diff --git a/wherehows-web/app/components/dataset-compliance.ts b/wherehows-web/app/components/dataset-compliance.ts
index fa2ecb3107..dc01580a64 100644
--- a/wherehows-web/app/components/dataset-compliance.ts
+++ b/wherehows-web/app/components/dataset-compliance.ts
@@ -117,8 +117,6 @@ const {
   complianceDataException,
   complianceFieldNotUnique,
   missingTypes,
-  successUpdating,
-  failedUpdating,
   helpText,
   successUploading,
   invalidPolicyData,
@@ -790,43 +788,6 @@ export default class DatasetCompliance extends ObservableDecorator {
     });
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Helper method to update user when an async server update to the
-   * security specification is handled.
-   * @template T
-   * @param {Promise<T>} request the server request
-   * @param {{successMessage?: string, isSaving?: boolean}} [{ successMessage = successUpdating, isSaving = false }={}]
-   * @prop {successMessage} optional message for successful response
-   * @prop {isSaving} optional flag indicating when the user intends to persist / save
-   * @returns {Promise<void>}
-   * @memberof DatasetCompliance
-   */
-  whenRequestCompletes<T extends { status: ApiStatus }>(
-    this: DatasetCompliance,
-    request: Promise<T>,
-    { successMessage = successUpdating, isSaving = false }: { successMessage?: string; isSaving?: boolean } = {}
-  ): Promise<void> {
-    const { notify } = get(this, 'notifications');
-
-    return Promise.resolve(request)
-      .then(({ status = ApiStatus.ERROR }): void | Promise<void> => {
-        return status === ApiStatus.OK
-          ? notify(NotificationEvent.success, { content: successMessage })
-          : Promise.reject(new Error(`Reason code for this is ${status}`));
-      })
-      .catch((err: string) => {
-        let message = `${failedUpdating} \n ${err}`;
-
-        if (get(this, 'isNewComplianceInfo') && !isSaving) {
-          return notify(NotificationEvent.info, {
-            content: 'This dataset does not have any previously saved fields with a identifying information.'
-          });
-        }
-
-        notify(NotificationEvent.error, { content: message });
-      });
-  }
-
   /**
    * Sets the default classification for the given identifier field
    * Using the identifierType, determine the field's default security classification based on a values
@@ -1409,7 +1370,7 @@ export default class DatasetCompliance extends ObservableDecorator {
         const onSave = get(this, 'onSave');
         setSaveFlag(isSaving);
 
-        await this.whenRequestCompletes(onSave(), { isSaving });
+        await onSave();
         return this.updateStep(-1);
       } finally {
         setSaveFlag();
@@ -1419,10 +1380,7 @@ export default class DatasetCompliance extends ObservableDecorator {
     // Rolls back changes made to the compliance spec to current
     // server state
     resetCompliance(this: DatasetCompliance) {
-      const options = {
-        successMessage: 'Field classification has been reset to the previously saved state.'
-      };
-      this.whenRequestCompletes(get(this, 'onReset')(), options);
+      get(this, 'onReset')();
     }
   };
 }
diff --git a/wherehows-web/app/components/datasets/containers/dataset-compliance.ts b/wherehows-web/app/components/datasets/containers/dataset-compliance.ts
index 83ff4675be..3dfe51dd96 100644
--- a/wherehows-web/app/components/datasets/containers/dataset-compliance.ts
+++ b/wherehows-web/app/components/datasets/containers/dataset-compliance.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,17 @@
 import Component from '@ember/component';
 import { get, set, setProperties, getProperties } from '@ember/object';
+import ComputedProperty from '@ember/object/computed';
+import { inject } from '@ember/service';
 import { task, TaskInstance } from 'ember-concurrency';
 import { action } from 'ember-decorators/object';
+import Notifications, { NotificationEvent } from 'wherehows-web/services/notifications';
 import { IDatasetColumn } from 'wherehows-web/typings/api/datasets/columns';
 import { IComplianceInfo, IComplianceSuggestion } from 'wherehows-web/typings/api/datasets/compliance';
 import { IDatasetView } from 'wherehows-web/typings/api/datasets/dataset';
 import { IDatasetSchema } from 'wherehows-web/typings/api/datasets/schema';
 import { IComplianceDataType } from 'wherehows-web/typings/api/list/compliance-datatypes';
 import {
+  ApiResponseStatus,
   IReadComplianceResult,
   readDatasetComplianceByUrn,
   readDatasetComplianceSuggestionByUrn,
@@ -15,7 +19,11 @@ import {
 } from 'wherehows-web/utils/api';
 import { columnDataTypesAndFieldNames } from 'wherehows-web/utils/api/datasets/columns';
 import { readDatasetSchemaByUrn } from 'wherehows-web/utils/api/datasets/schema';
+import { ApiError } from 'wherehows-web/utils/api/errors/errors';
 import { readComplianceDataTypes } from 'wherehows-web/utils/api/list/compliance-datatypes';
+import { compliancePolicyStrings } from 'wherehows-web/constants';
+
+const { successUpdating, failedUpdating } = compliancePolicyStrings;
 
