diff --git a/lib/authorization/storage.js b/lib/authorization/storage.js
index 054f9a07b0d..614f8c78051 100644
--- a/lib/authorization/storage.js
+++ b/lib/authorization/storage.js
@@ -122,6 +122,11 @@ function init (env, ctx) {
     , { name: 'activity', permissions: [ 'api:activity:create' ] }
   ];
 
+  storage.ensureIndexes = function ensureIndexes() {
+    ctx.store.ensureIndexes(rolesCollection, ['name']);
+    ctx.store.ensureIndexes(subjectsCollection, ['name']);
+  }
+
   storage.getSHA1 = function getSHA1 (message) {
     var shasum = crypto.createHash('sha1');
     shasum.update(message);
diff --git a/lib/server/bootevent.js b/lib/server/bootevent.js
index edcd35c11cd..60b02b541c8 100644
--- a/lib/server/bootevent.js
+++ b/lib/server/bootevent.js
@@ -185,6 +185,7 @@ function boot (env, language) {
     }
 
     ctx.authorization = require('../authorization')(env, ctx);
+    ctx.authorization.storage.ensureIndexes();
     ctx.authorization.storage.reload(function loaded (err) {
       if (err) {
         ctx.bootErrors = ctx.bootErrors || [ ];