diff --git a/evm/src/generation/outputs.rs b/evm/src/generation/outputs.rs
index 2402d78cd4..60785e6dda 100644
--- a/evm/src/generation/outputs.rs
+++ b/evm/src/generation/outputs.rs
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ fn account_trie_record_to_output<F: Field>(
         .inputs
         .contract_code
         .get(&account.code_hash)
-        .unwrap_or_else(|| panic!("Code not found: {:?}", account.code_hash))
+        .ok_or_else(|| ProgramError::UnknownContractCode)?
         .clone();
 
     Ok(AccountOutput {
diff --git a/evm/src/witness/errors.rs b/evm/src/witness/errors.rs
index 2e543ac326..3ad10d17d7 100644
--- a/evm/src/witness/errors.rs
+++ b/evm/src/witness/errors.rs
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ pub enum ProgramError {
     InterpreterError,
     IntegerTooLarge,
     ProverInputError(ProverInputError),
+    UnknownContractCode,
 }
 
 #[allow(clippy::enum_variant_names)]