diff --git a/tests/v2/test_jsonrpc_waku.nim b/tests/v2/test_jsonrpc_waku.nim
index b7f0e44c3..6fabcfd21 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_jsonrpc_waku.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_jsonrpc_waku.nim
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import
   libp2p/protocols/pubsub/rpc/message
 import
   ../../waku/v1/node/rpc/hexstrings,
+  ../../waku/v2/node/storage/message/message_store,
   ../../waku/v2/node/storage/message/waku_store_queue,
   ../../waku/v2/node/wakunode2,
   ../../waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/[store_api,
@@ -258,7 +259,7 @@ procSuite "Waku v2 JSON-RPC API":
         WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 9], contentTopic: ContentTopic("2"), timestamp: 9)]
 
     for wakuMsg in msgList:
-      node.wakuStore.handleMessage(defaultTopic, wakuMsg)
+      require node.wakuStore.store.put(defaultTopic, wakuMsg).isOk()
 
     let client = newRpcHttpClient()
     await client.connect("127.0.0.1", rpcPort, false)
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_message_store_queue.nim b/tests/v2/test_message_store_queue.nim
index dd2dbd75e..89832f4c0 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_message_store_queue.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_message_store_queue.nim
@@ -88,34 +88,6 @@ procSuite "Sorted store queue":
     check:
       store.len == capacity
 
-  test "Sender time can't be more than MaxTimeVariance in future":
-    ## Given
-    let capacity = 5
-    let store = StoreQueueRef.new(capacity)
-    let
-      receiverTime = getNanoSecondTime(10)
-      senderTimeOk = receiverTime + StoreMaxTimeVariance
-      senderTimeErr = senderTimeOk + 1
-    
-    let invalidMessage = IndexedWakuMessage(
-      msg: WakuMessage(
-        payload: @[byte 1], 
-        timestamp: senderTimeErr
-      ),
-      index: Index(
-        receiverTime: receiverTime, 
-        senderTime: senderTimeErr
-      )
-    )
-    
-    ## When
-    let addRes = store.add(invalidMessage)
-    
-    ## Then
-    check:
-      addRes.isErr()
-      addRes.error() == "future_sender_timestamp"
-    
   test "Store queue sort-on-insert works":    
     ## Given
     let
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_message_store_sqlite.nim b/tests/v2/test_message_store_sqlite.nim
index f3f3804ac..4fc5039c8 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_message_store_sqlite.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_message_store_sqlite.nim
@@ -25,13 +25,16 @@ const
 proc newTestDatabase(): SqliteDatabase =
   SqliteDatabase.init("", inMemory = true).tryGet()
 
+proc now(): Timestamp =
+  getNanosecondTime(getTime().toUnixFloat())
+
 proc getTestTimestamp(offset=0): Timestamp = 
-  Timestamp(getNanosecondTime(epochTime()))
+  Timestamp(getNanosecondTime(getTime().toUnixFloat() + offset.float))
 
 proc fakeWakuMessage(
   payload = "TEST-PAYLOAD",
   contentTopic = DefaultContentTopic, 
-  ts = getNanosecondTime(epochTime())
+  ts = now()
 ): WakuMessage = 
   WakuMessage(
     payload: toBytes(payload),
@@ -80,10 +83,9 @@ suite "SQLite message store - insert messages":
       store = SqliteStore.init(database).tryGet()
 
     let message = fakeWakuMessage(contentTopic=contentTopic)
-    let messageIndex = Index.compute(message, getNanosecondTime(epochTime()), DefaultPubsubTopic)
 
     ## When
-    let resPut = store.put(messageIndex, message, DefaultPubsubTopic)
+    let resPut = store.put(DefaultPubsubTopic, message)
 
     ## Then
     check:
@@ -123,8 +125,7 @@ suite "SQLite message store - insert messages":
 
     ## When
     for msg in messages:
-      let index = Index.compute(msg, msg.timestamp, DefaultPubsubTopic)
-      require store.put(index, msg, DefaultPubsubTopic).isOk()
+      require store.put(DefaultPubsubTopic, msg).isOk()
       require retentionPolicy.execute(store).isOk()
 
     ## Then
@@ -147,25 +148,24 @@ suite "Message Store":
     let 
       database = newTestDatabase()
       store = SqliteStore.init(database).get()
-      topic = DefaultContentTopic
-      pubsubTopic = DefaultPubsubTopic
 
