events(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	FuncCallContext *functionContext = NULL;
 	ListCell *tableDDLEventCell = NULL;
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	/*
 	 * On the very first call to this function, we first use the given relation
 	 * name to get to the relation. We then recreate the list of DDL statements
@@ -264,6 +268,7 @@ master_get_new_shardid(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	Datum shardIdDatum = 0;
 
 	EnsureCoordinator();
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
 
 	shardId = GetNextShardId();
 	shardIdDatum = Int64GetDatum(shardId);
@@ -321,6 +326,7 @@ master_get_new_placementid(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	Datum placementIdDatum = 0;
 
 	EnsureCoordinator();
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
 
 	placementId = GetNextPlacementId();
 	placementIdDatum = Int64GetDatum(placementId);
@@ -376,6 +382,8 @@ master_get_active_worker_nodes(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	uint32 workerNodeIndex = 0;
 	uint32 workerNodeCount = 0;
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	if (SRF_IS_FIRSTCALL())
 	{
 		MemoryContext oldContext = NULL;
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/master/master_repair_shards.c b/src/backend/distributed/master/master_repair_shards.c
index 2471da365..1774895f8 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/master/master_repair_shards.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/master/master_repair_shards.c
@@ -85,6 +85,7 @@ master_copy_shard_placement(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	}
 
 	EnsureCoordinator();
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
 
 	/* RepairShardPlacement function repairs only given shard */
 	RepairShardPlacement(shardId, sourceNodeName, sourceNodePort, targetNodeName,
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/master/master_split_shards.c b/src/backend/distributed/master/master_split_shards.c
index cc18a3c3e..a1e928e5d 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/master/master_split_shards.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/master/master_split_shards.c
@@ -67,6 +67,8 @@ worker_hash(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	FmgrInfo *hashFunction = NULL;
 	Oid valueDataType = InvalidOid;
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	/* figure out hash function from the data type */
 	valueDataType = get_fn_expr_argtype(fcinfo->flinfo, 0);
 	typeEntry = lookup_type_cache(valueDataType, TYPECACHE_HASH_PROC_FINFO);
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/master/master_stage_protocol.c b/src/backend/distributed/master/master_stage_protocol.c
index f24bfc07c..cf492bc02 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/master/master_stage_protocol.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/master/master_stage_protocol.c
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ master_create_empty_shard(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 {
 	text *relationNameText = PG_GETARG_TEXT_P(0);
 	char *relationName = text_to_cstring(relationNameText);
-	List *workerNodeList = ActiveWorkerNodeList();
+	List *workerNodeList = NIL;
 	uint64 shardId = INVALID_SHARD_ID;
 	List *ddlEventList = NULL;
 	uint32 attemptableNodeCount = 0;
@@ -90,6 +90,10 @@ master_create_empty_shard(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	char replicationModel = REPLICATION_MODEL_INVALID;
 	bool includeSequenceDefaults = false;
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
+	workerNodeList = ActiveWorkerNodeList();
+
 	EnsureTablePermissions(relationId, ACL_INSERT);
 	CheckDistributedTable(relationId);
 
@@ -219,11 +223,18 @@ master_append_table_to_shard(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	float4 shardFillLevel = 0.0;
 	char partitionMethod = 0;
 
-	ShardInterval *shardInterval = LoadShardInterval(shardId);
-	Oid relationId = shardInterval->relationId;
-	bool cstoreTable = CStoreTable(relationId);
+	ShardInterval *shardInterval = NULL;
+	Oid relationId = InvalidOid;
+	bool cstoreTable = false;
 
-	char storageType = shardInterval->storageType;
+	char storageType = 0;
+
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
+	shardInterval = LoadShardInterval(shardId);
+	relationId = shardInterval->relationId;
+	cstoreTable = CStoreTable(relationId);
+	storageType = shardInterval->storageType;
 
 	EnsureTablePermissions(relationId, ACL_INSERT);
 
@@ -318,6 +329,8 @@ master_update_shard_statistics(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	int64 shardId = PG_GETARG_INT64(0);
 	uint64 shardSize = 0;
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	shardSize = UpdateShardStatistics(shardId);
 
 	PG_RETURN_INT64(shardSize);
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/metadata/metadata_sync.c b/src/backend/distributed/metadata/metadata_sync.c
index af1aa5257..e7a659c2b 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/metadata/metadata_sync.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/metadata/metadata_sync.c
@@ -86,6 +86,7 @@ start_metadata_sync_to_node(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 
 	EnsureCoordinator();
 	EnsureSuperUser();
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
 
 	PreventTransactionChain(true, "start_metadata_sync_to_node");
 
@@ -154,6 +155,7 @@ stop_metadata_sync_to_node(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 
 	EnsureCoordinator();
 	EnsureSuperUser();
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
 
 	workerNode = FindWorkerNode(nodeNameString, nodePort);
 	if (workerNode == NULL)
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/relay/relay_event_utility.c b/src/backend/distributed/relay/relay_event_utility.c
index eed0e881f..bc61da45e 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/relay/relay_event_utility.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/relay/relay_event_utility.c
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
 #include "catalog/indexing.h"
 #include "catalog/namespace.h"
 #include "catalog/pg_constraint.h"
+#include "distributed/metadata_cache.h"
 #include "distributed/relay_utility.h"
 #include "lib/stringinfo.h"
 #include "mb/pg_wchar.h"
@@ -673,10 +674,11 @@ shard_name(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 						errmsg("shard_id cannot be null")));
 	}
 
