diff --git a/source/blender/blenkernel/BKE_mesh_runtime.h b/source/blender/blenkernel/BKE_mesh_runtime.h
index 01e382aaead..083f83ef059 100644
--- a/source/blender/blenkernel/BKE_mesh_runtime.h
+++ b/source/blender/blenkernel/BKE_mesh_runtime.h
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ bool BKE_mesh_runtime_ensure_edit_data(struct Mesh *mesh);
 void BKE_mesh_runtime_reset_edit_data(struct Mesh *mesh);
 
 /**
- * Clear and any derived caches associated with the mesh geometry data. Examples include BVH
+ * Clear and free any derived caches associated with the mesh geometry data. Examples include BVH
  * caches, normals, triangulation, etc. This should be called when replacing a mesh's geometry
  * directly or making other large changes to topology. It does not need to be called on new meshes.
  *
diff --git a/source/blender/blenkernel/BKE_mesh_types.h b/source/blender/blenkernel/BKE_mesh_types.h
index 793f1085aaa..5f20a6c2e14 100644
--- a/source/blender/blenkernel/BKE_mesh_types.h
+++ b/source/blender/blenkernel/BKE_mesh_types.h
@@ -149,8 +149,8 @@ struct MeshRuntime {
    * #CustomData because they can be calculated on a `const` mesh, and adding custom data layers on
    * a `const` mesh is not thread-safe.
    */
-  bool vert_normals_dirty = false;
-  bool poly_normals_dirty = false;
+  bool vert_normals_dirty = true;
+  bool poly_normals_dirty = true;
   float (*vert_normals)[3] = nullptr;
   float (*poly_normals)[3] = nullptr;
 
diff --git a/source/blender/blenkernel/intern/mesh.cc b/source/blender/blenkernel/intern/mesh.cc
index 59f946889b0..8331369cb38 100644
--- a/source/blender/blenkernel/intern/mesh.cc
+++ b/source/blender/blenkernel/intern/mesh.cc
@@ -91,10 +91,6 @@ static void mesh_init_data(ID *id)
 
   mesh->runtime = new blender::bke::MeshRuntime();
 
-  /* A newly created mesh does not have normals, so tag them dirty. This will be cleared
-   * by #BKE_mesh_vertex_normals_clear_dirty or #BKE_mesh_poly_normals_ensure. */
-  BKE_mesh_normals_tag_dirty(mesh);
-
   mesh->face_sets_color_seed = BLI_hash_int(PIL_check_seconds_timer_i() & UINT_MAX);
 }
 
@@ -163,13 +159,6 @@ static void mesh_copy_data(Main *bmain, ID *id_dst, const ID *id_src, const int
 
   mesh_dst->mselect = (MSelect *)MEM_dupallocN(mesh_dst->mselect);
 
-  /* Set normal layers dirty. They should be dirty by default on new meshes anyway, but being
-   * explicit about it is safer. Alternatively normal layers could be copied if they aren't dirty,
-   * avoiding recomputation in some cases. However, a copied mesh is often changed anyway, so that
-   * idea is not clearly better. With proper reference counting, all custom data layers could be
-   * copied as the cost would be much lower. */
-  BKE_mesh_normals_tag_dirty(mesh_dst);
-
   /* TODO: Do we want to add flag to prevent this? */
   if (mesh_src->key && (flag & LIB_ID_COPY_SHAPEKEY)) {
     BKE_id_copy_ex(bmain, &mesh_src->key->id, (ID **)&mesh_dst->key, flag);
@@ -363,10 +352,6 @@ static void mesh_blend_read_data(BlendDataReader *reader, ID *id)
       BLI_endian_switch_uint32_array(tf->col, 4);
     }
   }
-
-  /* We don't expect to load normals from files, since they are derived data. */
-  BKE_mesh_normals_tag_dirty(mesh);
-  BKE_mesh_assert_normals_dirty_or_calculated(mesh);
 }
 
 static void mesh_blend_read_lib(BlendLibReader *reader, ID *id)
diff --git a/source/blender/editors/mesh/meshtools.cc b/source/blender/editors/mesh/meshtools.cc
index a1f6683a13b..64e49c1c06d 100644
--- a/source/blender/editors/mesh/meshtools.cc
+++ b/source/blender/editors/mesh/meshtools.cc
@@ -688,9 +688,6 @@ int ED_mesh_join_objects_exec(bContext *C, wmOperator *op)
   me->ldata = ldata;
   me->pdata = pdata;
 