+    let
       t1 = getTestTimestamp(0)
       t2 = getTestTimestamp(1)
       t3 = high(int64)
 
     var msgs = @[
-      WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 1, 2, 3], contentTopic: topic, version: uint32(0), timestamp: t1),
-      WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 1, 2, 3, 4], contentTopic: topic, version: uint32(1), timestamp: t2),
+      WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 1, 2, 3], contentTopic: DefaultContentTopic, version: uint32(0), timestamp: t1),
+      WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 1, 2, 3, 4], contentTopic: DefaultContentTopic, version: uint32(1), timestamp: t2),
       # high(uint32) is the largest value that fits in uint32, this is to make sure there is no overflow in the storage
-      WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 1, 2, 3, 4, 5], contentTopic: topic, version: high(uint32), timestamp: t3),
+      WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 1, 2, 3, 4, 5], contentTopic: DefaultContentTopic, version: high(uint32), timestamp: t3),
     ]
 
     var indexes: seq[Index] = @[]
     for msg in msgs:
-      var index = Index.compute(msg, msg.timestamp, DefaultPubsubTopic)
-      let resPut = store.put(index, msg, pubsubTopic)
-      require resPut.isOk
+      require store.put(DefaultPubsubTopic, msg, computeDigest(msg), msg.timestamp).isOk()
+
+      let index = Index.compute(msg, msg.timestamp, DefaultPubsubTopic)
       indexes.add(index)
 
     ## When
@@ -186,7 +186,10 @@ suite "Message Store":
     # flags for receiver timestamp
     var rt1Flag, rt2Flag, rt3Flag: bool = false
 
-    for (receiverTimestamp, msg, psTopic) in result:
+    for (receiverTimestamp, msg, pubsubTopic) in result:
+      check:
+        pubsubTopic == DefaultPubsubTopic
+
       # check correct retrieval of receiver timestamps
       if receiverTimestamp == indexes[0].receiverTime: rt1Flag = true
       if receiverTimestamp == indexes[1].receiverTime: rt2Flag = true
@@ -204,9 +207,6 @@ suite "Message Store":
       if msg.timestamp == t1: t1Flag = true
       if msg.timestamp == t2: t2Flag = true
       if msg.timestamp == t3: t3Flag = true
-
-      check:
-        psTopic == pubSubTopic
     
     check:
       # check version
@@ -278,10 +278,8 @@ suite "Message Store":
 
 
     for i in 1..capacity:
-      let
-        msg = WakuMessage(payload: @[byte i], contentTopic: contentTopic, version: uint32(0), timestamp: Timestamp(i))
-        index = Index.compute(msg, getTestTimestamp(), DefaultPubsubTopic)
-      require store.put(index, msg, pubsubTopic).isOk()
+      let msg = WakuMessage(payload: @[byte i], contentTopic: contentTopic, version: uint32(0), timestamp: Timestamp(i))
+      require store.put(pubsubTopic, msg).isOk()
       require retentionPolicy.execute(store).isOk()
       
     ## Then
@@ -312,19 +310,12 @@ suite "Message Store":
       retentionPolicy: MessageRetentionPolicy = CapacityRetentionPolicy.init(capacity=capacity)
 
     for i in 1..capacity+overload:
-      let
-        msg = WakuMessage(payload: ($i).toBytes(), contentTopic: contentTopic, version: uint32(0), timestamp: Timestamp(i))
-        index = Index.compute(msg, getTestTimestamp(), DefaultPubsubTopic)
-      require store.put(index, msg, pubsubTopic).isOk()
+      let msg = WakuMessage(payload: ($i).toBytes(), contentTopic: contentTopic, version: uint32(0), timestamp: Timestamp(i))
+      require store.put(pubsubTopic, msg).isOk()
       require retentionPolicy.execute(store).isOk()
 
     # count messages in DB
-    var numMessages: int64
-    proc handler(s: ptr sqlite3_stmt) =
-      numMessages = sqlite3_column_int64(s, 0)
-    let countQuery = "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM message" # the table name is set in a const in sqlite_store
-    discard database.query(countQuery, handler)
-
+    let numMessages = store.getMessagesCount().tryGet()
     check:
       # expected number of messages is 120 because
       # (capacity = 100) + (half of the overflow window = 15) + (5 messages added after after the last delete)
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_message_store_sqlite_query.nim b/tests/v2/test_message_store_sqlite_query.nim
index 40b2c8b17..80822cb77 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_message_store_sqlite_query.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_message_store_sqlite_query.nim
@@ -59,8 +59,7 @@ suite "message store - history query":
     ]
 
     for msg in messages:
-      let index = Index.compute(msg, msg.timestamp, DefaultPubsubTopic)
-      require store.put(index, msg, DefaultPubsubTopic).isOk()
+      require store.put(DefaultPubsubTopic, msg).isOk()
     
     ## When
     let res = store.getMessagesByHistoryQuery(
@@ -108,8 +107,7 @@ suite "message store - history query":
     ]
 
     for msg in messages:
-      let index = Index.compute(msg, msg.timestamp, DefaultPubsubTopic)
-      require store.put(index, msg, DefaultPubsubTopic).isOk()
+      require store.put(DefaultPubsubTopic, msg).isOk()
     
