diff --git a/contrib/archive/backends/impl_ipa/__init__.py b/contrib/archive/backends/impl_ipa/__init__.py
index 9c193728..74c9b947 100644
--- a/contrib/archive/backends/impl_ipa/__init__.py
+++ b/contrib/archive/backends/impl_ipa/__init__.py
@@ -157,13 +157,13 @@ class IPABackend(base.Backend):
                        help='IPA RPC listener host - must be FQDN'),
             cfg.IntOpt('ipa-port', default=IPA_DEFAULT_PORT,
                        help='IPA RPC listener port'),
-            cfg.StrOpt('ipa-client-keytab', default=None,
+            cfg.StrOpt('ipa-client-keytab',
                        help='Kerberos client keytab file'),
             cfg.StrOpt('ipa-auth-driver-class',
                        default='designate.backend.impl_ipa.auth.IPAAuth',
                        help='Class that implements the authentication '
                        'driver for IPA'),
-            cfg.StrOpt('ipa-ca-cert', default=None,
+            cfg.StrOpt('ipa-ca-cert',
                        help='CA certificate for use with https to IPA'),
             cfg.StrOpt('ipa-base-url', default='/ipa',
                        help='Base URL for IPA RPC, relative to host[:port]'),
diff --git a/contrib/tempest/config.py b/contrib/tempest/config.py
index 9de08926..13ce75a3 100644
--- a/contrib/tempest/config.py
+++ b/contrib/tempest/config.py
@@ -39,7 +39,6 @@ IdentityGroup = [
                 default=False,
                 help="Set to True if using self-signed SSL certificates."),
     cfg.StrOpt('uri',
-               default=None,
                help="Full URI of the OpenStack Identity API (Keystone), v2"),
     cfg.StrOpt('uri_v3',
                help='Full URI of the OpenStack Identity API (Keystone), v3'),
@@ -59,52 +58,40 @@ IdentityGroup = [
                         'publicURL', 'adminURL', 'internalURL'],
                help="The endpoint type to use for the identity service."),
     cfg.StrOpt('username',
-               default=None,
                help="Username to use for Nova API requests."),
     cfg.StrOpt('tenant_name',
-               default=None,
                help="Tenant name to use for Nova API requests."),
     cfg.StrOpt('admin_role',
                default='admin',
                help="Role required to administrate keystone."),
     cfg.StrOpt('password',
-               default=None,
                help="API key to use when authenticating.",
                secret=True),
     cfg.StrOpt('domain_name',
-               default=None,
                help="Domain name for authentication (Keystone V3)."
                     "The same domain applies to user and project"),
     cfg.StrOpt('alt_username',
-               default=None,
                help="Username of alternate user to use for Nova API "
                     "requests."),
     cfg.StrOpt('alt_tenant_name',
-               default=None,
                help="Alternate user's Tenant name to use for Nova API "
                     "requests."),
     cfg.StrOpt('alt_password',
-               default=None,
                help="API key to use when authenticating as alternate user.",
                secret=True),
     cfg.StrOpt('alt_domain_name',
-               default=None,
                help="Alternate domain name for authentication (Keystone V3)."
                     "The same domain applies to user and project"),
     cfg.StrOpt('admin_username',
-               default=None,
                help="Administrative Username to use for "
                     "Keystone API requests."),
     cfg.StrOpt('admin_tenant_name',
-               default=None,
                help="Administrative Tenant name to use for Keystone API "
                     "requests."),
     cfg.StrOpt('admin_password',
-               default=None,
                help="API key to use when authenticating as admin.",
                secret=True),
     cfg.StrOpt('admin_domain_name',
-               default=None,
                help="Admin domain name for authentication (Keystone V3)."
                     "The same domain applies to user and project"),
 ]
@@ -232,7 +219,6 @@ ComputeGroup = [
                default='computev3',
                help="Catalog type of the Compute v3 service."),
     cfg.StrOpt('path_to_private_key',
-               default=None,
                help="Path to a private key file for SSH access to remote "
                     "hosts"),
     cfg.StrOpt('volume_device_name',
@@ -311,18 +297,14 @@ compute_admin_group = cfg.OptGroup(name='compute-admin',
 
