diff --git a/libpod/boltdb_state.go b/libpod/boltdb_state.go
index 45fd80b79c..ee872ad6be 100644
--- a/libpod/boltdb_state.go
+++ b/libpod/boltdb_state.go
@@ -94,6 +94,11 @@ func NewBoltState(path string, runtime *Runtime) (State, error) {
 		logrus.Debugf("Allowing deprecated database backend due to CI_DESIRED_DATABASE.")
 	}
 
+	// TODO: Up this to WARN level in 5.7, ERROR level in 5.8
+	if os.Getenv("SUPPRESS_BOLTDB_WARNING") == "" {
+		logrus.Infof("The deprecated BoltDB database driver is in use. This driver will be removed in the upcoming Podman 6.0 release in mid 2026. It is advised that you migrate to SQLite to avoid issues when this occurs. Set SUPPRESS_BOLTDB_WARNING environment variable to remove this message.")
+	}
+
 	db, err := bolt.Open(path, 0600, nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("opening database %s: %w", path, err)