diff --git a/lib/nvm.zsh b/lib/nvm.zsh
index 1238b46ec..c4f70c849 100644
--- a/lib/nvm.zsh
+++ b/lib/nvm.zsh
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 # get the nvm-controlled node.js version
 function nvm_prompt_info() {
-  [[ -f "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" ]] || return
   local nvm_prompt
   which nvm &>/dev/null || return
   nvm_prompt=$(nvm current)
diff --git a/plugins/nvm/README.md b/plugins/nvm/README.md
index 1a9258e4f..f7d7b06e5 100644
--- a/plugins/nvm/README.md
+++ b/plugins/nvm/README.md
@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@ The `nvm` plugin locates and loads [NVM](https://github.com/creationix/nvm) if i
 
 This plugin looks in a few well-known locations for the NVM installation, in the following order:
 
-* `$NVM_DIR` - Lets user force loading from an arbitrary location
+* `$NVM_INSTALL_DIR` - Forces loading from an arbitrary location that may be different from the `$NVM_DIR` data directory. If provided, no other locations will be checked.
+* `$NVM_DIR` - Arbitrary installation location that is also the data directory
 * `~/.nvm` - Default installation location for NVM
 * `$(brew --prefix nvm)` - Mac Homebrew's NVM installation location
 
@@ -28,4 +29,6 @@ To use NVM's bundled bash completions, set `ZSH_NVM_BUNDLED_COMPLETION=true` in
 
 ### Environment Variables
 
-* `$ZSH_NVM_BUNDLED_COMPLETION` - if `true`, uses NVM's own completion definition instead of the OMZ nvm plugin's definition.
+* `$ZSH_NVM_BUNDLED_COMPLETION` - if `true`, uses NVM's own completion definition instead of the OMZ nvm plugin's definition
+* `$NVM_INSTALL_DIR` - overrides installation search path
+* `$NVM_DIR` - NVM data directory and possible installation location
diff --git a/plugins/nvm/nvm.plugin.zsh b/plugins/nvm/nvm.plugin.zsh
index c3659629d..ee8d2324b 100644
--- a/plugins/nvm/nvm.plugin.zsh
+++ b/plugins/nvm/nvm.plugin.zsh
@@ -4,24 +4,29 @@
 
 () {
   emulate -L zsh
-  local nvm_dir="" dir install_locations
-  if [[ -n $NVM_DIR ]]; then
-  	nvm_dir=$NVM_DIR
+  local nvm_install_dir="" dir install_locations
+  if [[ -n $NVM_INSTALL_DIR ]]; then
+    # User-specified path
+    nvm_install_dir=$NVM_INSTALL_DIR
   else
     # Well-known common installation locations for NVM
     install_locations=( ~/.nvm )
+    [[ -n $NVM_DIR ]] && install_locations=($NVM_DIR $install_locations)
     # Mac Homebrew sticks 
     which brew &>/dev/null && install_locations+=$(brew --prefix nvm)
     for dir ($install_locations); do
       if [[ -s $dir/nvm.sh ]]; then
-        nvm_dir=$dir
+        nvm_install_dir=$dir
         break
       fi
     done
   fi
 
-  if [[ -n $nvm_dir ]]; then
-    source $nvm_dir/nvm.sh
+  if [[ -n $nvm_install_dir ]]; then
+    source $nvm_install_dir/nvm.sh
+  else
+    # No NVM installation found
+    return 0
   fi
 
   # Locate and use the completion file shipped with NVM, instead of this
@@ -31,8 +36,8 @@
     local bash_comp_file
     # Homebrew relocates the bash completion file, so look multiple places
     for bash_comp_file ( bash_completion etc/bash_completion.d/nvm ); do
-      if [[ -s $NVM_DIR/$bash_comp_file ]]; then
-        source $NVM_DIR/$bash_comp_file
+      if [[ -s $nvm_install_dir/$bash_comp_file ]]; then
+        source $nvm_install_dir/$bash_comp_file
         break;
       fi
     done