 ComputeAdminGroup = [
     cfg.StrOpt('username',
-               default=None,
                help="Administrative Username to use for Nova API requests."),
     cfg.StrOpt('tenant_name',
-               default=None,
                help="Administrative Tenant name to use for Nova API "
                     "requests."),
     cfg.StrOpt('password',
-               default=None,
                help="API key to use when authenticating as admin.",
                secret=True),
     cfg.StrOpt('domain_name',
-               default=None,
                help="Domain name for authentication as admin (Keystone V3)."
                     "The same domain applies to user and project"),
 ]
@@ -584,15 +566,12 @@ dns_admin_group = cfg.OptGroup(name='dns-admin',
 
 DnsAdminGroup = [
     cfg.StrOpt('username',
-               default=None,
                help="Administrative Username to use for "
                     "Designate API requests."),
     cfg.StrOpt('tenant_name',
-               default=None,
                help="Administrative Tenant name to use for Designate API "
                     "requests."),
     cfg.StrOpt('password',
-               default=None,
                help="API key to use when authenticating as admin.",
                secret=True),
 ]
@@ -632,11 +611,9 @@ OrchestrationGroup = [
                help="Instance type for tests. Needs to be big enough for a "
                     "full OS plus the test workload"),
     cfg.StrOpt('image_ref',
-               default=None,
                help="Name of heat-cfntools enabled image to use when "
                     "launching test instances."),
     cfg.StrOpt('keypair_name',
-               default=None,
                help="Name of existing keypair to launch servers with."),
     cfg.IntOpt('max_template_size',
                default=524288,
@@ -701,11 +678,9 @@ BotoGroup = [
                default="http://localhost:8080",
                help="S3 URL"),
     cfg.StrOpt('aws_secret',
-               default=None,
                help="AWS Secret Key",
                secret=True),
     cfg.StrOpt('aws_access',
-               default=None,
                help="AWS Access Key"),
     cfg.StrOpt('aws_zone',
                default="nova",
@@ -744,26 +719,20 @@ stress_group = cfg.OptGroup(name='stress', title='Stress Test Options')
 
 StressGroup = [
     cfg.StrOpt('nova_logdir',
-               default=None,
                help='Directory containing log files on the compute nodes'),
     cfg.IntOpt('max_instances',
                default=16,
                help='Maximum number of instances to create during test.'),
     cfg.StrOpt('controller',
-               default=None,
                help='Controller host.'),
     # new stress options
     cfg.StrOpt('target_controller',
-               default=None,
                help='Controller host.'),
     cfg.StrOpt('target_ssh_user',
-               default=None,
                help='ssh user.'),
     cfg.StrOpt('target_private_key_path',
-               default=None,
                help='Path to private key.'),
     cfg.StrOpt('target_logfiles',
-               default=None,
                help='regexp for list of log files.'),
     cfg.IntOpt('log_check_interval',
                default=60,
diff --git a/designate/agent/__init__.py b/designate/agent/__init__.py
index 62a2872b..a22afa94 100644
--- a/designate/agent/__init__.py
+++ b/designate/agent/__init__.py
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ cfg.CONF.register_group(cfg.OptGroup(
 ))
 
 OPTS = [
-    cfg.IntOpt('workers', default=None,
+    cfg.IntOpt('workers',
                help='Number of agent worker processes to spawn'),
     cfg.IntOpt('threads', default=1000,
                help='Number of agent greenthreads to spawn'),
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ OPTS = [
                 help='List of masters for the Agent, format ip:port'),
     cfg.StrOpt('backend-driver', default='bind9',
                help='The backend driver to use'),
-    cfg.StrOpt('transfer-source', default=None,
+    cfg.StrOpt('transfer-source',
                help='An IP address to be used to fetch zones transferred in'),
     cfg.FloatOpt('notify-delay', default=0.0,
                help='Delay after a NOTIFY arrives for a zone that the Agent '
diff --git a/designate/api/__init__.py b/designate/api/__init__.py
index 46022f44..6466ca3e 100644
--- a/designate/api/__init__.py
+++ b/designate/api/__init__.py
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ cfg.CONF.register_group(cfg.OptGroup(
 ))
 