-
 	relationId = PG_GETARG_OID(0);
 	shardId = PG_GETARG_INT64(1);
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	if (shardId <= 0)
 	{
 		ereport(ERROR, (errcode(ERRCODE_INVALID_PARAMETER_VALUE),
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/transaction/transaction_recovery.c b/src/backend/distributed/transaction/transaction_recovery.c
index 70e16bd1d..edff64850 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/transaction/transaction_recovery.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/transaction/transaction_recovery.c
@@ -65,6 +65,8 @@ recover_prepared_transactions(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 {
 	int recoveredTransactionCount = 0;
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	recoveredTransactionCount = RecoverPreparedTransactions();
 
 	PG_RETURN_INT32(recoveredTransactionCount);
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/utils/colocation_utils.c b/src/backend/distributed/utils/colocation_utils.c
index 7dcade9cd..a7357f20d 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/utils/colocation_utils.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/utils/colocation_utils.c
@@ -75,6 +75,7 @@ mark_tables_colocated(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	}
 
 	EnsureCoordinator();
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
 
 	relationIdDatumArray = DeconstructArrayObject(relationIdArrayObject);
 
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/utils/distribution_column.c b/src/backend/distributed/utils/distribution_column.c
index 0238b6fdd..e2a925a04 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/utils/distribution_column.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/utils/distribution_column.c
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 #include "access/heapam.h"
 #include "access/htup_details.h"
 #include "distributed/distribution_column.h"
+#include "distributed/metadata_cache.h"
 #include "nodes/makefuncs.h"
 #include "nodes/nodes.h"
 #include "nodes/primnodes.h"
@@ -55,6 +56,8 @@ column_name_to_column(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	char *columnNodeString = NULL;
 	text *columnNodeText = NULL;
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	relation = relation_open(relationId, AccessShareLock);
 
 	column = BuildDistributionKeyFromColumnName(relation, columnName);
@@ -107,6 +110,8 @@ column_to_column_name(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	char *columnName = NULL;
 	text *columnText = NULL;
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	columnName = ColumnNameToColumn(relationId, columnNodeString);
 
 	columnText = cstring_to_text(columnName);
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/utils/metadata_cache.c b/src/backend/distributed/utils/metadata_cache.c
index 66a2af3da..128461a6a 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/utils/metadata_cache.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/utils/metadata_cache.c
@@ -106,8 +106,7 @@ static Oid workerHashFunctionId = InvalidOid;
 /* Citus extension version variables */
 bool EnableVersionChecks = true; /* version checks are enabled */
 
-char *availableExtensionVersion = NULL;
-static char *installedExtensionVersion = NULL;
+bool citusVersionKnownCompatible = false;
 
 /* Hash table for informations about each partition */
 static HTAB *DistTableCacheHash = NULL;
@@ -130,6 +129,7 @@ static ScanKeyData DistShardScanKey[1];
 
 
 /* local function forward declarations */
+static bool IsDistributedTableViaCatalog(Oid relationId);
 static ShardCacheEntry * LookupShardCacheEntry(int64 shardId);
 static DistTableCacheEntry * LookupDistTableCacheEntry(Oid relationId);
 static void BuildDistTableCacheEntry(DistTableCacheEntry *cacheEntry);
@@ -142,7 +142,8 @@ static bool HasUniformHashDistribution(ShardInterval **shardIntervalArray,
 									   int shardIntervalArrayLength);
 static bool HasUninitializedShardInterval(ShardInterval **sortedShardIntervalArray,
 										  int shardCount);
-static void ErrorIfInstalledVersionMismatch(void);
+static bool CheckInstalledVersion(int elevel);
+static bool CheckAvailableVersion(int elevel);
 static char * AvailableExtensionVersion(void);
 static char * InstalledExtensionVersion(void);
 static bool HasOverlappingShardInterval(ShardInterval **shardIntervalArray,
@@ -184,22 +185,59 @@ IsDistributedTable(Oid relationId)
 {
 	DistTableCacheEntry *cacheEntry = NULL;
 
+	cacheEntry = LookupDistTableCacheEntry(relationId);
+
 	/*
-	 * Can't be a distributed relation if the extension hasn't been loaded
-	 * yet. As we can't do lookups in nonexistent tables, directly return
-	 * false.
+	 * If extension hasn't been created, or has the wrong version and the
+	 * table isn't a distributed one, LookupDistTableCacheEntry() will return NULL.
 	 */
-	if (!CitusHasBeenLoaded())
+	if (!cacheEntry)
 	{
 		return false;
 	}
 
-	cacheEntry = LookupDistTableCacheEntry(relationId);
-
 	return cacheEntry->isDistributedTable;
 }
 
