diff --git a/reference/store.go b/reference/store.go
index 25405253fa010..f8efaab06de9c 100644
--- a/reference/store.go
+++ b/reference/store.go
@@ -128,6 +128,11 @@ func (store *store) addReference(ref Named, id digest.Digest, force bool) error
 	oldID, exists := repository[refStr]
 
 	if exists {
+		if oldID == id {
+			// Nothing to do. The caller may have checked for this using store.Get in advance, but store.mu was unlocked in the meantime, so this can legitimately happen nevertheless.
+			return nil
+		}
+
 		// force only works for tags
 		if digested, isDigest := ref.(Canonical); isDigest {
 			return fmt.Errorf("Cannot overwrite digest %s", digested.Digest().String())
diff --git a/reference/store_test.go b/reference/store_test.go
index dd1d253d8ea13..38f2d1f4a65d4 100644
--- a/reference/store_test.go
+++ b/reference/store_test.go
@@ -160,6 +160,10 @@ func TestAddDeleteGet(t *testing.T) {
 	if err = store.AddTag(ref4, testImageID2, false); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("error adding to store: %v", err)
 	}
+	// Write the same values again; should silently succeed
+	if err = store.AddTag(ref4, testImageID2, false); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("error redundantly adding to store: %v", err)
+	}
 
 	ref5, err := ParseNamed("username/repo3@sha256:58153dfb11794fad694460162bf0cb0a4fa710cfa3f60979c177d920813e267c")
 	if err != nil {
@@ -168,6 +172,10 @@ func TestAddDeleteGet(t *testing.T) {
 	if err = store.AddDigest(ref5.(Canonical), testImageID2, false); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("error adding to store: %v", err)
 	}
+	// Write the same values again; should silently succeed
+	if err = store.AddDigest(ref5.(Canonical), testImageID2, false); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("error redundantly adding to store: %v", err)
+	}
 
 	// Attempt to overwrite with force == false
 	if err = store.AddTag(ref4, testImageID3, false); err == nil || !strings.HasPrefix(err.Error(), "Conflict:") {