     ## When
     let res = store.getMessagesByHistoryQuery(
@@ -159,8 +157,7 @@ suite "message store - history query":
     ]
 
     for msg in messages:
-      let index = Index.compute(msg, msg.timestamp, DefaultPubsubTopic)
-      require store.put(index, msg, DefaultPubsubTopic).isOk()
+      require store.put(DefaultPubsubTopic, msg).isOk()
     
     ## When
     let res = store.getMessagesByHistoryQuery(
@@ -203,8 +200,7 @@ suite "message store - history query":
       fakeWakuMessage("MSG-02", contentTopic=contentTopic, ts=getNanosecondTime(epochTime()) + 3),
     ]
     for msg in messages1:
-      let index = Index.compute(msg, msg.timestamp, DefaultPubsubTopic)
-      require store.put(index, msg, DefaultPubsubTopic).isOk()
+      require store.put(DefaultPubsubTopic, msg).isOk()
       
 
     let messages2 = @[
@@ -214,8 +210,7 @@ suite "message store - history query":
       fakeWakuMessage("MSG-06", contentTopic=contentTopic, ts=getNanosecondTime(epochTime()) + 7),
     ]
     for msg in messages2:
-      let index = Index.compute(msg, msg.timestamp, pubsubTopic)
-      require store.put(index, msg, pubsubTopic).isOk()
+      require store.put(pubsubTopic, msg).isOk()
      
     ## When
     let res = store.getMessagesByHistoryQuery(
@@ -264,8 +259,7 @@ suite "message store - history query":
     ]
 
     for msg in messages:
-      let index = Index.compute(msg, msg.timestamp, DefaultPubsubTopic)
-      require store.put(index, msg, DefaultPubsubTopic).isOk()
+      require store.put(DefaultPubsubTopic, msg).isOk()
 
     let cursor = Index.compute(messages[4], messages[4].timestamp, DefaultPubsubTopic)
     
@@ -316,8 +310,7 @@ suite "message store - history query":
     ]
 
     for msg in messages:
-      let index = Index.compute(msg, msg.timestamp, DefaultPubsubTopic)
-      require store.put(index, msg, DefaultPubsubTopic).isOk()
+      require store.put(DefaultPubsubTopic, msg).isOk()
 
     let cursor = Index.compute(messages[6], messages[6].timestamp, DefaultPubsubTopic)
     
@@ -363,8 +356,7 @@ suite "message store - history query":
       fakeWakuMessage("MSG-03", contentTopic=contentTopic, ts=getNanosecondTime(epochTime()) + 4),
     ]
     for msg in messages1:
-      let index = Index.compute(msg, msg.timestamp, DefaultPubsubTopic)
-      require store.put(index, msg, DefaultPubsubTopic).isOk()
+      require store.put(DefaultPubsubTopic, msg).isOk()
 
     let messages2 = @[
       fakeWakuMessage("MSG-04", contentTopic=contentTopic, ts=getNanosecondTime(epochTime()) + 5),
@@ -372,8 +364,7 @@ suite "message store - history query":
       fakeWakuMessage("MSG-06", contentTopic=contentTopic, ts=getNanosecondTime(epochTime()) + 7),
     ]
     for msg in messages2:
-      let index = Index.compute(msg, msg.timestamp, pubsubTopic)
-      require store.put(index, msg, pubsubTopic).isOk()
+      require store.put(pubsubTopic, msg).isOk()
 
     let cursor = Index.compute(messages2[0], messages2[0].timestamp, DefaultPubsubTopic)
     
@@ -420,8 +411,7 @@ suite "message store - history query":
     ]
 
     for msg in messages:
-      let index = Index.compute(msg, msg.timestamp, DefaultPubsubTopic)
-      require store.put(index, msg, DefaultPubsubTopic).isOk()
+      require store.put(DefaultPubsubTopic, msg).isOk()
     
     ## When
     let res = store.getMessagesByHistoryQuery(
@@ -462,8 +452,8 @@ suite "message store - history query":
     ]
 
     for msg in messages:
-      let index = Index.compute(msg, msg.timestamp, DefaultPubsubTopic)
-      require store.put(index, msg, DefaultPubsubTopic).isOk()
+      let digest = computeDigest(msg)
+      require store.put(DefaultPubsubTopic, msg, digest, msg.timestamp).isOk()
     
     ## When
     let res = store.getMessagesByHistoryQuery(
@@ -474,6 +464,7 @@ suite "message store - history query":
       ascendingOrder=true
     )
 
+    ## Then
     check:
       res.isOk()
 
@@ -508,8 +499,8 @@ suite "message store - history query":
     ]
 
     for msg in messages:
-      let index = Index.compute(msg, msg.timestamp, DefaultPubsubTopic)
-      require store.put(index, msg, DefaultPubsubTopic).isOk()
+      let digest = computeDigest(msg)
+      require store.put(DefaultPubsubTopic, msg, digest, msg.timestamp).isOk()
     