 
+/*
+ * IsDistributedTableViaCatalog returns whether the given relation is a
+ * distributed table or not.
+ *
+ * It does so by searching pg_dist_partition, explicitly bypassing caches,
+ * because this function is designed to be used in cases where accessing
+ * metadata tables is not safe.
+ *
+ * NB: Currently this still hardcodes pg_dist_partition logicalrelid column
+ * offset and the corresponding index.  If we ever come close to changing
+ * that, we'll have to work a bit harder.
+ */
+static bool
+IsDistributedTableViaCatalog(Oid relationId)
+{
+	HeapTuple partitionTuple = NULL;
+	SysScanDesc scanDescriptor = NULL;
+	const int scanKeyCount = 1;
+	ScanKeyData scanKey[scanKeyCount];
+	bool indexOK = true;
+
+	Relation pgDistPartition = heap_open(DistPartitionRelationId(), AccessShareLock);
+
+	ScanKeyInit(&scanKey[0], Anum_pg_dist_partition_logicalrelid,
+				BTEqualStrategyNumber, F_OIDEQ, ObjectIdGetDatum(relationId));
+
+	scanDescriptor = systable_beginscan(pgDistPartition,
+										DistPartitionLogicalRelidIndexId(),
+										indexOK, NULL, scanKeyCount, scanKey);
+
+	partitionTuple = systable_getnext(scanDescriptor);
+	systable_endscan(scanDescriptor);
+	heap_close(pgDistPartition, AccessShareLock);
+
+	return HeapTupleIsValid(partitionTuple);
+}
+
+
 /*
  * DistributedTableList returns a list that includes all the valid distributed table
  * cache entries.
@@ -211,6 +249,8 @@ DistributedTableList(void)
 	List *distributedTableList = NIL;
 	ListCell *distTableOidCell = NULL;
 
+	Assert(CitusHasBeenLoaded() && CheckCitusVersion(WARNING));
+
 	/* first, we need to iterate over pg_dist_partition */
 	distTableOidList = DistTableOidList();
 
@@ -360,6 +400,8 @@ LookupShardCacheEntry(int64 shardId)
 	bool foundInCache = false;
 	bool recheck = false;
 
+	Assert(CitusHasBeenLoaded() && CheckCitusVersion(WARNING));
+
 	/* probably not reachable */
 	if (DistShardCacheHash == NULL)
 	{
@@ -435,27 +477,16 @@ DistributedTableCacheEntry(Oid distributedRelationId)
 {
 	DistTableCacheEntry *cacheEntry = NULL;
 
-	/*
-	 * Can't be a distributed relation if the extension hasn't been loaded
-	 * yet. As we can't do lookups in nonexistent tables, directly return NULL
-	 * here.
-	 */
-	if (!CitusHasBeenLoaded())
-	{
-		return NULL;
-	}
-
 	cacheEntry = LookupDistTableCacheEntry(distributedRelationId);
 
-	if (cacheEntry->isDistributedTable)
+	if (cacheEntry && cacheEntry->isDistributedTable)
 	{
 		return cacheEntry;
 	}
 	else
 	{
 		char *relationName = get_rel_name(distributedRelationId);
-		ereport(ERROR, (errmsg("relation %s is not distributed",
-							   relationName)));
+		ereport(ERROR, (errmsg("relation %s is not distributed", relationName)));
 	}
 }
 
@@ -471,6 +502,43 @@ LookupDistTableCacheEntry(Oid relationId)
 	bool foundInCache = false;
 	void *hashKey = (void *) &relationId;
 
+	/*
+	 * Can't be a distributed relation if the extension hasn't been loaded
+	 * yet. As we can't do lookups in nonexistent tables, directly return NULL
+	 * here.
+	 */
+	if (!CitusHasBeenLoaded())
+	{
+		return NULL;
+	}
+
+	/*
+	 * If the version is not known to be compatible, perform thorough check,
+	 * unless such checks are disabled.
+	 */
+	if (!citusVersionKnownCompatible && EnableVersionChecks)
+	{
+		bool isDistributed = IsDistributedTableViaCatalog(relationId);
+		int reportLevel = DEBUG1;
+
+		/*
+		 * If there's a version-mismatch, and we're dealing with a distributed
+		 * table, we have to error out as we can't return a valid entry.  We
+		 * want to check compatibility in the non-distributed case as well, so
+		 * future lookups can use the cache if compatible.
+		 */
+		if (isDistributed)
+		{
+			reportLevel = ERROR;
+		}
+
+		if (!CheckCitusVersion(reportLevel))
+		{
+			/* incompatible, can't access cache, so return before doing so */
+			return NULL;
+		}
+	}
+
 	if (DistTableCacheHash == NULL)
 	{
 		InitializeDistTableCache();
@@ -1066,86 +1134,114 @@ CitusHasBeenLoaded(void)
 			DistPartitionRelationId();
 
 			/*
-			 * We also set installedExtensionVersion to NULL so that it will be re-read
-			 * in case of extension update.
+			 * We also reset citusVersionKnownCompatible, so it will be re-read in
+			 * case of extension update.
 			 */
-			installedExtensionVersion = NULL;
+			citusVersionKnownCompatible = false;
 		}
 	}
 
-	if (extensionLoaded)
-	{
-		ErrorIfAvailableVersionMismatch();
-		ErrorIfInstalledVersionMismatch();
-	}
-
 	return extensionLoaded;
 }
 
