diff --git a/manifests/policy.pp b/manifests/policy.pp
index 091694cd..f7b11423 100644
--- a/manifests/policy.pp
+++ b/manifests/policy.pp
@@ -1,18 +1,67 @@
-# == Class: openstacklib::policies
+# == Define: openstacklib::policies
 #
 # This resource is an helper to call the policy definition
 #
 # == Parameters:
 #
-#  [*policies*]
-#    Hash of policies one would like to set to specific values
-#    hash; optional
+# [*policy_path*]
+#   (Optional) Path to the policy file
+#   Defaults to $name
 #
-class openstacklib::policy (
-  $policies = {},
+# [*policies*]
+#   (Optional) Set of policies to configure
+#
+# [*file_mode*]
+#   (Optional) Permission mode for the policy file
+#   Defaults to '0640'
+#
+# [*file_user*]
+#   (Optional) User for the policy file
+#   Defaults to undef
+#
+# [*file_group*]
+#   (Optional) Group for the policy file
+#   Defaults to undef
+#
+# [*file_format*]
+#   (Optional) Format for file contents. Valid values
+#   are 'json' or 'yaml'.
+#   Defaults to 'json'.
+#
+# [*purge_config*]
+#   (Optional) Whether to set only the specified policy rules in the policy
+#   file.
+#   Defaults to false.
+#
+define openstacklib::policy (
+  $policy_path  = $name,
+  $policies     = {},
+  $file_mode    = '0640',
+  $file_user    = undef,
+  $file_group   = undef,
+  $file_format  = 'json',
+  $purge_config = false,
 ) {
-
   validate_legacy(Hash, 'validate_hash', $policies)
 
-  create_resources('openstacklib::policy::base', $policies)
+  if empty($policies) {
+    create_resources('openstacklib::policy::default', { $policy_path => {
+      file_mode    => $file_mode,
+      file_user    => $file_user,
+      file_group   => $file_group,
+      file_format  => $file_format,
+      purge_config => $purge_config,
+    }})
+  } else {
+    $policy_defaults = {
+      file_path    => $policy_path,
+      file_mode    => $file_mode,
+      file_user    => $file_user,
+      file_group   => $file_group,
+      file_format  => $file_format,
+      purge_config => $purge_config
+    }
+
+    create_resources('openstacklib::policy::base', $policies, $policy_defaults)
+  }
 }
diff --git a/manifests/policy/base.pp b/manifests/policy/base.pp
index 736e220d..47ecffed 100644
--- a/manifests/policy/base.pp
+++ b/manifests/policy/base.pp
@@ -5,16 +5,14 @@
 # == Parameters:
 #
 #  [*file_path*]
-#    Path to the policy.json file
-#    string; required
+#    (required) Path to the policy.json file
 #
 #  [*key*]
-#    The key to replace the value for
-#    string; required; the key to replace the value for
+#    (required) The key to replace the value for
 #
 #  [*value*]
-#    The value to set
-#    string; optional; the value to set
+#    (optional) The value to set
+#    Defaults to ''
 #
 #  [*file_mode*]
 #    (optional) Permission mode for the policy file
@@ -33,28 +31,35 @@
 #    are 'json' or 'yaml'.
 #    Defaults to 'json'.
 #
+#  [*purge_config*]
+#    (optional) Whether to set only the specified policy rules in the policy
+#    file.
+#    Defaults to false.
+#
 define openstacklib::policy::base (
   $file_path,
   $key,
-  $value       = '',
-  $file_mode   = '0640',
-  $file_user   = undef,
-  $file_group  = undef,
-  $file_format = 'json',
+  $value        = '',
+  $file_mode    = '0640',
+  $file_user    = undef,
+  $file_group   = undef,
+  $file_format  = 'json',
+  $purge_config = false,
 ) {
 
+  ensure_resource('openstacklib::policy::default', $file_path, {
+    file_path    => $file_path,
+    file_mode    => $file_mode,
+    file_user    => $file_user,
+    file_group   => $file_group,
+    file_format  => $file_format,
+    purge_config => $purge_config
+  })
+
   case $file_format {
     'json': {
       warning('Json format is deprecated and will be removed in a future release')
 
