diff --git a/rest_framework/templates/rest_framework/base.html b/rest_framework/templates/rest_framework/base.html
index 01fa8095c..c81c22dc3 100644
--- a/rest_framework/templates/rest_framework/base.html
+++ b/rest_framework/templates/rest_framework/base.html
@@ -286,7 +286,7 @@
       <script>
         window.drf = {
           csrfHeaderName: "{{ csrf_header_name|default:'X-CSRFToken' }}",
-          csrfToken: "{{ csrf_token }}"
+          csrfToken: "{% if request %}{{ csrf_token }}{% endif %}"
         };
       </script>
       <script src="{% static "rest_framework/js/jquery-3.3.1.min.js" %}"></script>