diff --git a/docs/man/man1/openshift-infra-router.1 b/docs/man/man1/openshift-infra-router.1
index 703f72c29526..9754e8e4e9d0 100644
--- a/docs/man/man1/openshift-infra-router.1
+++ b/docs/man/man1/openshift-infra-router.1
@@ -79,8 +79,8 @@ that you must have a cluster\-wide administrative role to view all namespaces.
     A path to default certificate to use for routes that don't expose a TLS server cert; in PEM format
 
 .PP
-\fB\-\-extended\-validation\fP=false
-    If set, then an additional extended validation step is performed on all routes admitted in by this router.
+\fB\-\-extended\-validation\fP=true
+    If set, then an additional extended validation step is performed on all routes admitted in by this router. Defaults to true and enables the extended validation checks.
 
 .PP
 \fB\-\-fields\fP=""
diff --git a/pkg/cmd/infra/router/template.go b/pkg/cmd/infra/router/template.go
index 9e70b6a8060b..c6be93213327 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/infra/router/template.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/infra/router/template.go
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ func (o *TemplateRouter) Bind(flag *pflag.FlagSet) {
 	flag.StringVar(&o.TemplateFile, "template", util.Env("TEMPLATE_FILE", ""), "The path to the template file to use")
 	flag.StringVar(&o.ReloadScript, "reload", util.Env("RELOAD_SCRIPT", ""), "The path to the reload script to use")
 	flag.DurationVar(&o.ReloadInterval, "interval", reloadInterval(), "Controls how often router reloads are invoked. Mutiple router reload requests are coalesced for the duration of this interval since the last reload time.")
-	flag.BoolVar(&o.ExtendedValidation, "extended-validation", util.Env("EXTENDED_VALIDATION", "") == "true", "If set, then an additional extended validation step is performed on all routes admitted in by this router.")
+	flag.BoolVar(&o.ExtendedValidation, "extended-validation", util.Env("EXTENDED_VALIDATION", "true") == "true", "If set, then an additional extended validation step is performed on all routes admitted in by this router. Defaults to true and enables the extended validation checks.")
 }
 
 type RouterStats struct {