-      ensure_resource('file', $file_path, {
-        mode    => $file_mode,
-        owner   => $file_user,
-        group   => $file_group,
-        replace => false, # augeas will manage the content, we just need to make sure it exists
-        content => '{}'
-      })
-
       # Add entry if it doesn't exists
       augeas { "${file_path}-${key}-${value}-add":
         lens    => 'Json.lns',
@@ -73,30 +78,17 @@ define openstacklib::policy::base (
         changes => "set dict/entry[*][.=\"${key}\"]/string \"${value}\"",
       }
 
-      File<| title == $file_path |>
+      Openstacklib::Policy::Default<| title == $file_path |>
       -> Augeas<| title == "${file_path}-${key}-${value}-add" |>
         ~> Augeas<| title == "${file_path}-${key}-${value}" |>
     }
     'yaml': {
-      if stdlib::extname($file_path) == '.json' {
-        # NOTE(tkajinam): It is likely that user is not aware of migration from
-        #                 policy.json to policy.yaml
-        fail("file_path: ${file_path} should be a yaml file instead of a json file")
-      }
-
-      ensure_resource('file', $file_path, {
-        mode    => $file_mode,
-        owner   => $file_user,
-        group   => $file_group,
-        replace => false, # augeas will manage the content, we just need to make sure it exists
-        content => ''
-      })
       file_line { "${file_path}-${key}" :
         path  => $file_path,
         line  => "'${key}': '${value}'",
         match => "^['\"]?${key}['\"]?\\s*:.+"
       }
-      File<| title == $file_path |>
+      Openstacklib::Policy::Default<| title == $file_path |>
       -> File_line<| title == "${file_path}-${key}" |>
     }
     default: {
@@ -105,4 +97,3 @@ define openstacklib::policy::base (
   }
 
 }
-
diff --git a/manifests/policy/default.pp b/manifests/policy/default.pp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..fdf09174
--- /dev/null
+++ b/manifests/policy/default.pp
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+# == Definition: openstacklib::policy::default
+#
+# Create a default (empty) policy fie for an OpenStack service
+#
+# == Parameters:
+#
+# [*file_path*]
+#   (Optional) Path to the policy.json file
+#   Defaults to $name
+#
+# [*file_mode*]
+#   (Optional) Permission mode for the policy file
+#   Defaults to '0640'
+#
+# [*file_user*]
+#   (Optional) User for the policy file
+#   Defaults to undef
+#
+# [*file_group*]
+#   (Optional) Group for the policy file
+#   Defaults to undef
+#
+# [*file_format*]
+#   (Optional) Format for file contents. Valid values
+#   are 'json' or 'yaml'.
+#   Defaults to 'json'.
+#
+# [*purge_config*]
+#   (Optional) Whether to set only the specified policy rules in the policy
+#   file.
+#   Defaults to false.
+#
+define openstacklib::policy::default (
+  $file_path    = $name,
+  $file_mode    = '0640',
+  $file_user    = undef,
+  $file_group   = undef,
+  $file_format  = 'json',
+  $purge_config = false,
+) {
+
+  case $file_format {
+    'json': {
+      warning('Json format is deprecated and will be removed in a future release')
+      $content = '{}'
+    }
+    'yaml': {
+      if stdlib::extname($file_path) == '.json' {
+        # NOTE(tkajinam): It is likely that user is not aware of migration from
+        #                 policy.json to policy.yaml
+        fail("file_path: ${file_path} should be a yaml file instead of a json file")
+      }
+      $content = ''
+    }
+    default: {
+      fail("${file_format} is an unsupported policy file format. Choose 'json' or 'yaml'.")
+    }
+  }
+
+  ensure_resource('file', $file_path, {
+    mode    => $file_mode,
+    owner   => $file_user,
+    group   => $file_group,
+    replace => $purge_config,
+    content => $content
+  })
+}
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/purge-policy-file-1ad9f366345142e7.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/purge-policy-file-1ad9f366345142e7.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4557a8d3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/purge-policy-file-1ad9f366345142e7.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+---
+features:
+  - |
+    Now the ``openstacklib::policies`` resource type provides the basic set
+    of configurations for policy settings. It provides the purge_config
+    parameter which ensures a policy file is purged.
+
+upgrade:
+  - |
+    The ``openstacklib::policies`` class has been re-implemented as a defined
+    resource type.
diff --git a/spec/defines/openstacklib_policy_base_spec.rb b/spec/defines/openstacklib_policy_base_spec.rb
index da8724b2..314830b7 100644
--- a/spec/defines/openstacklib_policy_base_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/defines/openstacklib_policy_base_spec.rb
@@ -19,10 +19,12 @@ describe 'openstacklib::policy::base' do
         }
       end
 