 export default class DatasetComplianceContainer extends Component {
   /**
@@ -42,6 +50,12 @@ export default class DatasetComplianceContainer extends Component {
    */
   complianceSuggestion: IComplianceSuggestion | void;
 
+  /**
+   * Reference to the application notifications Service
+   * @type {ComputedProperty<Notifications>}
+   */
+  notifications: ComputedProperty<Notifications> = inject();
+
   /**
    * Object containing the compliance information for the dataset
    * @type {IComplianceInfo | void}
@@ -140,12 +154,38 @@ export default class DatasetComplianceContainer extends Component {
    * @type {Task<Promise<IDatasetSchema>, (a?: any) => TaskInstance<Promise<IDatasetSchema>>>}
    */
   getDatasetSchemaTask = task(function*(this: DatasetComplianceContainer): IterableIterator<Promise<IDatasetSchema>> {
-    const { columns, schemaless } = yield readDatasetSchemaByUrn(get(this, 'urn'));
-    const schemaFieldNamesMappedToDataTypes = columnDataTypesAndFieldNames(columns);
-
-    setProperties(this, { schemaFieldNamesMappedToDataTypes, schemaless });
+    try {
+      const { columns, schemaless } = yield readDatasetSchemaByUrn(get(this, 'urn'));
+      const schemaFieldNamesMappedToDataTypes = columnDataTypesAndFieldNames(columns);
+      setProperties(this, { schemaFieldNamesMappedToDataTypes, schemaless });
+    } catch (e) {
+      // If this schema is missing, silence exception, otherwise propagate
+      if (!(e instanceof ApiError && e.status === ApiResponseStatus.NotFound)) {
+        throw e;
+      }
+    }
   });
 