     ## When
     let res = store.getMessagesByHistoryQuery(
@@ -550,8 +541,8 @@ suite "message store - history query":
     ]
 
     for msg in messages:
-      let index = Index.compute(msg, msg.timestamp, DefaultPubsubTopic)
-      require store.put(index, msg, DefaultPubsubTopic).isOk()
+      let digest = computeDigest(msg)
+      require store.put(DefaultPubsubTopic, msg, digest, msg.timestamp).isOk()
     
     ## When
     let res = store.getMessagesByHistoryQuery(
@@ -596,8 +587,8 @@ suite "message store - history query":
     ]
 
     for msg in messages:
-      let index = Index.compute(msg, msg.timestamp, DefaultPubsubTopic)
-      require store.put(index, msg, DefaultPubsubTopic).isOk()
+      let digest = computeDigest(msg)
+      require store.put(DefaultPubsubTopic, msg, digest, msg.timestamp).isOk()
 
     let cursor = Index.compute(messages[3], messages[3].timestamp, DefaultPubsubTopic)
 
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_waku_store.nim b/tests/v2/test_waku_store.nim
index 01d3494d5..d3813f6de 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_waku_store.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_waku_store.nim
@@ -26,6 +26,9 @@ const
   DefaultContentTopic = ContentTopic("/waku/2/default-content/proto")
 
 
+proc now(): Timestamp =
+  getNanosecondTime(getTime().toUnixFloat())
+
 proc newTestDatabase(): SqliteDatabase =
   SqliteDatabase.init("", inMemory = true).tryGet()
 
@@ -48,21 +51,11 @@ proc newTestSwitch(key=none(PrivateKey), address=none(MultiAddress)): Switch =
   let peerAddr = address.get(MultiAddress.init("/ip4/127.0.0.1/tcp/0").get()) 
   return newStandardSwitch(some(peerKey), addrs=peerAddr)
 
+proc newTestStore(): MessageStore =
+  let database = newTestDatabase()
+  SqliteStore.init(database).tryGet()
 
-proc newTestWakuStore(switch: Switch): WakuStore =
-  let
-    peerManager = PeerManager.new(switch)
-    rng = crypto.newRng()
-    database = newTestDatabase()
-    store = SqliteStore.init(database).tryGet()
-    proto = WakuStore.init(peerManager, rng, store)
-
-  waitFor proto.start()
-  switch.mount(proto)
-
-  return proto
-
-proc newTestWakuStore(switch: Switch, store: MessageStore): WakuStore =
+proc newTestWakuStore(switch: Switch, store=newTestStore()): WakuStore =
   let
     peerManager = PeerManager.new(switch)
     rng = crypto.newRng()
@@ -73,8 +66,7 @@ proc newTestWakuStore(switch: Switch, store: MessageStore): WakuStore =
 
   return proto
 
-
-suite "Waku Store":
+suite "Waku Store - history query":
   
   asyncTest "handle query":
     ## Setup
@@ -335,7 +327,7 @@ suite "Waku Store":
       ]
 
     for msg in msgList:
-      serverProto.handleMessage("foo", msg)
+      require serverProto.store.put(DefaultPubsubTopic, msg).isOk()
 
     ## When
     let rpc = HistoryQuery(
@@ -387,7 +379,7 @@ suite "Waku Store":
       ]
 
     for msg in msgList:
-      serverProto.handleMessage("foo", msg)
+      require serverProto.store.put(DefaultPubsubTopic, msg).isOk()
 
     ## When
     let rpc = HistoryQuery(
@@ -439,7 +431,7 @@ suite "Waku Store":
       ]
 
     for msg in msgList:
-      serverProto.handleMessage("foo", msg)
+      require serverProto.store.put(DefaultPubsubTopic, msg).isOk()
 
     ## When
     let rpc = HistoryQuery(contentFilters: @[HistoryContentFilter(contentTopic: DefaultContentTopic)])
@@ -461,11 +453,35 @@ suite "Waku Store":
     ## Cleanup
     await allFutures(clientSwitch.stop(), serverSwitch.stop())
 
