---
title: "DEFAULT value"
description: "A DEFAULT value is a value a database column automatically takes on when an INSERT statement doesn't explicitly specify a value for it."
canonical: "https://motherduck.com/glossary/default-value/"
related:
  - title: "DuckDB SQL | MotherDuck Docs"
    url: "https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/duckdb-sql-reference/"
  - title: "Announcing DuckLake 1.0 on MotherDuck"
    url: "https://motherduck.com/blog/announcing-ducklake-1-0-on-motherduck/"
  - title: "Data types | MotherDuck Docs"
    url: "https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/duckdb-sql-reference/data-types/"
---

# DEFAULT value

> A DEFAULT value is a value a database column automatically takes on when an INSERT statement doesn't explicitly specify a value for it.

## Overview

Declaring a `DEFAULT` for a column saves every `INSERT` statement from having to specify a value explicitly, and centralizes a column's fallback behavior in one place in the schema instead of scattering it across application code. Defaults are only applied when a value is omitted (or, in most databases, when `DEFAULT` is used explicitly in the `VALUES` list) — they don't override an explicitly provided value, including an explicit `NULL`.

## Syntax

```sql
CREATE TABLE events (
    id INTEGER,
    status VARCHAR DEFAULT 'pending',
    created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT current_timestamp
);

INSERT INTO events (id) VALUES (1);
-- status becomes 'pending', created_at becomes the current time
```

## Defaults with Expressions and Sequences

Defaults aren't limited to constants — they can be any expression, including a call to generate a surrogate key from a sequence:

```sql
CREATE SEQUENCE event_seq START 1;

CREATE TABLE events (
    id INTEGER DEFAULT nextval('event_seq'),
    status VARCHAR DEFAULT 'pending'
);
```

## DuckDB Support

DuckDB supports `DEFAULT` values with constant literals, expressions, and sequence calls via `nextval()`, matching the syntax above. This makes `DEFAULT nextval('seq_name')` DuckDB's standard pattern for auto-incrementing surrogate keys, since DuckDB doesn't have a dedicated `SERIAL` or `AUTO_INCREMENT` type.