-  /* Tag normals dirty because vertex positions could be changed from the original. */
-  BKE_mesh_normals_tag_dirty(me);
-
   /* old material array */
   for (a = 1; a <= ob->totcol; a++) {
     ma = ob->mat[a - 1];
diff --git a/source/blender/editors/sculpt_paint/sculpt_ops.c b/source/blender/editors/sculpt_paint/sculpt_ops.c
index 28d67518b66..fcebf2df4ba 100644
--- a/source/blender/editors/sculpt_paint/sculpt_ops.c
+++ b/source/blender/editors/sculpt_paint/sculpt_ops.c
@@ -220,7 +220,6 @@ static int sculpt_symmetrize_exec(bContext *C, wmOperator *op)
       BKE_mesh_mirror_apply_mirror_on_axis(bmain, mesh, sd->symmetrize_direction, dist);
 
       ED_sculpt_undo_geometry_end(ob);
-      BKE_mesh_normals_tag_dirty(mesh);
       BKE_mesh_batch_cache_dirty_tag(ob->data, BKE_MESH_BATCH_DIRTY_ALL);
 
       break;
diff --git a/source/blender/freestyle/intern/blender_interface/BlenderStrokeRenderer.cpp b/source/blender/freestyle/intern/blender_interface/BlenderStrokeRenderer.cpp
index 64e7be5169c..1c51ff02aaf 100644
--- a/source/blender/freestyle/intern/blender_interface/BlenderStrokeRenderer.cpp
+++ b/source/blender/freestyle/intern/blender_interface/BlenderStrokeRenderer.cpp
@@ -797,7 +797,6 @@ void BlenderStrokeRenderer::GenerateStrokeMesh(StrokeGroup *group, bool hasTex)
   }      // loop over strokes
 
   BKE_object_materials_test(freestyle_bmain, object_mesh, (ID *)mesh);
-  BKE_mesh_normals_tag_dirty(mesh);
 
 #if 0  // XXX
   BLI_assert(mesh->totvert == vertex_index);
diff --git a/source/blender/io/alembic/intern/abc_reader_mesh.cc b/source/blender/io/alembic/intern/abc_reader_mesh.cc
index 2531bd62609..458fd72501d 100644
--- a/source/blender/io/alembic/intern/abc_reader_mesh.cc
+++ b/source/blender/io/alembic/intern/abc_reader_mesh.cc
@@ -147,6 +147,7 @@ static void read_mverts(CDStreamConfig &config, const AbcMeshData &mesh_data)
       mesh_data.ceil_positions != nullptr &&
       mesh_data.ceil_positions->size() == positions->size()) {
     read_mverts_interp(mverts, positions, mesh_data.ceil_positions, config.weight);
+    BKE_mesh_tag_coords_changed(config.mesh);
     return;
   }
 
@@ -162,6 +163,8 @@ void read_mverts(Mesh &mesh, const P3fArraySamplePtr positions, const N3fArraySa
 
     copy_zup_from_yup(mvert.co, pos_in.getValue());
   }
+  BKE_mesh_tag_coords_changed(&mesh);
+
   if (normals) {
     float(*vert_normals)[3] = BKE_mesh_vertex_normals_for_write(&mesh);
     for (const int64_t i : IndexRange(normals->size())) {
@@ -246,7 +249,6 @@ static void read_mpolys(CDStreamConfig &config, const AbcMeshData &mesh_data)
 static void process_no_normals(CDStreamConfig &config)
 {
   /* Absence of normals in the Alembic mesh is interpreted as 'smooth'. */
-  BKE_mesh_normals_tag_dirty(config.mesh);
 }
 
