diff --git a/rest-api-spec/api/indices.put_mapping.json b/rest-api-spec/api/indices.put_mapping.json
index 43a12722bfe..7365e3f1777 100644
--- a/rest-api-spec/api/indices.put_mapping.json
+++ b/rest-api-spec/api/indices.put_mapping.json
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@
         },
         "type": {
           "type" : "string",
-          "required": true,
           "description" : "The name of the document type"
         }
       },