diff --git a/oauth2_http/java/com/google/auth/oauth2/ImpersonatedCredentials.java b/oauth2_http/java/com/google/auth/oauth2/ImpersonatedCredentials.java
index 0eaa3cd84..91e917a06 100644
--- a/oauth2_http/java/com/google/auth/oauth2/ImpersonatedCredentials.java
+++ b/oauth2_http/java/com/google/auth/oauth2/ImpersonatedCredentials.java
@@ -91,6 +91,7 @@ public class ImpersonatedCredentials extends GoogleCredentials
   private static final long serialVersionUID = -2133257318957488431L;
   private static final String RFC3339 = "yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss'Z'";
   private static final int TWELVE_HOURS_IN_SECONDS = 43200;
+  private static final int DEFAULT_LIFETIME_IN_SECONDS = 3600;
   private static final String CLOUD_PLATFORM_SCOPE =
       "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform";
   private static final String IAM_ACCESS_TOKEN_ENDPOINT =
@@ -120,7 +121,8 @@ public class ImpersonatedCredentials extends GoogleCredentials
    *     value should be at most 3600. However, you can follow <a
    *     href='https://cloud.google.com/iam/docs/creating-short-lived-service-account-credentials#sa-credentials-oauth'>these
    *     instructions</a> to set up the service account and extend the maximum lifetime to 43200 (12
-   *     hours).
+   *     hours). If the given lifetime is 0, default value 3600 will be used instead when creating
+   *     the credentials.
    * @param transportFactory HTTP transport factory that creates the transport used to get access
    *     tokens
    * @return new credentials
@@ -159,6 +161,8 @@ public static ImpersonatedCredentials create(
    *     instructions</a> to set up the service account and extend the maximum lifetime to 43200 (12
    *     hours).
    *     https://cloud.google.com/iam/docs/creating-short-lived-service-account-credentials#sa-credentials-oauth
+   *     If the given lifetime is 0, default value 3600 will be used instead when creating the
+   *     credentials.
    * @return new credentials
    */
   public static ImpersonatedCredentials create(
@@ -186,6 +190,10 @@ public String getAccount() {
     return this.targetPrincipal;
   }
 
+  int getLifetime() {
+    return this.lifetime;
+  }
+
   /**
    * Signs the provided bytes using the private key associated with the impersonated service account
    *
@@ -355,7 +363,7 @@ public static class Builder extends GoogleCredentials.Builder {
     private String targetPrincipal;
     private List<String> delegates;
     private List<String> scopes;
-    private int lifetime;
+    private int lifetime = DEFAULT_LIFETIME_IN_SECONDS;
     private HttpTransportFactory transportFactory;
 
     protected Builder() {}
@@ -402,7 +410,7 @@ public List<String> getScopes() {
     }
 
     public Builder setLifetime(int lifetime) {
-      this.lifetime = lifetime;
+      this.lifetime = lifetime == 0 ? DEFAULT_LIFETIME_IN_SECONDS : lifetime;
       return this;
     }
 
diff --git a/oauth2_http/javatests/com/google/auth/oauth2/ImpersonatedCredentialsTest.java b/oauth2_http/javatests/com/google/auth/oauth2/ImpersonatedCredentialsTest.java
index 63f314dff..b7c3bd29e 100644
--- a/oauth2_http/javatests/com/google/auth/oauth2/ImpersonatedCredentialsTest.java
+++ b/oauth2_http/javatests/com/google/auth/oauth2/ImpersonatedCredentialsTest.java
@@ -198,6 +198,15 @@ public void refreshAccessToken_malformedTarget() throws IOException {
     }
   }
 
+  @Test()
+  public void credential_with_zero_lifetime() throws IOException, IllegalStateException {
+    GoogleCredentials sourceCredentials = getSourceCredentials();
+    ImpersonatedCredentials targetCredentials =
+        ImpersonatedCredentials.create(
+            sourceCredentials, IMPERSONATED_CLIENT_EMAIL, null, SCOPES, 0);
+    assertEquals(3600, targetCredentials.getLifetime());
+  }
+
   @Test()
   public void credential_with_invalid_lifetime() throws IOException, IllegalStateException {