+  /**
+   * Handles user notifications when save succeeds or fails
+   * @template T the return type for the save request
+   * @param {Promise<T>} request async policy save request
+   * @returns {Promise<T>}
+   * @memberof DatasetComplianceContainer
+   */
+  async notifyOnSave<T>(this: DatasetComplianceContainer, request: Promise<T>): Promise<T> {
+    const { notify } = get(this, 'notifications');
+
+    try {
+      await request;
+      notify(NotificationEvent.success, { content: successUpdating });
+    } catch (e) {
+      notify(NotificationEvent.error, { content: failedUpdating });
+    }
+
+    return request;
+  }
+
   /**
    * Persists the updates to the compliance policy on the remote host
    * @return {Promise<void>}
@@ -154,7 +194,7 @@ export default class DatasetComplianceContainer extends Component {
   async savePrivacyCompliancePolicy(this: DatasetComplianceContainer): Promise<void> {
     const complianceInfo = get(this, 'complianceInfo');
     if (complianceInfo) {
-      return saveDatasetComplianceByUrn(get(this, 'urn'), complianceInfo);
+      return this.notifyOnSave<void>(saveDatasetComplianceByUrn(get(this, 'urn'), complianceInfo));
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/wherehows-web/app/templates/components/datasets/containers/dataset-compliance.hbs b/wherehows-web/app/templates/components/datasets/containers/dataset-compliance.hbs
index 34ce07c3be..64f9b44d4b 100644
--- a/wherehows-web/app/templates/components/datasets/containers/dataset-compliance.hbs
+++ b/wherehows-web/app/templates/components/datasets/containers/dataset-compliance.hbs
@@ -1,12 +1,20 @@
-{{dataset-compliance
-  datasetName=datasetName
-  schemaless=schemaless
-  platform=platform
-  complianceInfo=complianceInfo
-  complianceSuggestion=complianceSuggestion
-  isNewComplianceInfo=isNewComplianceInfo
-  schemaFieldNamesMappedToDataTypes=schemaFieldNamesMappedToDataTypes
-  complianceDataTypes=complianceDataTypes
-  onSave=(action "savePrivacyCompliancePolicy")
-  onReset=(action "resetPrivacyCompliancePolicy")
-}}
+{{#if getContainerDataTask.last.isError}}
+
+  {{empty-state heading="An error occurred getting this dataset's compliance policy"}}
+
+{{else}}
+
+  {{dataset-compliance
+    datasetName=datasetName
+    schemaless=schemaless
+    platform=platform
+    complianceInfo=complianceInfo
+    complianceSuggestion=complianceSuggestion
+    isNewComplianceInfo=isNewComplianceInfo
+    schemaFieldNamesMappedToDataTypes=schemaFieldNamesMappedToDataTypes
+    complianceDataTypes=complianceDataTypes
+    onSave=(action "savePrivacyCompliancePolicy")
+    onReset=(action "resetPrivacyCompliancePolicy")
+  }}
+
+{{/if}}
diff --git a/wherehows-web/app/utils/api/datasets/compliance.ts b/wherehows-web/app/utils/api/datasets/compliance.ts
index 6f9f812cde..9e8a22377c 100644
--- a/wherehows-web/app/utils/api/datasets/compliance.ts
+++ b/wherehows-web/app/utils/api/datasets/compliance.ts
@@ -101,6 +101,8 @@ const readDatasetComplianceByUrn = async (urn: string): Promise<IReadComplianceR
     if (e instanceof ApiError && e.status === ApiResponseStatus.NotFound) {
       complianceInfo = createInitialComplianceInfo(urn);
       isNewComplianceInfo = true;
+    } else {
+      throw e;
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/wherehows-web/tests/unit/utils/api/errors/errors-test.js b/wherehows-web/tests/unit/utils/api/errors/errors-test.js
index a5a2b00bf8..7ea5369376 100644
--- a/wherehows-web/tests/unit/utils/api/errors/errors-test.js
+++ b/wherehows-web/tests/unit/utils/api/errors/errors-test.js
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
-import { throwIfApiError } from 'wherehows-web/utils/api/errors/errors';
+import { throwIfApiError, ApiError } from 'wherehows-web/utils/api/errors/errors';
 import { module, test } from 'qunit';
+import { ApiResponseStatus } from 'wherehows-web/utils/api/shared';
 
 module('Unit | Utility | api/errors/errors');
 
@@ -13,3 +14,12 @@ test('throwIfApiError returns a Promise / thennable', function(assert) {
     'invocation returns a Promise object / thennable'
   );
 });
+
+test('ApiError subclasses built-in Error and has attributes', function(assert) {
+  const status = ApiResponseStatus.NotFound;
+  const apiError = new ApiError(status);
+
+  assert.ok(apiError instanceof Error, 'is an instanceof Error');
+  assert.ok(apiError.timestamp instanceof Date, 'has a valid timestamp');
+  assert.ok(apiError.status === status, 'has a status attribute');
+});