diff --git a/app/views/form/_date_question.html.erb b/app/views/form/_date_question.html.erb
index c9862037d..1778e5674 100644
--- a/app/views/form/_date_question.html.erb
+++ b/app/views/form/_date_question.html.erb
@@ -3,6 +3,6 @@
 <%= f.govuk_date_field question.id.to_sym,
   caption: caption(caption_text, page_header, conditional),
   legend: legend(question, page_header, conditional),
-  hint: { text: question.hint_text&.html_safe },
+  hint: { text: question.hint_text&.html_safe || "For example, 27 3 2021." },
   width: 20,
   **stimulus_html_attributes(question) %>