diff --git a/server/openapi_server/dbmodels/text_date_annotation.py b/server/openapi_server/dbmodels/text_date_annotation.py
index 01e510f..981802c 100644
--- a/server/openapi_server/dbmodels/text_date_annotation.py
+++ b/server/openapi_server/dbmodels/text_date_annotation.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ class TextDateAnnotation(EmbeddedDocument):
     length = IntField(required=True)
     text = StringField(required=True)
     confidence = FloatField(required=True)
-    dateFormat = StringField(required=True)
+    dateFormat = StringField(required=False)
 
     def to_dict(self):
         doc = self.to_mongo().to_dict()