diff --git a/g10/tofu.c b/g10/tofu.c
index 3f2cd2512..4ad44eb81 100644
--- a/g10/tofu.c
+++ b/g10/tofu.c
@@ -487,6 +487,10 @@ opendb (char *filename, enum db_type type)
       db = NULL;
     }
 
+  /* If a DB is locked wait up to 5 seconds for the lock to be cleared
+     before failing.  */
+  sqlite3_busy_timeout (db, 5 * 1000);
+
   if (filename_free)
     xfree (filename);