 static void process_loop_normals(CDStreamConfig &config, const N3fArraySamplePtr loop_normals_ptr)
diff --git a/source/blender/io/usd/intern/usd_reader_mesh.cc b/source/blender/io/usd/intern/usd_reader_mesh.cc
index 8138f38fcad..52cd3b32b49 100644
--- a/source/blender/io/usd/intern/usd_reader_mesh.cc
+++ b/source/blender/io/usd/intern/usd_reader_mesh.cc
@@ -613,14 +613,12 @@ void USDMeshReader::process_normals_vertex_varying(Mesh *mesh)
 void USDMeshReader::process_normals_face_varying(Mesh *mesh)
 {
   if (normals_.empty()) {
-    BKE_mesh_normals_tag_dirty(mesh);
     return;
   }
 
   /* Check for normals count mismatches to prevent crashes. */
   if (normals_.size() != mesh->totloop) {
     std::cerr << "WARNING: loop normal count mismatch for mesh " << mesh->id.name << std::endl;
-    BKE_mesh_normals_tag_dirty(mesh);
     return;
   }
 
@@ -658,14 +656,12 @@ void USDMeshReader::process_normals_face_varying(Mesh *mesh)
 void USDMeshReader::process_normals_uniform(Mesh *mesh)
 {
   if (normals_.empty()) {
-    BKE_mesh_normals_tag_dirty(mesh);
     return;
   }
 
   /* Check for normals count mismatches to prevent crashes. */
   if (normals_.size() != mesh->totpoly) {
     std::cerr << "WARNING: uniform normal count mismatch for mesh " << mesh->id.name << std::endl;
-    BKE_mesh_normals_tag_dirty(mesh);
     return;
   }
 
@@ -706,6 +702,7 @@ void USDMeshReader::read_mesh_sample(ImportSettings *settings,
       mvert.co[1] = positions_[i][1];
       mvert.co[2] = positions_[i][2];
     }
+    BKE_mesh_tag_coords_changed(mesh);
 
     read_vertex_creases(mesh, motionSampleTime);
   }
@@ -718,10 +715,6 @@ void USDMeshReader::read_mesh_sample(ImportSettings *settings,
     else if (normal_interpolation_ == pxr::UsdGeomTokens->uniform) {
       process_normals_uniform(mesh);
     }
-    else {
-      /* Default */
-      BKE_mesh_normals_tag_dirty(mesh);
-    }
   }
 
   /* Process point normals after reading polys. */
diff --git a/source/blender/makesrna/intern/rna_mesh.c b/source/blender/makesrna/intern/rna_mesh.c
index f13132b5b7c..247e1cd1173 100644
--- a/source/blender/makesrna/intern/rna_mesh.c
+++ b/source/blender/makesrna/intern/rna_mesh.c
@@ -716,7 +716,6 @@ static void rna_MeshPolygon_flip(ID *id, MPoly *mp)
   BKE_mesh_polygon_flip(mp, loops, &me->ldata);
   BKE_mesh_tessface_clear(me);
   BKE_mesh_runtime_clear_geometry(me);
-  BKE_mesh_normals_tag_dirty(me);
 }
 
 static void rna_MeshLoopTriangle_verts_get(PointerRNA *ptr, int *values)
diff --git a/source/blender/makesrna/intern/rna_mesh_api.c b/source/blender/makesrna/intern/rna_mesh_api.c
index 6b1df3fc4d4..90267a3c3c5 100644
--- a/source/blender/makesrna/intern/rna_mesh_api.c
+++ b/source/blender/makesrna/intern/rna_mesh_api.c
@@ -169,7 +169,6 @@ static void rna_Mesh_flip_normals(Mesh *mesh)
   BKE_mesh_polys_flip(
       BKE_mesh_polys(mesh), BKE_mesh_loops_for_write(mesh), &mesh->ldata, mesh->totpoly);
   BKE_mesh_tessface_clear(mesh);
-  BKE_mesh_normals_tag_dirty(mesh);
   BKE_mesh_runtime_clear_geometry(mesh);
 
   DEG_id_tag_update(&mesh->id, 0);