How to fix ERROR 1364: Field doesn't have default value in MySQL

The error message will specify the exact column name that is causing the issue. For example:

ERROR 1364 (HY000): Field 'user_id' doesn't have a default value

Examine your INSERT statement and check if you are omitting this column. Most commonly this happens with auto-increment ID columns or status fields.

The simplest solution is to include a value for every NOT NULL column in your INSERT statement:

-- Before (causes error)
INSERT INTO users (name, email) VALUES ('John', '[email protected]');

-- After (works correctly)
INSERT INTO users (id, name, email, status) VALUES (1, 'John', '[email protected]', 'active');

If the column is an auto-increment field, you can omit it if it is truly AUTO_INCREMENT. Otherwise, provide the value explicitly.

For columns that should have a sensible default, use ALTER TABLE to add a DEFAULT clause:

ALTER TABLE users MODIFY COLUMN status VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL DEFAULT 'pending';

ALTER TABLE products MODIFY COLUMN created_at TIMESTAMP NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP;

This allows INSERT statements to omit the column, and MySQL will use the default automatically. Only use defaults when a logical fallback value exists.

If the offending column is an ID field, ensure it is properly configured with AUTO_INCREMENT:

ALTER TABLE users MODIFY COLUMN id INT NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT;

Once AUTO_INCREMENT is set, you can omit the id column from INSERT statements and MySQL will generate unique values automatically:

INSERT INTO users (name, email) VALUES ('Jane', '[email protected]');
-- id will be auto-generated (1, 2, 3, etc.)

If the column does not truly require a value in all cases, change it to allow NULL:

ALTER TABLE orders MODIFY COLUMN notes VARCHAR(500) NULL;

Then INSERT statements can omit this column or explicitly set it to NULL:

INSERT INTO orders (id, customer_id) VALUES (1, 100);
-- notes will be NULL

Use this approach carefully—only when NULL is semantically correct for that field.