diff --git a/gracedb/alerts/forms.py b/gracedb/alerts/forms.py
index ef05d2d606240114f1a190b5e09f80aab7bcbe28..8b35184750a9463ab6d171e145d24b3c23555eaf 100644
--- a/gracedb/alerts/forms.py
+++ b/gracedb/alerts/forms.py
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ class BaseNotificationForm(forms.ModelForm):
     (essentially an abstract model)
     """
     contacts = ContactMultipleChoiceField(queryset=Contact.objects.all(),
-        required=False, widget=forms.widgets.SelectMultiple(attrs={'size': 6}))
+        required=True, widget=forms.widgets.SelectMultiple(attrs={'size': 6}))
     class Meta:
         model = Notification
         fields = ['description'] # dummy placeholder