 
 /*
- * ErrorIfAvailableExtensionVersionMismatch compares CITUS_EXTENSIONVERSION and
- * currently available version from citus.control file. If they are not same in
- * major or minor version numbers, this function errors out. It ignores the schema
- * version.
+ * CheckCitusVersion checks whether there is a version mismatch between the
+ * available version and the loaded version or between the installed version
+ * and the loaded version. Returns true if compatible, false otherwise.
+ *
+ * As a side effect, this function also sets citusVersionKnownCompatible global
+ * variable to true which reduces version check cost of next calls.
  */
-void
-ErrorIfAvailableVersionMismatch(void)
+bool
+CheckCitusVersion(int elevel)
+{
+	if (citusVersionKnownCompatible ||
+		!CitusHasBeenLoaded() ||
+		!EnableVersionChecks)
+	{
+		return true;
+	}
+
+	if (CheckAvailableVersion(elevel) && CheckInstalledVersion(elevel))
+	{
+		citusVersionKnownCompatible = true;
+		return true;
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		return false;
+	}
+}
+
+
+/*
+ * CheckAvailableVersion compares CITUS_EXTENSIONVERSION and the currently
+ * available version from the citus.control file. If they are not compatible,
+ * this function logs an error with the specified elevel and returns false,
+ * otherwise it returns true.
+ */
+static bool
+CheckAvailableVersion(int elevel)
 {
 	char *availableVersion = NULL;
 
-	if (!EnableVersionChecks)
-	{
-		return;
-	}
+	Assert(CitusHasBeenLoaded());
+	Assert(EnableVersionChecks);
 
 	availableVersion = AvailableExtensionVersion();
+
 	if (!MajorVersionsCompatible(availableVersion, CITUS_EXTENSIONVERSION))
 	{
-		ereport(ERROR, (errmsg("loaded Citus library version differs from latest "
-							   "available extension version"),
-						errdetail("Loaded library requires %s, but the latest control "
-								  "file specifies %s.", CITUS_MAJORVERSION,
-								  availableVersion),
-						errhint("Restart the database to load the latest Citus "
-								"library.")));
+		ereport(elevel, (errmsg("loaded Citus library version differs from latest "
+								"available extension version"),
+						 errdetail("Loaded library requires %s, but the latest control "
+								   "file specifies %s.", CITUS_MAJORVERSION,
+								   availableVersion),
+						 errhint("Restart the database to load the latest Citus "
+								 "library.")));
+		return false;
 	}
+
+	return true;
 }
 
 
 /*
- * ErrorIfInstalledVersionMismatch compares CITUS_EXTENSIONVERSION and currently
- * and catalog version from pg_extemsion catalog table. If they are not same in
- * major or minor version numbers, this function errors out. It ignores the schema
- * version.
+ * CheckInstalledVersion compares CITUS_EXTENSIONVERSION and the the
+ * extension's current version from the pg_extemsion catalog table. If they
+ * are not compatible, this function logs an error with the specified elevel,
+ * otherwise it returns true.
  */
-static void
-ErrorIfInstalledVersionMismatch(void)
+static bool
+CheckInstalledVersion(int elevel)
 {
 	char *installedVersion = NULL;
 
-	if (!EnableVersionChecks)
-	{
-		return;
-	}
+	Assert(CitusHasBeenLoaded());
+	Assert(EnableVersionChecks);
 
 	installedVersion = InstalledExtensionVersion();
+
 	if (!MajorVersionsCompatible(installedVersion, CITUS_EXTENSIONVERSION))
 	{
-		ereport(ERROR, (errmsg("loaded Citus library version differs from installed "
-							   "extension version"),
-						errdetail("Loaded library requires %s, but the installed "
-								  "extension version is %s.", CITUS_MAJORVERSION,
-								  installedVersion),
-						errhint("Run ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE and try again.")));
+		ereport(elevel, (errmsg("loaded Citus library version differs from installed "
+								"extension version"),
+						 errdetail("Loaded library requires %s, but the installed "
+								   "extension version is %s.", CITUS_MAJORVERSION,
+								   installedVersion),
+						 errhint("Run ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE and try again.")));
+		return false;
 	}
+
+	return true;
 }
 
 
 /*
- * MajorVersionsCompatible compares given two versions. If they are same in major
- * and minor version numbers, this function returns true. It ignores the schema
- * version.
+ * MajorVersionsCompatible checks whether both versions are compatible. They
+ * are if major and minor version numbers match, the schema version is
+ * ignored.  Returns true if compatible, false otherwise.
  */
 bool
 MajorVersionsCompatible(char *leftVersion, char *rightVersion)
@@ -1203,12 +1299,7 @@ AvailableExtensionVersion(void)
 	bool hasTuple = false;
 	bool goForward = true;
 	bool doCopy = false;
-
-	/* if we cached the result before, return it*/
-	if (availableExtensionVersion != NULL)
-	{
-		return availableExtensionVersion;
-	}
+	char *availableExtensionVersion;
 
 	estate = CreateExecutorState();
 	extensionsResultSet = makeNode(ReturnSetInfo);
@@ -1274,8 +1365,6 @@ AvailableExtensionVersion(void)
 
 /*
  * InstalledExtensionVersion returns the Citus version in PostgreSQL pg_extension table.
- * It also saves the result, thus consecutive calls to CitusExtensionCatalogVersion
- * will not read the catalog tables again.
  */
 static char *
 InstalledExtensionVersion(void)
@@ -1284,12 +1373,7 @@ InstalledExtensionVersion(void)
 	SysScanDesc scandesc;
 	ScanKeyData entry[1];
 	HeapTuple extensionTuple = NULL;
-
-	/* if we cached the result before, return it*/
-	if (installedExtensionVersion != NULL)
-	{
-		return installedExtensionVersion;
-	}
+	char *installedExtensionVersion = NULL;
 
 	relation = heap_open(ExtensionRelationId, AccessShareLock);
 
