diff --git a/rest_framework/views.py b/rest_framework/views.py
index 80a13a1a9..b39724c2f 100644
--- a/rest_framework/views.py
+++ b/rest_framework/views.py
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ def get_view_description(view_cls, html=False):
     return description
 
 
-def exception_handler(exc, context=None):
+def exception_handler(exc, context):
     """
     Returns the response that should be used for any given exception.