-      it { should contain_file('/etc/nova/policy.json').with(
-        :mode  => '0644',
-        :owner => 'foo',
-        :group => 'bar'
+      it { should contain_openstacklib__policy__default('/etc/nova/policy.json').with(
+        :file_mode    => '0644',
+        :file_user    => 'foo',
+        :file_group   => 'bar',
+        :file_format  => 'json',
+        :purge_config => false,
       )}
 
       it { should contain_augeas('/etc/nova/policy.json-context_is_admin or owner-foo:bar').with(
@@ -59,10 +61,12 @@ describe 'openstacklib::policy::base' do
         }
       end
 
-      it { should contain_file('/etc/nova/policy.yaml').with(
-        :mode  => '0644',
-        :owner => 'foo',
-        :group => 'bar'
+      it { should contain_openstacklib__policy__default('/etc/nova/policy.yaml').with(
+        :file_mode    => '0644',
+        :file_user    => 'foo',
+        :file_group   => 'bar',
+        :file_format  => 'yaml',
+        :purge_config => false,
       )}
 
       it { should contain_file_line('/etc/nova/policy.yaml-context_is_admin or owner').with(
@@ -70,7 +74,33 @@ describe 'openstacklib::policy::base' do
         :line  => '\'context_is_admin or owner\': \'foo:bar\'',
         :match => '^[\'"]?context_is_admin or owner[\'"]?\s*:.+'
       ) }
+    end
 
+    context 'with purge_config enabled' do
+      let :title do
+        'nova-contest_is_admin'
+      end
+
+      let :params do
+        {
+          :file_path    => '/etc/nova/policy.yaml',
+          :key          => 'context_is_admin or owner',
+          :value        => 'foo:bar',
+          :file_mode    => '0644',
+          :file_user    => 'foo',
+          :file_group   => 'bar',
+          :file_format  => 'yaml',
+          :purge_config => true,
+        }
+      end
+
+      it { should contain_openstacklib__policy__default('/etc/nova/policy.yaml').with(
+        :file_mode    => '0644',
+        :file_user    => 'foo',
+        :file_group   => 'bar',
+        :file_format  => 'yaml',
+        :purge_config => true,
+      )}
     end
 