-  asyncTest "handle ephemeral messages":
+suite "Waku Store - message handling":
+
+  asyncTest "it should store a valid and non-ephemeral message":
+    ## Setup
+    let store = StoreQueueRef.new(5)
+    let switch = newTestSwitch()
+    let proto = newTestWakuStore(switch, store)
+
+    ## Given
+    let validSenderTime = now()
+    let message = fakeWakuMessage(ephemeral=false, ts=validSenderTime)
+    
+    ## When
+    proto.handleMessage(DefaultPubSubTopic, message)
+    
+    ## Then
+    check:
+      store.getMessagesCount().tryGet() == 1
+
+    ## Cleanup
+    await switch.stop()
+
+  asyncTest "it should not store an ephemeral message":
     ## Setup
     let store = StoreQueueRef.new(10)
     let switch = newTestSwitch()
     let proto = newTestWakuStore(switch, store)
+    
+    ## Given
     let msgList = @[ 
       fakeWakuMessage(ephemeral = false, payload = "1"),
       fakeWakuMessage(ephemeral = true, payload = "2"),
@@ -474,15 +490,83 @@ suite "Waku Store":
       fakeWakuMessage(ephemeral = false, payload = "5"),
     ]
 
+    ## When
     for msg in msgList:
       proto.handleMessage(DefaultPubsubTopic, msg)
 
+    ## Then
     check: 
       store.len == 2
 
     ## Cleanup
     await switch.stop()
 
+  asyncTest "it should store a message with no sender timestamp":
+    ## Setup
+    let store = StoreQueueRef.new(5)
+    let switch = newTestSwitch()
+    let proto = newTestWakuStore(switch, store)
+
+    ## Given
+    let invalidSenderTime = 0
+    let message = fakeWakuMessage(ts=invalidSenderTime)
+    
+    ## When
+    proto.handleMessage(DefaultPubSubTopic, message)
+    
+    ## Then
+    check:
+      store.getMessagesCount().tryGet() == 1
+
+    ## Cleanup
+    await switch.stop()
+
+  asyncTest "it should not store a message with a sender time variance greater than max time variance (future)":
+    ## Setup
+    let store = StoreQueueRef.new(5)
+    let switch = newTestSwitch()
+    let proto = newTestWakuStore(switch, store)
+
+    ## Given
+    let
+      now = getNanoSecondTime(getTime().toUnixFloat())
+      invalidSenderTime = now + MaxMessageTimestampVariance + 1
+    
+    let message = fakeWakuMessage(ts=invalidSenderTime)
+    
+    ## When
+    proto.handleMessage(DefaultPubSubTopic, message)
+    
+    ## Then
+    check:
+      store.getMessagesCount().tryGet() == 0
+    
+    ## Cleanup
+    await switch.stop()
+  
+  asyncTest "it should not store a message with a sender time variance greater than max time variance (past)":
+    ## Setup
+    let store = StoreQueueRef.new(5)
+    let switch = newTestSwitch()
+    let proto = newTestWakuStore(switch, store)
+
+    ## Given
+    let
+      now = getNanoSecondTime(getTime().toUnixFloat())
+      invalidSenderTime = now - MaxMessageTimestampVariance - 1
+    
+    let message = fakeWakuMessage(ts=invalidSenderTime)
+    
+    ## When
+    proto.handleMessage(DefaultPubSubTopic, message)
+    
+    ## Then
+    check:
+      store.getMessagesCount().tryGet() == 0
+
+    ## Cleanup
+    await switch.stop()
+
 
 # TODO: Review this test suite test cases
 procSuite "Waku Store - fault tolerant store":
@@ -529,7 +613,7 @@ procSuite "Waku Store - fault tolerant store":
     ]
 
     for msg in msgList:
-      proto.handleMessage(DefaultPubsubTopic, msg)
+      require proto.store.put(DefaultPubsubTopic, msg, computeDigest(msg), msg.timestamp).isOk()
 
     let (listenSwitch2, dialSwitch2, proto2) = await newTestWakuStore()
     let msgList2 = @[
@@ -544,7 +628,7 @@ procSuite "Waku Store - fault tolerant store":
     ]
 
     for msg in msgList2:
-      proto2.handleMessage(DefaultPubsubTopic, msg)
+      require proto2.store.put(DefaultPubsubTopic, msg, computeDigest(msg), msg.timestamp).isOk()
 
     
     asyncTest "handle temporal history query with a valid time window":
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_wakunode_store.nim b/tests/v2/test_wakunode_store.nim
index fd529de5a..7c46de61e 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_wakunode_store.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_wakunode_store.nim
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ procSuite "WakuNode - Store":
 
     ## Given
     let message = fakeWakuMessage()
-    server.wakuStore.handleMessage(DefaultPubsubTopic, message)
+    require server.wakuStore.store.put(DefaultPubsubTopic, message).isOk()
 
     ## When
     let req = HistoryQuery(contentFilters: @[HistoryContentFilter(contentTopic: DefaultContentTopic)])
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ procSuite "WakuNode - Store":
 
     ## Given
     let message = fakeWakuMessage()
-    server.wakuStore.handleMessage(DefaultPubsubTopic, message)
+    require server.wakuStore.store.put(DefaultPubsubTopic, message).isOk()
 
