diff --git a/cmd/topo/health.go b/cmd/topo/health.go
index 5fbc20d0..bd8136a3 100644
--- a/cmd/topo/health.go
+++ b/cmd/topo/health.go
@@ -76,6 +76,10 @@ func init() {
 }
 
 func resolveSkipVersionChecks(cmd *cobra.Command) bool {
+	if env.IsVarTruthy(disableSelfUpgradeEnvVar) {
+		return true
+	}
+
 	if !cmd.Flags().Changed(skipVersionChecksFlag) {
 		return env.IsVarTruthy(skipVersionChecksEnvVar)
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/topo/upgrade.go b/cmd/topo/upgrade.go
index c234ac36..5d5cfe4e 100644
--- a/cmd/topo/upgrade.go
+++ b/cmd/topo/upgrade.go
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ import (
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
 
+const disableSelfUpgradeEnvVar = "TOPO_DISABLE_SELF_UPGRADE"
+
 var upgradeCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Use:   "upgrade",
 	Short: "Upgrade topo to the latest version",
@@ -55,7 +57,6 @@ func init() {
 }
 
 func isSelfUpgradeDisabled() bool {
-	const disableSelfUpgradeEnvVar = "TOPO_DISABLE_SELF_UPGRADE"
 	if env.IsVarTruthy(disableSelfUpgradeEnvVar) {
 		return true
 	}