     context 'with json file_path and yaml file format' do
diff --git a/spec/defines/openstacklib_policy_default_spec.rb b/spec/defines/openstacklib_policy_default_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1ceee2b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/defines/openstacklib_policy_default_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+require 'spec_helper'
+
+describe 'openstacklib::policy::default' do
+  shared_examples 'openstacklib::policy::default' do
+    context 'with policy.json' do
+      let :title do
+        '/etc/nova/policy.json'
+      end
+
+      let :params do
+        {
+          :file_mode   => '0644',
+          :file_user   => 'foo',
+          :file_group  => 'bar',
+          :file_format => 'json',
+        }
+      end
+
+      it { should contain_file('/etc/nova/policy.json').with(
+        :mode    => '0644',
+        :owner   => 'foo',
+        :group   => 'bar',
+        :content => '{}',
+        :replace => false
+      )}
+    end
+
+    context 'with policy.yaml' do
+      let :title do
+        '/etc/nova/policy.yaml'
+      end
+
+      let :params do
+        {
+          :file_mode   => '0644',
+          :file_user   => 'foo',
+          :file_group  => 'bar',
+          :file_format => 'yaml',
+        }
+      end
+
+      it { should contain_file('/etc/nova/policy.yaml').with(
+        :mode    => '0644',
+        :owner   => 'foo',
+        :group   => 'bar',
+        :content => '',
+        :replace => false
+      )}
+    end
+
+    context 'with purge_config enabled' do
+      let :title do
+        '/etc/nova/policy.yaml'
+      end
+
+      let :params do
+        {
+          :file_mode    => '0644',
+          :file_user    => 'foo',
+          :file_group   => 'bar',
+          :file_format  => 'yaml',
+          :purge_config => true,
+        }
+      end
+
+      it { should contain_file('/etc/nova/policy.yaml').with(
+        :mode    => '0644',
+        :owner   => 'foo',
+        :group   => 'bar',
+        :content => '',
+        :replace => true
+      )} 
+    end
+  end
+
+  on_supported_os({
+    :supported_os => OSDefaults.get_supported_os
+  }).each do |os,facts|
+    context "on #{os}" do
+      let (:facts) do
+        facts.merge!(OSDefaults.get_facts())
+      end
+
+      it_behaves_like 'openstacklib::policy::default'
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/classes/openstacklib_policy_spec.rb b/spec/defines/openstacklib_policy_spec.rb
similarity index 51%
rename from spec/classes/openstacklib_policy_spec.rb
rename to spec/defines/openstacklib_policy_spec.rb
index e60acde5..ff1b7813 100644
--- a/spec/classes/openstacklib_policy_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/defines/openstacklib_policy_spec.rb
@@ -3,15 +3,22 @@ require 'spec_helper'
 describe 'openstacklib::policy' do
   shared_examples 'openstacklib::policy' do
     context 'with basic configuration' do
+      let :title do
+        '/etc/nova/policy.json'
+      end
+
       let :params do
         {
           :policies => {
             'foo' => {
-              'file_path' => '/etc/nova/policy.json',
               'key'       => 'context_is_admin',
               'value'     => 'foo:bar'
             }
-          }
+          },
+          :file_mode    => '0644',
+          :file_user    => 'foo',
+          :file_group   => 'baa',
+          :file_format  => 'json',
         }
       end
 
@@ -21,25 +28,57 @@ describe 'openstacklib::policy' do
         :value     => 'foo:bar'
       )}
     end
+
     context 'with yaml configuration' do
+      let :title do
+        '/etc/nova/policy.yaml'
+      end
+
       let :params do
         {
-          :policies => {
+          :policies     => {
             'foo' => {
-              'file_path' => '/etc/octavia/policy.yaml',
               'key'       => 'context_is_admin',
               'value'     => 'foo:bar'
             }
-          }
+          },
+          :file_mode    => '0644',
+          :file_user    => 'foo',
+          :file_group   => 'baa',
+          :file_format  => 'yaml',
         }
       end
 
       it { should contain_openstacklib__policy__base('foo').with(
-        :file_path => '/etc/octavia/policy.yaml',
+        :file_path => '/etc/nova/policy.yaml',
         :key       => 'context_is_admin',
         :value     => 'foo:bar'
       )}
     end
+
+    context 'with empty policies and purge_config enabled' do
+      let :title do
+        '/etc/nova/policy.yaml'
+      end
+
+      let :params do
+        {
+          :file_mode    => '0644',
+          :file_user    => 'foo',
+          :file_group   => 'baa',
+          :file_format  => 'yaml',
+          :purge_config => true,
+        }
+      end
+
+      it { should contain_openstacklib__policy__default('/etc/nova/policy.yaml').with(
+        :file_mode    => '0644',
+        :file_user    => 'foo',
+        :file_group   => 'baa',
+        :file_format  => 'yaml',
+        :purge_config => true,
+      )}
+    end
   end
 
   on_supported_os({