@@ -1670,6 +1754,8 @@ master_dist_partition_cache_invalidate(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 						errmsg("must be called as trigger")));
 	}
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	newTuple = triggerData->tg_newtuple;
 	oldTuple = triggerData->tg_trigtuple;
 
@@ -1731,6 +1817,8 @@ master_dist_shard_cache_invalidate(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 						errmsg("must be called as trigger")));
 	}
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	newTuple = triggerData->tg_newtuple;
 	oldTuple = triggerData->tg_trigtuple;
 
@@ -1792,6 +1880,8 @@ master_dist_placement_cache_invalidate(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 						errmsg("must be called as trigger")));
 	}
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	newTuple = triggerData->tg_newtuple;
 	oldTuple = triggerData->tg_trigtuple;
 
@@ -1848,6 +1938,8 @@ master_dist_node_cache_invalidate(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 						errmsg("must be called as trigger")));
 	}
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	CitusInvalidateRelcacheByRelid(DistNodeRelationId());
 
 	PG_RETURN_DATUM(PointerGetDatum(NULL));
@@ -1871,6 +1963,8 @@ master_dist_local_group_cache_invalidate(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 						errmsg("must be called as trigger")));
 	}
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	CitusInvalidateRelcacheByRelid(DistLocalGroupIdRelationId());
 
 	PG_RETURN_DATUM(PointerGetDatum(NULL));
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/utils/node_metadata.c b/src/backend/distributed/utils/node_metadata.c
index fd4d8970b..ecac82267 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/utils/node_metadata.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/utils/node_metadata.c
@@ -95,9 +95,12 @@ master_add_node(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	bool hasMetadata = false;
 	bool isActive = false;
 	bool nodeAlreadyExists = false;
+	Datum nodeRecord;
 
-	Datum nodeRecord = AddNodeMetadata(nodeNameString, nodePort, groupId, nodeRack,
-									   hasMetadata, isActive, &nodeAlreadyExists);
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
+	nodeRecord = AddNodeMetadata(nodeNameString, nodePort, groupId, nodeRack,
+								 hasMetadata, isActive, &nodeAlreadyExists);
 
 	/*
 	 * After adding new node, if the node did not already exist, we will activate
@@ -129,9 +132,12 @@ master_add_inactive_node(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	bool hasMetadata = false;
 	bool isActive = false;
 	bool nodeAlreadyExists = false;
+	Datum nodeRecord;
 
-	Datum nodeRecord = AddNodeMetadata(nodeNameString, nodePort, groupId, nodeRack,
-									   hasMetadata, isActive, &nodeAlreadyExists);
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
+	nodeRecord = AddNodeMetadata(nodeNameString, nodePort, groupId, nodeRack,
+								 hasMetadata, isActive, &nodeAlreadyExists);
 
 	PG_RETURN_CSTRING(nodeRecord);
 }
@@ -153,6 +159,8 @@ master_remove_node(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	int32 nodePort = PG_GETARG_INT32(1);
 	char *nodeNameString = text_to_cstring(nodeName);
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	RemoveNodeFromCluster(nodeNameString, nodePort);
 
 	PG_RETURN_VOID();
@@ -179,6 +187,8 @@ master_disable_node(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	bool hasShardPlacements = false;
 	bool isActive = false;
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	DeleteAllReferenceTablePlacementsFromNode(nodeName, nodePort);
 
 	hasShardPlacements = NodeHasActiveShardPlacements(nodeName, nodePort);
@@ -210,6 +220,8 @@ master_activate_node(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	char *nodeNameString = text_to_cstring(nodeName);
 	Datum nodeRecord = 0;
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	nodeRecord = ActivateNode(nodeNameString, nodePort);
 
 	PG_RETURN_CSTRING(nodeRecord);
@@ -263,9 +275,12 @@ Datum
 master_initialize_node_metadata(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 {
 	ListCell *workerNodeCell = NULL;
-	List *workerNodes = ParseWorkerNodeFileAndRename();
+	List *workerNodes = NULL;
 	bool nodeAlreadyExists = false;
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
+	workerNodes = ParseWorkerNodeFileAndRename();
 	foreach(workerNodeCell, workerNodes)
 	{
 		WorkerNode *workerNode = (WorkerNode *) lfirst(workerNodeCell);
@@ -273,8 +288,6 @@ master_initialize_node_metadata(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 		AddNodeMetadata(workerNode->workerName, workerNode->workerPort, 0,
 						workerNode->workerRack, false, workerNode->isActive,
 						&nodeAlreadyExists);
-
-		ActivateNode(workerNode->workerName, workerNode->workerPort);
 	}
 
 	PG_RETURN_BOOL(true);
@@ -293,6 +306,8 @@ get_shard_id_for_distribution_column(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	char distributionMethod = 0;
 	Oid relationId = InvalidOid;
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	/*
 	 * To have optional parameter as NULL, we defined this UDF as not strict, therefore
 	 * we need to check all parameters for NULL values.
@@ -1045,7 +1060,7 @@ ParseWorkerNodeFileAndRename()
 		strlcpy(workerNode->workerRack, nodeRack, WORKER_LENGTH);
 		workerNode->workerPort = nodePort;
 		workerNode->hasMetadata = false;
-		workerNode->isActive = false;
+		workerNode->isActive = true;
 
 		workerNodeList = lappend(workerNodeList, workerNode);
 	}
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/utils/reference_table_utils.c b/src/backend/distributed/utils/reference_table_utils.c
index 2b09f7878..ecda24eb1 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/utils/reference_table_utils.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/utils/reference_table_utils.c
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ upgrade_to_reference_table(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	DistTableCacheEntry *tableEntry = NULL;
 
