diff --git a/rest_framework/authentication.py b/rest_framework/authentication.py
index 25150d525..414f4c8f7 100644
--- a/rest_framework/authentication.py
+++ b/rest_framework/authentication.py
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 """
 Provides various authentication policies.
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 import base64
 import binascii
diff --git a/rest_framework/authtoken/migrations/0001_initial.py b/rest_framework/authtoken/migrations/0001_initial.py
index 75780fedf..6a46ccfff 100644
--- a/rest_framework/authtoken/migrations/0001_initial.py
+++ b/rest_framework/authtoken/migrations/0001_initial.py
@@ -1,6 +1,3 @@
-# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
-
 from django.conf import settings
 from django.db import migrations, models
 
diff --git a/rest_framework/authtoken/migrations/0002_auto_20160226_1747.py b/rest_framework/authtoken/migrations/0002_auto_20160226_1747.py
index 9f7e58e22..43119099a 100644
--- a/rest_framework/authtoken/migrations/0002_auto_20160226_1747.py
+++ b/rest_framework/authtoken/migrations/0002_auto_20160226_1747.py
@@ -1,6 +1,3 @@
-# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
-
 from django.conf import settings
 from django.db import migrations, models
 
diff --git a/rest_framework/compat.py b/rest_framework/compat.py
index 1d34828bd..07b7301c7 100644
--- a/rest_framework/compat.py
+++ b/rest_framework/compat.py
@@ -3,8 +3,6 @@ The `compat` module provides support for backwards compatibility with older
 versions of Django/Python, and compatibility wrappers around optional packages.
 """
 
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
-
 from django.conf import settings
 from django.core import validators
 from django.utils import six
diff --git a/rest_framework/decorators.py b/rest_framework/decorators.py
index f6d557d11..94ee2bf94 100644
--- a/rest_framework/decorators.py
+++ b/rest_framework/decorators.py
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@ There are also various decorators for setting the API policies on function
 based views, as well as the `@detail_route` and `@list_route` decorators, which are
 used to annotate methods on viewsets that should be included by routers.
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 import types
 import warnings
diff --git a/rest_framework/exceptions.py b/rest_framework/exceptions.py
index f79b16129..0a26bb95c 100644
--- a/rest_framework/exceptions.py
+++ b/rest_framework/exceptions.py
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ Handled exceptions raised by REST framework.
 In addition Django's built in 403 and 404 exceptions are handled.
 (`django.http.Http404` and `django.core.exceptions.PermissionDenied`)
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 import math
 
diff --git a/rest_framework/fields.py b/rest_framework/fields.py
index 70c210c16..68736e5af 100644
--- a/rest_framework/fields.py
+++ b/rest_framework/fields.py
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
-
 import collections
 import copy
 import datetime
diff --git a/rest_framework/filters.py b/rest_framework/filters.py
index 0627bd8c4..c93182282 100644
--- a/rest_framework/filters.py
+++ b/rest_framework/filters.py
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 Provides generic filtering backends that can be used to filter the results
 returned by list views.
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 import operator
 import warnings
diff --git a/rest_framework/generics.py b/rest_framework/generics.py
index 8d0bf284a..2034827c1 100644
--- a/rest_framework/generics.py
+++ b/rest_framework/generics.py
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 """
 Generic views that provide commonly needed behaviour.
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 from django.core.exceptions import ValidationError
 from django.db.models.query import QuerySet
diff --git a/rest_framework/metadata.py b/rest_framework/metadata.py
index 9f9324469..04bef3c92 100644
--- a/rest_framework/metadata.py
+++ b/rest_framework/metadata.py
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@ some fairly ad-hoc information about the view.
 Future implementations might use JSON schema or other definitions in order
 to return this information in a more standardized way.
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 from collections import OrderedDict
 
diff --git a/rest_framework/mixins.py b/rest_framework/mixins.py
index de10d6930..8b868acb7 100644
--- a/rest_framework/mixins.py
+++ b/rest_framework/mixins.py
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ Basic building blocks for generic class based views.
 We don't bind behaviour to http method handlers yet,
 which allows mixin classes to be composed in interesting ways.
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 from rest_framework import status
 from rest_framework.response import Response
diff --git a/rest_framework/negotiation.py b/rest_framework/negotiation.py
index ca1b59f12..4897f63a7 100644
--- a/rest_framework/negotiation.py
+++ b/rest_framework/negotiation.py
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 Content negotiation deals with selecting an appropriate renderer given the
 incoming request.  Typically this will be based on the request's Accept header.
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 from django.http import Http404
 
diff --git a/rest_framework/pagination.py b/rest_framework/pagination.py
index b11d7cdf3..857063ec8 100644
--- a/rest_framework/pagination.py
+++ b/rest_framework/pagination.py
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 Pagination serializers determine the structure of the output that should
 be used for paginated responses.
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 from base64 import b64decode, b64encode
 from collections import OrderedDict, namedtuple
diff --git a/rest_framework/parsers.py b/rest_framework/parsers.py
index 35d0d1aa7..28902c725 100644
--- a/rest_framework/parsers.py
+++ b/rest_framework/parsers.py
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ Parsers are used to parse the content of incoming HTTP requests.
 They give us a generic way of being able to handle various media types
 on the request, such as form content or json encoded data.
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 import codecs
 
