diff --git a/ccserver/objectsdb.py b/ccserver/objectsdb.py
index 4d03306cb41f762c15f245fa486fa8be37fa6902..2c012973e55c1a1d38d499b60d7f900bc7fa7d73 100644
--- a/ccserver/objectsdb.py
+++ b/ccserver/objectsdb.py
@@ -235,8 +235,12 @@ class ObjectsDB(object):
         parent = obj.get('__parent')
 
         if parent is None:
-            user_tags = self._server.conf.show(obj['id'])['tags']
-            obj['__user_defined_tags'] = user_tags
+            if 'a' in obj:
+                user_tags = self._server.conf.show(obj['id'])['tags']
+                obj['__user_defined_tags'] = user_tags
+            else:
+                user_tags = {}
+                obj['__user_defined_tags'] = {}
             client_id = obj['id']
         else:
             user_tags = parent['__user_defined_tags']