diff --git a/bin/npm-cli.js b/bin/npm-cli.js
index a38009d276e3b..db39b6daf825a 100755
--- a/bin/npm-cli.js
+++ b/bin/npm-cli.js
@@ -75,6 +75,7 @@
   npm.load(conf, function (er) {
     if (er) return errorHandler(er)
     if (
+      !npm.argv.includes('npm') &&
       npm.config.get('update-notifier') &&
       !unsupported.checkVersion(process.version).unsupported
     ) {