 	EnsureCoordinator();
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
 
 	if (!IsDistributedTable(relationId))
 	{
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/utils/resource_lock.c b/src/backend/distributed/utils/resource_lock.c
index 766bc166a..15daf3d53 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/utils/resource_lock.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/utils/resource_lock.c
@@ -54,6 +54,8 @@ lock_shard_metadata(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	int shardIdCount = 0;
 	int shardIdIndex = 0;
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	if (ARR_NDIM(shardIdArrayObject) == 0)
 	{
 		ereport(ERROR, (errmsg("no locks specified")));
@@ -92,6 +94,8 @@ lock_shard_resources(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	int shardIdCount = 0;
 	int shardIdIndex = 0;
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	if (ARR_NDIM(shardIdArrayObject) == 0)
 	{
 		ereport(ERROR, (errmsg("no locks specified")));
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/worker/task_tracker_protocol.c b/src/backend/distributed/worker/task_tracker_protocol.c
index aea2cdbd5..25634f953 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/worker/task_tracker_protocol.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/worker/task_tracker_protocol.c
@@ -67,8 +67,12 @@ task_tracker_assign_task(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	char *taskCallString = text_to_cstring(taskCallStringText);
 	uint32 taskCallStringLength = strlen(taskCallString);
 
+	bool taskTrackerRunning = false;
+
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	/* check that we have a running task tracker on this host */
-	bool taskTrackerRunning = TaskTrackerRunning();
+	taskTrackerRunning = TaskTrackerRunning();
 	if (!taskTrackerRunning)
 	{
 		ereport(ERROR, (errcode(ERRCODE_CANNOT_CONNECT_NOW),
@@ -129,7 +133,12 @@ task_tracker_task_status(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	WorkerTask *workerTask = NULL;
 	uint32 taskStatus = 0;
 
-	bool taskTrackerRunning = TaskTrackerRunning();
+	bool taskTrackerRunning = false;
+
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
+	taskTrackerRunning = TaskTrackerRunning();
+
 	if (taskTrackerRunning)
 	{
 		LWLockAcquire(&WorkerTasksSharedState->taskHashLock, LW_SHARED);
@@ -170,6 +179,8 @@ task_tracker_cleanup_job(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	StringInfo jobDirectoryName = NULL;
 	StringInfo jobSchemaName = NULL;
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	/*
 	 * We first clean up any open connections, and remove tasks belonging to
 	 * this job from the shared hash.
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_data_fetch_protocol.c b/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_data_fetch_protocol.c
index 3fe98fdf4..4e1045f57 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_data_fetch_protocol.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_data_fetch_protocol.c
@@ -114,6 +114,9 @@ worker_fetch_partition_file(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	 * task directory does not exist. We then lock and create the directory.
 	 */
 	bool taskDirectoryExists = DirectoryExists(taskDirectoryName);
+
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	if (!taskDirectoryExists)
 	{
 		InitTaskDirectory(jobId, upstreamTaskId);
@@ -155,6 +158,9 @@ worker_fetch_query_results_file(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	 * task directory does not exist. We then lock and create the directory.
 	 */
 	bool taskDirectoryExists = DirectoryExists(taskDirectoryName);
+
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	if (!taskDirectoryExists)
 	{
 		InitTaskDirectory(jobId, upstreamTaskId);
@@ -415,6 +421,8 @@ worker_apply_shard_ddl_command(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	const char *ddlCommand = text_to_cstring(ddlCommandText);
 	Node *ddlCommandNode = ParseTreeNode(ddlCommand);
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	/* extend names in ddl command and apply extended command */
 	RelayEventExtendNames(ddlCommandNode, schemaName, shardId);
 	ProcessUtility(ddlCommandNode, ddlCommand, PROCESS_UTILITY_TOPLEVEL,
@@ -443,6 +451,8 @@ worker_apply_inter_shard_ddl_command(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	const char *ddlCommand = text_to_cstring(ddlCommandText);
 	Node *ddlCommandNode = ParseTreeNode(ddlCommand);
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	/* extend names in ddl command and apply extended command */
 	RelayEventExtendNamesForInterShardCommands(ddlCommandNode, leftShardId,
 											   leftShardSchemaName, rightShardId,
@@ -472,6 +482,9 @@ worker_apply_sequence_command(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	Oid sequenceRelationId = InvalidOid;
 
 	NodeTag nodeType = nodeTag(commandNode);
+
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	if (nodeType != T_CreateSeqStmt)
 	{
 		ereport(ERROR,
@@ -513,6 +526,8 @@ worker_fetch_regular_table(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	ArrayType *nodeNameObject = PG_GETARG_ARRAYTYPE_P(2);
 	ArrayType *nodePortObject = PG_GETARG_ARRAYTYPE_P(3);
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	/*
 	 * Run common logic to fetch the remote table, and use the provided function
 	 * pointer to perform the actual table fetching.
@@ -537,6 +552,8 @@ worker_fetch_foreign_file(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	ArrayType *nodeNameObject = PG_GETARG_ARRAYTYPE_P(2);
 	ArrayType *nodePortObject = PG_GETARG_ARRAYTYPE_P(3);
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	/*
 	 * Run common logic to fetch the remote table, and use the provided function
 	 * pointer to perform the actual table fetching.
@@ -1211,6 +1228,8 @@ worker_append_table_to_shard(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	bool received = false;
 	StringInfo queryString = NULL;
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	/* We extract schema names and table names from qualified names */
 	DeconstructQualifiedName(shardQualifiedNameList, &shardSchemaName, &shardTableName);
 