diff --git a/rest_framework/permissions.py b/rest_framework/permissions.py
index dfe89ed2a..f3f6e61db 100644
--- a/rest_framework/permissions.py
+++ b/rest_framework/permissions.py
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 """
 Provides a set of pluggable permission policies.
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 from django.http import Http404
 from django.utils import six
diff --git a/rest_framework/relations.py b/rest_framework/relations.py
index e8a4ec2ac..5b0250745 100644
--- a/rest_framework/relations.py
+++ b/rest_framework/relations.py
@@ -1,6 +1,3 @@
-# coding: utf-8
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
-
 import sys
 from collections import OrderedDict
 
diff --git a/rest_framework/renderers.py b/rest_framework/renderers.py
index 375c38a85..155d18c93 100644
--- a/rest_framework/renderers.py
+++ b/rest_framework/renderers.py
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@ on the response, such as JSON encoded data or HTML output.
 
 REST framework also provides an HTML renderer that renders the browsable API.
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 import base64
 from collections import OrderedDict
diff --git a/rest_framework/request.py b/rest_framework/request.py
index a6d92e2bd..d87922930 100644
--- a/rest_framework/request.py
+++ b/rest_framework/request.py
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ The wrapped request then offers a richer API, in particular :
     - full support of PUT method, including support for file uploads
     - form overloading of HTTP method, content type and content
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 import io
 import sys
diff --git a/rest_framework/response.py b/rest_framework/response.py
index bf0663255..a8677199b 100644
--- a/rest_framework/response.py
+++ b/rest_framework/response.py
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ it is initialized with unrendered data, instead of a pre-rendered string.
 
 The appropriate renderer is called during Django's template response rendering.
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 from django.template.response import SimpleTemplateResponse
 from django.utils import six
diff --git a/rest_framework/reverse.py b/rest_framework/reverse.py
index e9cf737f1..1e0d8b43d 100644
--- a/rest_framework/reverse.py
+++ b/rest_framework/reverse.py
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 """
 Provide urlresolver functions that return fully qualified URLs or view names
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 from django.urls import NoReverseMatch
 from django.urls import reverse as django_reverse
diff --git a/rest_framework/routers.py b/rest_framework/routers.py
index de04cb674..40377015a 100644
--- a/rest_framework/routers.py
+++ b/rest_framework/routers.py
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ For example, you might have a `urls.py` that looks something like this:
 
     urlpatterns = router.urls
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 import itertools
 import warnings
diff --git a/rest_framework/schemas/inspectors.py b/rest_framework/schemas/inspectors.py
index 02a38f351..9239361e8 100644
--- a/rest_framework/schemas/inspectors.py
+++ b/rest_framework/schemas/inspectors.py
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
 """
 inspectors.py   # Per-endpoint view introspection
 
diff --git a/rest_framework/serializers.py b/rest_framework/serializers.py
index 110ffbfa9..a4595e70b 100644
--- a/rest_framework/serializers.py
+++ b/rest_framework/serializers.py
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@ python primitives.
 2. The process of marshalling between python primitives and request and
 response content is handled by parsers and renderers.
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 import copy
 import inspect
diff --git a/rest_framework/settings.py b/rest_framework/settings.py
index 8db9c81ed..f04a6b57f 100644
--- a/rest_framework/settings.py
+++ b/rest_framework/settings.py
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ This module provides the `api_setting` object, that is used to access
 REST framework settings, checking for user settings first, then falling
 back to the defaults.
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 from importlib import import_module
 
diff --git a/rest_framework/status.py b/rest_framework/status.py
index 4b4561cfc..1489b440c 100644
--- a/rest_framework/status.py
+++ b/rest_framework/status.py
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ See RFC 2616 - https://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html
 And RFC 6585 - https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6585
 And RFC 4918 - https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4918
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 
 def is_informational(code):
diff --git a/rest_framework/templatetags/rest_framework.py b/rest_framework/templatetags/rest_framework.py
index 392338973..0a63eaed3 100644
--- a/rest_framework/templatetags/rest_framework.py
+++ b/rest_framework/templatetags/rest_framework.py
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-from __future__ import absolute_import, unicode_literals
-
 import re
 from collections import OrderedDict
 
diff --git a/rest_framework/test.py b/rest_framework/test.py
index edacf0066..b319a4fc5 100644
--- a/rest_framework/test.py
+++ b/rest_framework/test.py
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
-# -- coding: utf-8 --
-
 # Note that we import as `DjangoRequestFactory` and `DjangoClient` in order
 # to make it harder for the user to import the wrong thing without realizing.
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
+
 
 import io
 from importlib import import_module
diff --git a/rest_framework/throttling.py b/rest_framework/throttling.py
index 834ced148..3bb14eacc 100644
--- a/rest_framework/throttling.py
+++ b/rest_framework/throttling.py
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 """
 Provides various throttling policies.
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 import time
 
diff --git a/rest_framework/urlpatterns.py b/rest_framework/urlpatterns.py
index ab3a74978..831d344dd 100644
--- a/rest_framework/urlpatterns.py
+++ b/rest_framework/urlpatterns.py
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
-
 from django.conf.urls import include, url
 
 from rest_framework.compat import (
diff --git a/rest_framework/urls.py b/rest_framework/urls.py
index 0e4c2661b..521a3db75 100644
--- a/rest_framework/urls.py
+++ b/rest_framework/urls.py
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ your API requires authentication:
 
