diff --git a/builtin/providers/dnsimple/provider.go b/builtin/providers/dnsimple/provider.go
index b06eef76d3..1c73c1a5b3 100644
--- a/builtin/providers/dnsimple/provider.go
+++ b/builtin/providers/dnsimple/provider.go
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ func Provider() terraform.ResourceProvider {
 			"email": &schema.Schema{
 				Type:        schema.TypeString,
 				Optional:    true,
-				DefaultFunc: schema.EnvDefaultFunc("DNSIMPLE_EMAIL", nil),
+				DefaultFunc: schema.EnvDefaultFunc("DNSIMPLE_EMAIL", ""),
 				Description: "The DNSimple account email address.",
 			},