     ## When
     await client.resume()
@@ -196,13 +196,15 @@ procSuite "WakuNode - Store":
       msg2 = fakeWakuMessage(payload="hello world2", ts=(timeOrigin + getNanoSecondTime(2)))
       msg3 = fakeWakuMessage(payload="hello world3", ts=(timeOrigin + getNanoSecondTime(3)))
 
-    server.wakuStore.handleMessage(DefaultTopic, msg1)
-    server.wakuStore.handleMessage(DefaultTopic, msg2)
+    require server.wakuStore.store.put(DefaultTopic, msg1).isOk()
+    require server.wakuStore.store.put(DefaultTopic, msg2).isOk()
 
     # Insert the same message in both node's store
-    let index3 = Index.compute(msg3, getNanosecondTime(getTime().toUnixFloat() + 10.float), DefaultTopic)
-    require server.wakuStore.store.put(index3, msg3, DefaultTopic).isOk()
-    require client.wakuStore.store.put(index3, msg3, DefaultTopic).isOk()
+    let 
+      receivedTime3 = getNanosecondTime(getTime().toUnixFloat() + 10.float)
+      digest3 = computeDigest(msg3)
+    require server.wakuStore.store.put(DefaultTopic, msg3, digest3, receivedTime3).isOk()
+    require client.wakuStore.store.put(DefaultTopic, msg3, digest3, receivedTime3).isOk()
 
     ## When
     await client.resume()
diff --git a/vendor/nim-libbacktrace/vendor/libbacktrace-upstream/libtool b/vendor/nim-libbacktrace/vendor/libbacktrace-upstream/libtool
index 2bbf3d43a..52ba5435f 100755
--- a/vendor/nim-libbacktrace/vendor/libbacktrace-upstream/libtool
+++ b/vendor/nim-libbacktrace/vendor/libbacktrace-upstream/libtool
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 # libtool - Provide generalized library-building support services.
 # Generated automatically by config.status (libbacktrace) version-unused
-# Libtool was configured on host fv-az241-291:
+# Libtool was configured on host fv-az421-295:
 # NOTE: Changes made to this file will be lost: look at ltmain.sh.
 #
 #   Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005,
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/dual_message_store.nim b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/dual_message_store.nim
index 204262807..34d1a2e10 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/dual_message_store.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/dual_message_store.nim
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {.push raises: [Defect].}
 
 import
-  std/options,
+  std/[options, times],
   stew/results,
   chronicles
 import
@@ -34,8 +34,8 @@ proc init*(T: type DualMessageStore, db: SqliteDatabase, capacity: int): Message
     warn "failed to load messages from the persistent store", err = res.error
   else: 
     for (receiverTime, msg, pubsubTopic) in res.value:
-      let index = Index.compute(msg, receiverTime, pubsubTopic)
-      discard inmemory.put(index, msg, pubsubTopic)
+      let digest = computeDigest(msg)
+      discard inmemory.put(pubsubTopic, msg, digest, receiverTime)
 
     info "successfully loaded messages from the persistent store"
 
@@ -43,11 +43,14 @@ proc init*(T: type DualMessageStore, db: SqliteDatabase, capacity: int): Message
   return ok(DualMessageStore(inmemory: inmemory, persistent: persistent))
 
 
-method put*(s: DualMessageStore, index: Index, message: WakuMessage, pubsubTopic: string): MessageStoreResult[void] =
-  ?s.inmemory.put(index, message, pubsubTopic)
-  ?s.persistent.put(index, message, pubsubTopic)
+method put*(s: DualMessageStore, pubsubTopic: string, message: WakuMessage, digest: MessageDigest, receivedTime: Timestamp): MessageStoreResult[void] =
+  ?s.inmemory.put(pubsubTopic, message, digest, receivedTime)
+  ?s.persistent.put(pubsubTopic, message, digest, receivedTime)
   ok()
 
+method put*(s: DualMessageStore, pubsubTopic: string, message: WakuMessage): MessageStoreResult[void] =
+  procCall MessageStore(s).put(pubsubTopic, message)
+
 
 method getAllMessages*(s: DualMessageStore): MessageStoreResult[seq[MessageStoreRow]] =
   s.inmemory.getAllMessages()
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/message_store.nim b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/message_store.nim
index ceb1290d3..afd5ba7b7 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/message_store.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/message_store.nim
@@ -4,19 +4,14 @@
 {.push raises: [Defect].}
 
 import
-  std/options,
-  stew/results,
-  chronos
+  std/[options, times],
+  stew/results
 import
   ../../../protocol/waku_message,
   ../../../utils/time,
   ../../../utils/pagination
 
 
-# TODO: Remove this constant after moving time variance checks to waku store protocol
-const StoreMaxTimeVariance* = getNanoSecondTime(20) # 20 seconds maximum allowable sender timestamp "drift" into the future
-
-
 type
   MessageStoreResult*[T] = Result[T, string]
   