 cfg.CONF.register_opts([
-    cfg.IntOpt('workers', default=None,
+    cfg.IntOpt('workers',
                help='Number of api worker processes to spawn'),
     cfg.IntOpt('threads', default=1000,
                help='Number of api greenthreads to spawn'),
diff --git a/designate/api/middleware.py b/designate/api/middleware.py
index 5808d469..13223af4 100644
--- a/designate/api/middleware.py
+++ b/designate/api/middleware.py
@@ -47,7 +47,6 @@ cfg.CONF.register_opts([
                     "the original request protocol scheme was, even if it was "
                     "removed by an SSL terminating proxy."),
     cfg.StrOpt('override-proto',
-               default=None,
                help="A scheme that will be used to override "
                     "the request protocol scheme, even if it was "
                     "set by an SSL terminating proxy.")
diff --git a/designate/backend/agent_backend/impl_bind9.py b/designate/backend/agent_backend/impl_bind9.py
index 1b508280..f439662f 100644
--- a/designate/backend/agent_backend/impl_bind9.py
+++ b/designate/backend/agent_backend/impl_bind9.py
@@ -44,9 +44,9 @@ class Bind9Backend(base.AgentBackend):
         opts = [
             cfg.StrOpt('rndc-host', default='127.0.0.1', help='RNDC Host'),
             cfg.IntOpt('rndc-port', default=953, help='RNDC Port'),
-            cfg.StrOpt('rndc-config-file', default=None,
+            cfg.StrOpt('rndc-config-file',
                        help='RNDC Config File'),
-            cfg.StrOpt('rndc-key-file', default=None, help='RNDC Key File'),
+            cfg.StrOpt('rndc-key-file', help='RNDC Key File'),
             cfg.StrOpt('zone-file-path', default='$state_path/zones',
                        help='Path where zone files are stored'),
             cfg.StrOpt('query-destination', default='127.0.0.1',
diff --git a/designate/central/__init__.py b/designate/central/__init__.py
index f654eb16..74bbb81f 100644
--- a/designate/central/__init__.py
+++ b/designate/central/__init__.py
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ cfg.CONF.register_group(cfg.OptGroup(
 ))
 
 cfg.CONF.register_opts([
-    cfg.IntOpt('workers', default=None,
+    cfg.IntOpt('workers',
                help='Number of central worker processes to spawn'),
     cfg.IntOpt('threads', default=1000,
                help='Number of central greenthreads to spawn'),
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ cfg.CONF.register_opts([
     cfg.StrOpt('managed_resource_tenant_id',
                default="00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000",
                help="The Tenant ID that will own any managed resources."),
-    cfg.IntOpt('min_ttl', default=None, help="Minimum TTL allowed"),
+    cfg.IntOpt('min_ttl', help="Minimum TTL allowed"),
     # TODO(betsy): Move to Pool Service once that is written
     cfg.StrOpt('default_pool_id',
                default='794ccc2c-d751-44fe-b57f-8894c9f5c842',
diff --git a/designate/coordination.py b/designate/coordination.py
index 91ee9349..2b05e31d 100644
--- a/designate/coordination.py
+++ b/designate/coordination.py
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ LOG = log.getLogger(__name__)
 
 OPTS = [
     cfg.StrOpt('backend_url',
-               default=None,
                help='The backend URL to use for distributed coordination. If '
                     'unset services that need coordination will function as '
                     'a standalone service.'),
diff --git a/designate/mdns/__init__.py b/designate/mdns/__init__.py
index a2c763e3..04e98200 100644
--- a/designate/mdns/__init__.py
+++ b/designate/mdns/__init__.py
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ cfg.CONF.register_group(cfg.OptGroup(
 ))
 