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_drop_protocol.c b/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_drop_protocol.c
index d802f643f..e55da62de 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_drop_protocol.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_drop_protocol.c
@@ -50,12 +50,15 @@ worker_drop_distributed_table(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 
 	ObjectAddress distributedTableObject = { InvalidOid, InvalidOid, 0 };
 	Relation distributedRelation = NULL;
-	List *shardList = LoadShardList(relationId);
+	List *shardList = NULL;
 	ListCell *shardCell = NULL;
 	char relationKind = '\0';
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
 	EnsureSuperUser();
 
+	shardList = LoadShardList(relationId);
+
 	/* first check the relation type */
 	distributedRelation = relation_open(relationId, AccessShareLock);
 	relationKind = distributedRelation->rd_rel->relkind;
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_file_access_protocol.c b/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_file_access_protocol.c
index 546eaddea..9ec8882b2 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_file_access_protocol.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_file_access_protocol.c
@@ -40,6 +40,9 @@ worker_foreign_file_path(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	ForeignTable *foreignTable = GetForeignTable(relationId);
 
 	ListCell *optionCell = NULL;
+
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	foreach(optionCell, foreignTable->options)
 	{
 		DefElem *option = (DefElem *) lfirst(optionCell);
@@ -80,6 +83,8 @@ worker_find_block_local_path(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	(void) blockId;
 	(void) dataDirectoryObject;
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	ereport(ERROR, (errcode(ERRCODE_FEATURE_NOT_SUPPORTED),
 					errmsg("called function is currently unsupported")));
 
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_merge_protocol.c b/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_merge_protocol.c
index 6754f4acd..f1714e709 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_merge_protocol.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_merge_protocol.c
@@ -81,6 +81,9 @@ worker_merge_files_into_table(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	/* we should have the same number of column names and types */
 	int32 columnNameCount = ArrayObjectCount(columnNameObject);
 	int32 columnTypeCount = ArrayObjectCount(columnTypeObject);
+
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	if (columnNameCount != columnTypeCount)
 	{
 		ereport(ERROR, (errmsg("column name array size: %d and type array size: %d"
@@ -152,6 +155,8 @@ worker_merge_files_and_run_query(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	int createIntermediateTableResult = 0;
 	int finished = 0;
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	/*
 	 * If the schema for the job isn't already created by the task tracker
 	 * protocol, we fall to using the default 'public' schema.
@@ -226,6 +231,8 @@ worker_cleanup_job_schema_cache(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	int scanKeyCount = 0;
 	HeapTuple heapTuple = NULL;
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	pgNamespace = heap_open(NamespaceRelationId, AccessExclusiveLock);
 	scanDescriptor = heap_beginscan_catalog(pgNamespace, scanKeyCount, scanKey);
 
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_partition_protocol.c b/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_partition_protocol.c
index d7731f426..b15915f78 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_partition_protocol.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_partition_protocol.c
@@ -112,6 +112,9 @@ worker_range_partition_table(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 
 	/* first check that array element's and partition column's types match */
 	Oid splitPointType = ARR_ELEMTYPE(splitPointObject);
+
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	if (splitPointType != partitionColumnType)
 	{
 		ereport(ERROR, (errmsg("partition column type %u and split point type %u "
@@ -184,6 +187,8 @@ worker_hash_partition_table(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	FileOutputStream *partitionFileArray = NULL;
 	uint32 fileCount = partitionCount;
 
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
+
 	/* use column's type information to get the hashing function */
 	hashFunction = GetFunctionInfo(partitionColumnType, HASH_AM_OID, HASHPROC);
 
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_truncate_trigger_protocol.c b/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_truncate_trigger_protocol.c
index 237768e70..099c38fb8 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_truncate_trigger_protocol.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_truncate_trigger_protocol.c
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ worker_create_truncate_trigger(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	Oid relationId = PG_GETARG_OID(0);
 
 	EnsureSuperUser();
+	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
 
 	/* Create the truncate trigger */
 	CreateTruncateTrigger(relationId);
diff --git a/src/include/distributed/metadata_cache.h b/src/include/distributed/metadata_cache.h
index ae83940d4..14b0e86c6 100644
--- a/src/include/distributed/metadata_cache.h
+++ b/src/include/distributed/metadata_cache.h
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
 #include "utils/hsearch.h"
 
 extern bool EnableVersionChecks;
-extern char *availableExtensionVersion;
+extern bool citusVersionKnownCompatible;
 
 /*
  * Representation of a table's metadata that is frequently used for
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ extern void CitusInvalidateRelcacheByRelid(Oid relationId);
 extern void CitusInvalidateRelcacheByShardId(int64 shardId);
 
 extern bool CitusHasBeenLoaded(void);
-void ErrorIfAvailableVersionMismatch(void);
+extern bool CheckCitusVersion(int elevel);
 bool MajorVersionsCompatible(char *leftVersion, char *rightVersion);
 
