diff --git a/lib/neutron_plugins/ovn_agent b/lib/neutron_plugins/ovn_agent
index 999851e..56686f2 100644
--- a/lib/neutron_plugins/ovn_agent
+++ b/lib/neutron_plugins/ovn_agent
@@ -568,7 +568,11 @@
 
     _disable_libvirt_apparmor
 
-    sudo mkdir -p $OVN_DATADIR
+    if [[ "$OVN_BUILD_FROM_SOURCE" == "True" ]]; then
+        mkdir -p $OVN_DATADIR
+    else
+        sudo mkdir -p $OVN_DATADIR
+    fi
     mkdir -p $OVS_DATADIR
 
     rm -f $OVS_DATADIR/*.db