 OPTS = [
-    cfg.IntOpt('workers', default=None,
+    cfg.IntOpt('workers',
                help='Number of mdns worker processes to spawn'),
     cfg.IntOpt('threads', default=1000,
                help='Number of mdns greenthreads to spawn'),
diff --git a/designate/notification_handler/neutron.py b/designate/notification_handler/neutron.py
index b147fc80..7f644076 100644
--- a/designate/notification_handler/neutron.py
+++ b/designate/notification_handler/neutron.py
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ cfg.CONF.register_group(cfg.OptGroup(
 cfg.CONF.register_opts([
     cfg.ListOpt('notification-topics', default=['notifications']),
     cfg.StrOpt('control-exchange', default='neutron'),
-    cfg.StrOpt('domain-id', default=None),
+    cfg.StrOpt('domain-id'),
     cfg.MultiStrOpt('format', default=[
                     '%(octet0)s-%(octet1)s-%(octet2)s-%(octet3)s.%(domain)s'])
 ], group='handler:neutron_floatingip')
diff --git a/designate/notification_handler/nova.py b/designate/notification_handler/nova.py
index b696904e..58e3e41b 100644
--- a/designate/notification_handler/nova.py
+++ b/designate/notification_handler/nova.py
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ cfg.CONF.register_group(cfg.OptGroup(
 cfg.CONF.register_opts([
     cfg.ListOpt('notification-topics', default=['notifications']),
     cfg.StrOpt('control-exchange', default='nova'),
-    cfg.StrOpt('domain-id', default=None),
+    cfg.StrOpt('domain-id'),
     cfg.MultiStrOpt('format', default=[
                     '%(octet0)s-%(octet1)s-%(octet2)s-%(octet3)s.%(domain)s'])
 ], group='handler:nova_fixed')
diff --git a/designate/pool_manager/__init__.py b/designate/pool_manager/__init__.py
index 17c45036..7c07cfd8 100644
--- a/designate/pool_manager/__init__.py
+++ b/designate/pool_manager/__init__.py
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ CONF.register_group(cfg.OptGroup(
 ))
 
 OPTS = [
-    cfg.IntOpt('workers', default=None,
+    cfg.IntOpt('workers',
                help='Number of Pool Manager worker processes to spawn'),
     cfg.IntOpt('threads', default=1000,
                help='Number of Pool Manager greenthreads to spawn'),
diff --git a/designate/sink/__init__.py b/designate/sink/__init__.py
index 2663666f..c849234f 100644
--- a/designate/sink/__init__.py
+++ b/designate/sink/__init__.py
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ cfg.CONF.register_group(cfg.OptGroup(
 ))
 
 cfg.CONF.register_opts([
-    cfg.IntOpt('workers', default=None,
+    cfg.IntOpt('workers',
                help='Number of sink worker processes to spawn'),
     cfg.IntOpt('threads', default=1000,
                help='Number of sink greenthreads to spawn'),
diff --git a/designate/utils.py b/designate/utils.py
index 5a7ca551..313a3481 100644
--- a/designate/utils.py
+++ b/designate/utils.py
@@ -52,9 +52,9 @@ cfg.CONF.register_group(cfg.OptGroup(
 ))
 
 proxy_opts = [
-    cfg.StrOpt('http_proxy', default=None,
+    cfg.StrOpt('http_proxy',
                help='Proxy HTTP requests via this proxy.'),
-    cfg.StrOpt('https_proxy', default=None,
+    cfg.StrOpt('https_proxy',
                help='Proxy HTTPS requests via this proxy'),
     cfg.ListOpt('no_proxy', default=[],
                 help='These addresses should not be proxied')
diff --git a/designate/zone_manager/__init__.py b/designate/zone_manager/__init__.py
index c7f1981d..d78e4152 100644
--- a/designate/zone_manager/__init__.py
+++ b/designate/zone_manager/__init__.py
@@ -22,11 +22,11 @@ CONF.register_group(cfg.OptGroup(
 ))
 
 OPTS = [
-    cfg.IntOpt('workers', default=None,
+    cfg.IntOpt('workers',
                help='Number of Zone Manager worker processes to spawn'),
     cfg.IntOpt('threads', default=1000,
                help='Number of Zone Manager greenthreads to spawn'),
-    cfg.ListOpt('enabled_tasks', default=None,
+    cfg.ListOpt('enabled_tasks',
                 help='Enabled tasks to run'),
     cfg.StrOpt('storage-driver', default='sqlalchemy',
                help='The storage driver to use'),
diff --git a/functionaltests/common/config.py b/functionaltests/common/config.py
index c712b0aa..a8c917e7 100644
--- a/functionaltests/common/config.py
+++ b/functionaltests/common/config.py
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ cfg.CONF.register_opts([
     cfg.StrOpt('uri', help="The Keystone v2 endpoint"),
     cfg.StrOpt('uri_v3', help="The Keystone v3 endpoint"),
     cfg.StrOpt('auth_version', default='v2'),
-    cfg.StrOpt('region', default=None),
+    cfg.StrOpt('region'),
 
     cfg.StrOpt('username'),
     cfg.StrOpt('tenant_name'),