The documentation must state the limits of the encrypted field cache:* The field types are resolved once per model instance. To change the connection or the collection of an existing instance, call setConnection() or setTable() , or use a new instance. A change of the default connection does not invalidate an instance whose $connection is null. A rebuilt connection ( DB::purge() , disconnect() ) is detected and the field types are resolved again. A configuration change without a rebuild is not picked up. A cast written directly into $casts after the model has read its casts is ignored. Use mergeCasts() . A fractional value assigned to an int field is truncated: '1.9' stores 1 . Validate the value before assignment if it must be rejected. Added to the laravel-mongodb skill, references/queryable-encryption.md , in PR #3671.