diff --git a/civo/instances/resource_instance.go b/civo/instances/resource_instance.go
index 8b8519f6..f51fd547 100644
--- a/civo/instances/resource_instance.go
+++ b/civo/instances/resource_instance.go
@@ -60,21 +60,12 @@ func ResourceInstance() *schema.Resource {
 				ForceNew:    true,
 				Description: "This must be the ID of the network from the network listing (optional; default network used when not specified)",
 			},
-			"template": {
-				Type:         schema.TypeString,
-				Optional:     true,
-				Computed:     true,
-				ExactlyOneOf: []string{"template", "disk_image"},
-				Deprecated:   "\"template\" attribute is deprecated. Moving forward, please use \"disk_image\" attribute.",
-				Description:  "The ID for the template to use to build the instance",
-			},
 			"disk_image": {
 				Type:         schema.TypeString,
-				Optional:     true,
-				Computed:     true,
-				ExactlyOneOf: []string{"template", "disk_image"},
+				Required:     true,
 				Description:  "The ID for the disk image to use to build the instance",
 				ForceNew:     true,
+				ValidateFunc: utils.ValidateUUID,
 			},
 			"initial_user": {
 				Type:        schema.TypeString,
@@ -244,14 +235,6 @@ func resourceInstanceCreate(ctx context.Context, d *schema.ResourceData, m inter
 		config.NetworkID = defaultNetwork.ID
 	}
 
-	if attr, ok := d.GetOk("template"); ok {
-		findTemplate, err := apiClient.FindDiskImage(attr.(string))
-		if err != nil {
-			return diag.Errorf("[ERR] failed to get the template: %s", err)
-		}
-		config.TemplateID = findTemplate.ID
-	}
-
 	if attr, ok := d.GetOk("disk_image"); ok {
 		findDiskImage, err := apiClient.FindDiskImage(attr.(string))
 		if err != nil {
@@ -374,7 +357,6 @@ func resourceInstanceRead(_ context.Context, d *schema.ResourceData, m interface
 	d.Set("firewall_id", resp.FirewallID)
 	d.Set("status", resp.Status)
 	d.Set("script", resp.Script)
-	// d.Set("reserved_ipv4", resp.ReservedIPID)
 	d.Set("created_at", resp.CreatedAt.UTC().String())
 	d.Set("notes", resp.Notes)
 	d.Set("disk_image", resp.SourceID)
@@ -385,10 +367,6 @@ func resourceInstanceRead(_ context.Context, d *schema.ResourceData, m interface
 		d.Set("public_ip_required", "none")
 	}
 
-	if _, ok := d.GetOk("template"); ok {
-		d.Set("template", d.Get("template").(string))
-	}
-
 	if d.HasChange("reserved_ipv4") {
 		_, new := d.GetChange("reserved_ipv4")
 		newValue := new.(string)
diff --git a/docs/resources/instance.md b/docs/resources/instance.md
index 119f21f9..26b23ad3 100644
--- a/docs/resources/instance.md
+++ b/docs/resources/instance.md
@@ -126,10 +126,10 @@ resource "civo_instance" "example" {
 ### Required
 
 - `firewall_id` (String) The ID of the firewall to use, from the current list. If left blank or not sent, the default firewall will be used (open to all)
-
+- `disk_image` (String) The ID for the disk image to use to build the instance
+- 
 ### Optional
 
-- `disk_image` (String) The ID for the disk image to use to build the instance
 - `hostname` (String) A fully qualified domain name that should be set as the instance's hostname
 - `initial_user` (String) The name of the initial user created on the server (optional; this will default to the template's default_username and fallback to civo)
 - `network_id` (String) This must be the ID of the network from the network listing (optional; default network used when not specified)
@@ -145,7 +145,6 @@ resource "civo_instance" "example" {
 - `tags` (Set of String) An optional list of tags, represented as a key, value pair
 - `timeouts` (Block, Optional) (see [below for nested schema](#nestedblock--timeouts)) defines timeouts for cluster creation, read and update, default is 30 minutes for all
 
-
 <a id="nestedblock--timeouts"></a>
 ### Nested Schema for `timeouts`
 
diff --git a/internal/utils/utils.go b/internal/utils/utils.go
index 270de824..5fa2ce74 100644
--- a/internal/utils/utils.go
+++ b/internal/utils/utils.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ package utils
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
+	"github.com/google/uuid"
 	"regexp"
 	"sort"
 	"strconv"
@@ -240,3 +241,13 @@ func ParseErrorResponse(errorMsg string) (*CustomError, error) {
 	}
 	return &customErr, nil
 }
+
+// ValidateUUID checks if a given string is a UUID or not
+func ValidateUUID(v interface{}, k string) (ws []string, errors []error) {
+	value := v.(string)
+	_, err := uuid.Parse(value)
+	if err != nil {
+		errors = append(errors, fmt.Errorf("%q must be a valid UUID", k))
+	}
+	return
+}