diff --git a/nemo/collections/llm/modelopt/model_utils.py b/nemo/collections/llm/modelopt/model_utils.py
index 86f981baa628..70209580323f 100644
--- a/nemo/collections/llm/modelopt/model_utils.py
+++ b/nemo/collections/llm/modelopt/model_utils.py
@@ -234,6 +234,7 @@ def restore_modelopt_state(
         mto.plugins.restore_sharded_modelopt_state(
             [core_model],
             ckpt_to_weights_subdir(path, is_saving=False),
+            prefix="module.",
         )
     if mto.ModeloptStateManager.is_converted(core_model):
         logging.info("Restored Model Optimizer state from checkpoint.")