@@ -28,7 +23,15 @@ type
 
 
 # MessageStore interface
-method put*(ms: MessageStore, cursor: Index, message: WakuMessage, pubsubTopic: string): MessageStoreResult[void] {.base.} = discard
+method put*(ms: MessageStore, pubsubTopic: string, message: WakuMessage, digest: MessageDigest, receivedTime: Timestamp): MessageStoreResult[void] {.base.} = discard
+
+method put*(ms: MessageStore, pubsubTopic: string, message: WakuMessage): MessageStoreResult[void] =
+  let
+    digest = computeDigest(message) 
+    receivedTime = getNanosecondTime(getTime().toUnixFloat()) 
+  
+  ms.put(pubsubTopic, message, digest, receivedTime)
+
 
 method getAllMessages*(ms: MessageStore): MessageStoreResult[seq[MessageStoreRow]] {.base.} = discard
 
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/sqlite_store/sqlite_store.nim b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/sqlite_store/sqlite_store.nim
index d2355c845..4376946e1 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/sqlite_store/sqlite_store.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/sqlite_store/sqlite_store.nim
@@ -3,10 +3,9 @@
 {.push raises: [Defect].}
 
 import 
-  std/[options, tables, sequtils, algorithm],
+  std/[options, tables, sequtils, algorithm, times],
   stew/[byteutils, results],
-  chronicles,
-  chronos
+  chronicles
 import
   ../../../../protocol/waku_message,
   ../../../../utils/pagination,
@@ -62,16 +61,12 @@ proc close*(s: SqliteStore) =
   s.db.close()
 
 
-method put*(s: SqliteStore, cursor: Index, message: WakuMessage, pubsubTopic: string): MessageStoreResult[void] =
+method put*(s: SqliteStore, pubsubTopic: string, message: WakuMessage, digest: MessageDigest, receivedTime: Timestamp): MessageStoreResult[void] =
   ## Inserts a message into the store
 
-  # Ensure that messages don't "jump" to the front with future timestamps
-  if cursor.senderTime - cursor.receiverTime > StoreMaxTimeVariance:
-    return err("future_sender_timestamp")
-
   let res = s.insertStmt.exec((
-    @(cursor.digest.data),         # id
-    cursor.receiverTime,           # receiverTimestamp
+    @(digest.data),                # id
+    receivedTime,                  # receiverTimestamp
     toBytes(message.contentTopic), # contentTopic 
     message.payload,               # payload
     toBytes(pubsubTopic),          # pubsubTopic 
@@ -83,6 +78,10 @@ method put*(s: SqliteStore, cursor: Index, message: WakuMessage, pubsubTopic: st
 
   ok()
 
+method put*(s: SqliteStore, pubsubTopic: string, message: WakuMessage): MessageStoreResult[void] =
+  ## Inserts a message into the store
+  procCall MessageStore(s).put(pubsubTopic, message)
+
 
 method getAllMessages*(s: SqliteStore):  MessageStoreResult[seq[MessageStoreRow]] =
   ## Retrieve all messages from the store.
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/waku_store_queue.nim b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/waku_store_queue.nim
index 7359df369..824379fa6 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/waku_store_queue.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/waku_store_queue.nim
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {.push raises: [Defect].}
 
 import
-  std/[options, algorithm],
+  std/[options, algorithm, times],
   stew/[results, sorted_set],
   chronicles
 import
@@ -313,17 +313,10 @@ proc add*(store: StoreQueueRef, msg: IndexedWakuMessage): MessageStoreResult[voi
   ## Add a message to the queue
   ## 
   ## If we're at capacity, we will be removing, the oldest (first) item
-  trace "adding item to store queue", msg=msg
-
-  # Ensure that messages don't "jump" to the front of the queue with future timestamps
-  if msg.index.senderTime - msg.index.receiverTime > StoreMaxTimeVariance:
-    return err("future_sender_timestamp")
-
   if store.contains(msg.index):
     trace "could not add item to store queue. Index already exists", index=msg.index
     return err("duplicate")
 
-
   # TODO: the below delete block can be removed if we convert to circular buffer
   if store.items.len >= store.capacity:
     var
@@ -342,10 +335,15 @@ proc add*(store: StoreQueueRef, msg: IndexedWakuMessage): MessageStoreResult[voi
 
   return ok()
 
-method put*(store: StoreQueueRef, cursor: Index, message: WakuMessage, pubsubTopic: string): MessageStoreResult[void] =
-  let message = IndexedWakuMessage(msg: message, index: cursor, pubsubTopic: pubsubTopic)
+
+method put*(store: StoreQueueRef, pubsubTopic: string, message: WakuMessage, digest: MessageDigest, receivedTime: Timestamp): MessageStoreResult[void] =
+  let index = Index(pubsubTopic: pubsubTopic, senderTime: message.timestamp, receiverTime: receivedTime, digest: digest)
+  let message = IndexedWakuMessage(msg: message, index: index, pubsubTopic: pubsubTopic)
   store.add(message)
 
