diff --git a/protobuf-converter/src/main/java/io/confluent/connect/protobuf/ProtobufData.java b/protobuf-converter/src/main/java/io/confluent/connect/protobuf/ProtobufData.java
index 4e84dc9794c..1fff714cc9c 100644
--- a/protobuf-converter/src/main/java/io/confluent/connect/protobuf/ProtobufData.java
+++ b/protobuf-converter/src/main/java/io/confluent/connect/protobuf/ProtobufData.java
@@ -1309,7 +1309,7 @@ private boolean isPrimitiveOrRepeated(FieldDescriptor fieldDescriptor) {
   }
 
   private boolean isOptional(FieldDescriptor fieldDescriptor) {
-    return fieldDescriptor.toProto().getProto3Optional()
+    return fieldDescriptor.hasPresence()
         || (supportOptionalForProto2 && hasOptionalKeyword(fieldDescriptor));
   }