diff --git a/aries_cloudagent/askar/store.py b/aries_cloudagent/askar/store.py
index f96112e4a2..6c81d6696d 100644
--- a/aries_cloudagent/askar/store.py
+++ b/aries_cloudagent/askar/store.py
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ async def open_store(self, provision: bool = False) -> "AskarOpenStore":
         """
 
         try:
-            if provision:
+            if provision or self.in_memory:
                 store = await Store.provision(
                     self.get_uri(create=True),
                     self.key_derivation_method,