 /* access WorkerNodeHash */
diff --git a/src/test/regress/expected/multi_extension.out b/src/test/regress/expected/multi_extension.out
index 4236ed162..9715eb3b5 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/expected/multi_extension.out
+++ b/src/test/regress/expected/multi_extension.out
@@ -109,6 +109,67 @@ CREATE EXTENSION citus VERSION '5.0';
 ERROR:  specified version incompatible with loaded Citus library
 DETAIL:  Loaded library requires 7.0, but 5.0 was specified.
 HINT:  If a newer library is present, restart the database and try the command again.
+-- Test non-distributed queries work even in version mismatch
+SET citus.enable_version_checks TO 'false';
+CREATE EXTENSION citus VERSION '6.2-1';
+SET citus.enable_version_checks TO 'true';
+-- Test CREATE TABLE
+CREATE TABLE version_mismatch_table(column1 int);
+-- Test COPY
+\copy version_mismatch_table FROM STDIN;
+-- Test INSERT
+INSERT INTO version_mismatch_table(column1) VALUES(5);
+ 
+-- Test SELECT
+SELECT * FROM version_mismatch_table ORDER BY column1;
+ column1 
+---------
+       0
+       1
+       2
+       3
+       4
+       5
+(6 rows)
+
+-- Test SELECT from pg_catalog
+SELECT d.datname as "Name",
+       pg_catalog.pg_get_userbyid(d.datdba) as "Owner",
+       pg_catalog.array_to_string(d.datacl, E'\n') AS "Access privileges"
+FROM pg_catalog.pg_database d
+ORDER BY 1;
+    Name    |  Owner   |   Access privileges   
+------------+----------+-----------------------
+ postgres   | postgres | 
+ regression | postgres | 
+ template0  | postgres | =c/postgres          +
+            |          | postgres=CTc/postgres
+ template1  | postgres | =c/postgres          +
+            |          | postgres=CTc/postgres
+(4 rows)
+
+-- We should not distribute table in version mistmatch
+SELECT create_distributed_table('version_mismatch_table', 'column1');
+ERROR:  loaded Citus library version differs from installed extension version
+DETAIL:  Loaded library requires 7.0, but the installed extension version is 6.2-1.
+HINT:  Run ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE and try again.
+-- This function will cause fail in next ALTER EXTENSION
+CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION pg_catalog.citus_table_size(table_name regclass)
+RETURNS bigint LANGUAGE plpgsql
+AS $function$
+BEGIN
+END;
+$function$;
+SET citus.enable_version_checks TO 'false';
+-- This will fail because of previous function declaration
+ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.2-2';
+ERROR:  function "citus_table_size" already exists with same argument types
+-- We can DROP problematic function and continue ALTER EXTENSION even when version checks are on
+SET citus.enable_version_checks TO 'true';
+DROP FUNCTION citus_table_size(regclass);
+SET citus.enable_version_checks TO 'false';
+ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.2-2';
 -- re-create in newest version
+DROP EXTENSION citus;
 \c
 CREATE EXTENSION citus;
diff --git a/src/test/regress/sql/multi_extension.sql b/src/test/regress/sql/multi_extension.sql
index db625ecd6..327644f9c 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/sql/multi_extension.sql
+++ b/src/test/regress/sql/multi_extension.sql
@@ -101,6 +101,59 @@ RESET citus.enable_version_checks;
 DROP EXTENSION citus;
 CREATE EXTENSION citus VERSION '5.0';
 
+-- Test non-distributed queries work even in version mismatch
+SET citus.enable_version_checks TO 'false';
+CREATE EXTENSION citus VERSION '6.2-1';
+SET citus.enable_version_checks TO 'true';
+
+-- Test CREATE TABLE
+CREATE TABLE version_mismatch_table(column1 int);
+
+-- Test COPY
+\copy version_mismatch_table FROM STDIN;
+0
+1
+2
+3
+4
+\.
+
+-- Test INSERT
+INSERT INTO version_mismatch_table(column1) VALUES(5);
+ 
+-- Test SELECT
+SELECT * FROM version_mismatch_table ORDER BY column1;
+
+-- Test SELECT from pg_catalog
+SELECT d.datname as "Name",
+       pg_catalog.pg_get_userbyid(d.datdba) as "Owner",
+       pg_catalog.array_to_string(d.datacl, E'\n') AS "Access privileges"
+FROM pg_catalog.pg_database d
+ORDER BY 1;
+
+-- We should not distribute table in version mistmatch
+SELECT create_distributed_table('version_mismatch_table', 'column1');
+
+-- This function will cause fail in next ALTER EXTENSION
+CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION pg_catalog.citus_table_size(table_name regclass)
+RETURNS bigint LANGUAGE plpgsql
+AS $function$
+BEGIN
+END;
+$function$;
+
+SET citus.enable_version_checks TO 'false';
+-- This will fail because of previous function declaration
+ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.2-2';
+
+-- We can DROP problematic function and continue ALTER EXTENSION even when version checks are on
+SET citus.enable_version_checks TO 'true';
+DROP FUNCTION citus_table_size(regclass);
+
+SET citus.enable_version_checks TO 'false';
+ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.2-2';
+
 -- re-create in newest version
+DROP EXTENSION citus;
 \c
 CREATE EXTENSION citus;