 You should make sure your authentication settings include `SessionAuthentication`.
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 from django.conf.urls import url
 from django.contrib.auth import views
diff --git a/rest_framework/utils/breadcrumbs.py b/rest_framework/utils/breadcrumbs.py
index e0374ffd0..54990e9f6 100644
--- a/rest_framework/utils/breadcrumbs.py
+++ b/rest_framework/utils/breadcrumbs.py
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
-
 from django.urls import get_script_prefix, resolve
 
 
diff --git a/rest_framework/utils/encoders.py b/rest_framework/utils/encoders.py
index d8f4aeb4e..faf9a08c8 100644
--- a/rest_framework/utils/encoders.py
+++ b/rest_framework/utils/encoders.py
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 """
 Helper classes for parsers.
 """
-from __future__ import absolute_import, unicode_literals
-
 import datetime
 import decimal
 import json  # noqa
diff --git a/rest_framework/utils/formatting.py b/rest_framework/utils/formatting.py
index aa805f14e..0c58665a8 100644
--- a/rest_framework/utils/formatting.py
+++ b/rest_framework/utils/formatting.py
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 """
 Utility functions to return a formatted name and description for a given view.
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 import re
 
diff --git a/rest_framework/utils/json.py b/rest_framework/utils/json.py
index cb5572380..82b306dda 100644
--- a/rest_framework/utils/json.py
+++ b/rest_framework/utils/json.py
@@ -6,8 +6,6 @@ spec-compliant encoding/decoding. Support for non-standard features should be
 handled by users at the renderer and parser layer.
 """
 
-from __future__ import absolute_import
-
 import functools
 import json  # noqa
 
diff --git a/rest_framework/utils/mediatypes.py b/rest_framework/utils/mediatypes.py
index f4acf4807..1754fba53 100644
--- a/rest_framework/utils/mediatypes.py
+++ b/rest_framework/utils/mediatypes.py
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ Handling of media types, as found in HTTP Content-Type and Accept headers.
 
 See https://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec3.html#sec3.7
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 from django.http.multipartparser import parse_header
 from django.utils.encoding import python_2_unicode_compatible
diff --git a/rest_framework/utils/representation.py b/rest_framework/utils/representation.py
index deeaf1f63..6290065e3 100644
--- a/rest_framework/utils/representation.py
+++ b/rest_framework/utils/representation.py
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 Helper functions for creating user-friendly representations
 of serializer classes and serializer fields.
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 import re
 
diff --git a/rest_framework/utils/serializer_helpers.py b/rest_framework/utils/serializer_helpers.py
index 6b662a66c..068a37692 100644
--- a/rest_framework/utils/serializer_helpers.py
+++ b/rest_framework/utils/serializer_helpers.py
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
-
 import collections
 from collections import OrderedDict
 
diff --git a/rest_framework/validators.py b/rest_framework/validators.py
index 2ea3e5ac1..df8ac8bcd 100644
--- a/rest_framework/validators.py
+++ b/rest_framework/validators.py
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@ This gives us better separation of concerns, allows us to use single-step
 object creation, and makes it possible to switch between using the implicit
 `ModelSerializer` class and an equivalent explicit `Serializer` class.
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 from django.db import DataError
 from django.utils.translation import ugettext_lazy as _
diff --git a/rest_framework/versioning.py b/rest_framework/versioning.py
index 5c9a7ade1..a98fdcd5f 100644
--- a/rest_framework/versioning.py
+++ b/rest_framework/versioning.py
@@ -1,6 +1,3 @@
-# coding: utf-8
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
-
 import re
 
 from django.utils.translation import ugettext_lazy as _
diff --git a/rest_framework/views.py b/rest_framework/views.py
index 04951ed93..ccc602982 100644
--- a/rest_framework/views.py
+++ b/rest_framework/views.py
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 """
 Provides an APIView class that is the base of all views in REST framework.
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 from django.conf import settings
 from django.core.exceptions import PermissionDenied
diff --git a/rest_framework/viewsets.py b/rest_framework/viewsets.py
index 7146828d2..fa99e6e3d 100644
--- a/rest_framework/viewsets.py
+++ b/rest_framework/viewsets.py
@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@ automatically.
     router.register(r'users', UserViewSet, 'user')
     urlpatterns = router.urls
 """
-from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 from collections import OrderedDict
 from functools import update_wrapper