diff --git a/util/migrate/allocator.py b/util/migrate/allocator.py
index 6e531d251..e154c9e23 100644
--- a/util/migrate/allocator.py
+++ b/util/migrate/allocator.py
@@ -126,6 +126,7 @@ def yield_random_entries(batch_query, primary_key_field, batch_size, max_id):
       an "id" field which can be inspected.
   """
 
+  max_id = max(max_id, 1)
   allocator = CompletedKeys(max_id + 1)
 
   try: