diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/cloud/amazon/cloudformation.py b/lib/ansible/modules/cloud/amazon/cloudformation.py
index b6f65413ab1..cba467cab47 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/cloud/amazon/cloudformation.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/cloud/amazon/cloudformation.py
@@ -47,7 +47,9 @@ options:
     description:
       - If state is "present", stack will be created.  If state is "present" and if stack exists and template has changed, it will be updated.
         If state is "absent", stack will be removed.
-    required: true
+    default: present
+    choices: [ present, absent ]
+    required: false
   template:
     description:
       - The local path of the cloudformation template.