@@ -15,6 +15,9 @@ import (
 	"github.com/evstack/ev-node/types"
 )
 
+// isNotFound is a convenience alias for store.IsNotFound.
+var isNotFound = store.IsNotFound
+
 const (
 	// HeaderDAIncludedPrefix is the store key prefix for header DA inclusion tracking.
 	HeaderDAIncludedPrefix = "cache/header-da-included/"
@@ -388,28 +391,44 @@ func (m *implementation) ClearFromStore() error {
 }
 
 // getMetadataUint64 reads an 8-byte little-endian uint64 from store metadata.
-// Returns 0, false if the key is absent, errors, or the value is not 8 bytes.
-func getMetadataUint64(ctx context.Context, st store.Store, key string) (uint64, bool) {
+// Returns (0, false, nil) when the key is absent and a non-nil error for
+// genuine backend failures or malformed values.
+func getMetadataUint64(ctx context.Context, st store.Store, key string) (uint64, bool, error) {
 	b, err := st.GetMetadata(ctx, key)
-	if err != nil || len(b) != 8 {
-		return 0, false
+	if err != nil {
+		// Key absent — not an error, just missing.
+		if isNotFound(err) {
+			return 0, false, nil
+		}
+		return 0, false, fmt.Errorf("read metadata %q: %w", key, err)
+	}
+	if len(b) != 8 {
+		return 0, false, fmt.Errorf("invalid metadata length for %q: %d", key, len(b))
 	}
-	return binary.LittleEndian.Uint64(b), true
+	return binary.LittleEndian.Uint64(b), true, nil
 }
 
 // initDAHeightFromStore seeds maxDAHeight from the HeightToDAHeight metadata
 // written by the submitter for the last finalized block. This ensures
 // DaHeight() is non-zero on restart even when the in-flight snapshot is empty.
 func (m *implementation) initDAHeightFromStore(ctx context.Context) {
-	daIncludedHeight, ok := getMetadataUint64(ctx, m.store, store.DAIncludedHeightKey)
+	daIncludedHeight, ok, err := getMetadataUint64(ctx, m.store, store.DAIncludedHeightKey)
+	if err != nil {
+		m.logger.Error().Err(err).Msg("failed to read DA included height from store")
+		return
+	}
 	if !ok || daIncludedHeight == 0 {
 		return
 	}
 
-	if h, ok := getMetadataUint64(ctx, m.store, store.GetHeightToDAHeightHeaderKey(daIncludedHeight)); ok {
+	if h, ok, err := getMetadataUint64(ctx, m.store, store.GetHeightToDAHeightHeaderKey(daIncludedHeight)); err != nil {
+		m.logger.Error().Err(err).Msg("failed to read header DA height from store")
+	} else if ok {
 		m.headerCache.setMaxDAHeight(h)
 	}
-	if h, ok := getMetadataUint64(ctx, m.store, store.GetHeightToDAHeightDataKey(daIncludedHeight)); ok {
+	if h, ok, err := getMetadataUint64(ctx, m.store, store.GetHeightToDAHeightDataKey(daIncludedHeight)); err != nil {
+		m.logger.Error().Err(err).Msg("failed to read data DA height from store")
+	} else if ok {
 		m.dataCache.setMaxDAHeight(h)
 	}
 }
@@ -349,15 +349,16 @@ func (s *Submitter) processDAInclusionLoop() {
 					return
 				}
 
-				// Update DA included height
-				s.SetDAIncludedHeight(nextHeight)
-				currentDAIncluded = nextHeight
-
-				// Persist DA included height
+				// Persist DA included height before advancing in-memory state
 				if err := putUint64Metadata(s.ctx, s.store, store.DAIncludedHeightKey, nextHeight); err != nil {
 					s.logger.Error().Err(err).Uint64("height", nextHeight).Msg("failed to persist DA included height")
+					break
 				}
 
+				// Update DA included height
+				s.SetDAIncludedHeight(nextHeight)
+				currentDAIncluded = nextHeight
+
 				// Delete height cache for that height
 				// This can only be performed after the height has been persisted to store
 				s.cache.DeleteHeight(nextHeight)
 
@@ -2,12 +2,19 @@ package store
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"errors"
 
 	ds "github.com/ipfs/go-datastore"
 
 	"github.com/evstack/ev-node/types"
 )
 
+// ErrNotFound is returned when a key is not present in the store.
+var ErrNotFound = ds.ErrNotFound
+
+// IsNotFound reports whether err (or any error in its chain) is a not-found error.
+func IsNotFound(err error) bool { return errors.Is(err, ds.ErrNotFound) }
+
 // Batch provides atomic operations for the store
 type Batch interface {
 	// SaveBlockData atomically saves the block header, data, and signature