+method put*(store: StoreQueueRef, pubsubTopic: string, message: WakuMessage): MessageStoreResult[void] =
+  procCall MessageStore(store).put(pubsubTopic, message)
+
 
 proc getPage*(storeQueue: StoreQueueRef,
               pred: QueryFilterMatcher,
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/protocol.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/protocol.nim
index 3e35952b5..1efb3ac0c 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/protocol.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/protocol.nim
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ const
 
 # Error types (metric label values)
 const
+  invalidMessage = "invalid_message"
   insertFailure = "insert_failure"
   retPolicyFailure = "retpolicy_failure"
   dialFailure = "dial_failure"
@@ -204,6 +205,17 @@ proc init*(T: type WakuStore,
   WakuStore.init(peerManager, rng, store, wakuSwap, retentionPolicy)
 
 
+proc isValidMessage(msg: WakuMessage): bool =
+  if msg.timestamp == 0:
+    return true
+
+  let 
+    now = getNanosecondTime(getTime().toUnixFloat())
+    lowerBound = now - MaxMessageTimestampVariance
+    upperBound = now + MaxMessageTimestampVariance
+
+  return lowerBound <= msg.timestamp and msg.timestamp <= upperBound
+
 proc handleMessage*(w: WakuStore, pubsubTopic: string, msg: WakuMessage) =
   if w.store.isNil():
     # Messages should not be stored
@@ -213,20 +225,27 @@ proc handleMessage*(w: WakuStore, pubsubTopic: string, msg: WakuMessage) =
     # The message is ephemeral, should not be stored
     return
   
-  let insertStartTime = getTime().toUnixFloat()
-    
-  let now = getNanosecondTime(getTime().toUnixFloat())
-  let index = Index.compute(msg, receivedTime=now, pubsubTopic=pubsubTopic)
-
-  trace "handling message", topic=pubsubTopic, index=index
-
-  # Add messages to persistent store, if present
-  let putStoreRes = w.store.put(index, msg, pubsubTopic)
-  if putStoreRes.isErr():
-    debug "failed to insert message to persistent store", index=index, err=putStoreRes.error
-    waku_store_errors.inc(labelValues = [insertFailure])
+  if not isValidMessage(msg):
+    waku_store_errors.inc(labelValues = [invalidMessage])
     return
 
+
+  let insertStartTime = getTime().toUnixFloat()
+  
+  block:
+    let
+      msgDigest = computeDigest(msg) 
+      msgReceivedTime = if msg.timestamp > 0: msg.timestamp
+                        else: getNanosecondTime(getTime().toUnixFloat()) 
+
+    trace "handling message", pubsubTopic=pubsubTopic, contentTopic=msg.contentTopic, timestamp=msg.timestamp, digest=msgDigest
+
+    let putStoreRes = w.store.put(pubsubTopic, msg, msgDigest, msgReceivedTime)
+    if putStoreRes.isErr():
+      debug "failed to insert message into the store", err=putStoreRes.error
+      waku_store_errors.inc(labelValues = [insertFailure])
+      return
+
   let insertDuration = getTime().toUnixFloat() - insertStartTime
   waku_store_insert_duration_seconds.observe(insertDuration)
 
@@ -402,10 +421,7 @@ proc resume*(w: WakuStore,
   # Save the retrieved messages in the store
   var added: uint = 0
   for msg in res.get():
-    let now = getNanosecondTime(getTime().toUnixFloat())
-    let index = Index.compute(msg, receivedTime=now, pubsubTopic=pubsubTopic)
-
-    let putStoreRes = w.store.put(index, msg, pubsubTopic)
+    let putStoreRes = w.store.put(pubsubTopic, msg)
     if putStoreRes.isErr():
       continue
 
diff --git a/waku/v2/utils/pagination.nim b/waku/v2/utils/pagination.nim
index 914bc147e..3d8a3f29b 100644
--- a/waku/v2/utils/pagination.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/utils/pagination.nim
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import
   ../protocol/waku_message,
   ./time
 
+type MessageDigest* = MDigest[256]
 
 const
   MaxPageSize*: uint64 = 100
@@ -20,9 +21,9 @@ type Index* = object
   pubsubTopic*: string
   senderTime*: Timestamp # the time at which the message is generated
   receiverTime*: Timestamp
-  digest*: MDigest[256] # calculated over payload and content topic
+  digest*: MessageDigest # calculated over payload and content topic
 
-proc computeDigest*(msg: WakuMessage): MDigest[256] =
+proc computeDigest*(msg: WakuMessage): MessageDigest =
   var ctx: sha256
   ctx.init()
   defer: ctx.clear()