diff --git a/cmake/Modules/Packages/USER-H5MD.cmake b/cmake/Modules/Packages/USER-H5MD.cmake
index 4fcae93027..6e8e425673 100644
--- a/cmake/Modules/Packages/USER-H5MD.cmake
+++ b/cmake/Modules/Packages/USER-H5MD.cmake
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 enable_language(C)
 
+if(CMAKE_VERSION VERSION_GREATER_EQUAL 3.12)
+  cmake_policy(SET CMP0074 NEW)
+endif()
 find_package(HDF5 REQUIRED)
 target_link_libraries(h5md PRIVATE ${HDF5_LIBRARIES})
 target_include_directories(h5md PUBLIC ${HDF5_INCLUDE_DIRS})
diff --git a/cmake/Modules/Packages/USER-NETCDF.cmake b/cmake/Modules/Packages/USER-NETCDF.cmake
index 91186c84db..1bcbcadc35 100644
--- a/cmake/Modules/Packages/USER-NETCDF.cmake
+++ b/cmake/Modules/Packages/USER-NETCDF.cmake
@@ -1,11 +1,18 @@
 # USER-NETCDF can use NetCDF, Parallel NetCDF (PNetCDF), or both. At least one necessary.
 # NetCDF library enables dump style "netcdf", while PNetCDF enables dump style "netcdf/mpiio"
-find_package(NetCDF)
-if(NETCDF_FOUND)
-  find_package(PNetCDF)
-else(NETCDF_FOUND)
-  find_package(PNetCDF REQUIRED)
-endif(NETCDF_FOUND)
+if(CMAKE_VERSION VERSION_GREATER_EQUAL 3.12)
+  cmake_policy(SET CMP0074 NEW)
+endif()
+if(NOT BUILD_MPI)
+  find_package(NetCDF REQUIRED)
+else()
+  find_package(NetCDF)
+  if(NETCDF_FOUND)
+    find_package(PNetCDF)
+  else()
+    find_package(PNetCDF REQUIRED)
+  endif()
+endif()
 
 if(NETCDF_FOUND)
   target_link_libraries(lammps PRIVATE NetCDF::NetCDF)