diff --git a/src/lib/constants/categoryConstants.ts b/src/lib/constants/categoryConstants.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7c9b1f7f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/constants/categoryConstants.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+/* Might seem wrong to hardcode this, but it makes things simpler
+   these IDs are hardcoded in the backend
+   see 
+   https://github.com/dhis2/dhis2-core/blob/master/dhis-2/dhis-services/dhis-service-core/src/main/java/org/hisp/dhis/dataelement/DefaultCategoryService.java#L472  
+   and 
+   https://github.com/dhis2/dhis2-core/blob/master/dhis-2/dhis-services/dhis-service-administration/src/main/resources/data-integrity-checks/categories/categories_one_default_category_combo.yaml
+	*/
+
+export const DEFAULT_CATEGORY_OPTION_ID = 'xYerKDKCefk'
+export const DEFAULT_CATEGORY_ID = 'GLevLNI9wkl'
+export const DEFAULT_CATEGORY_COMBO_ID = 'bjDvmb4bfuf'
+export const DEFAULT_CATEGORY_OPTION_COMBO_ID = 'HllvX50cXC0'
diff --git a/src/lib/constants/index.ts b/src/lib/constants/index.ts
index 369de77f..65f587c2 100644
--- a/src/lib/constants/index.ts
+++ b/src/lib/constants/index.ts
@@ -2,3 +2,4 @@ export * from './sectionListViewsConfig'
 export * from './sections'
 export * from './translatedModelConstants'
 export * from './translatedModelProperties'
+export * from './categoryConstants'
diff --git a/src/pages/dataElements/New.tsx b/src/pages/dataElements/New.tsx
index a70faabe..6f90422a 100644
--- a/src/pages/dataElements/New.tsx
+++ b/src/pages/dataElements/New.tsx
@@ -6,7 +6,12 @@ import React, { useEffect, useMemo, useRef } from 'react'
 import { Form } from 'react-final-form'
 import { useNavigate } from 'react-router-dom'
 import { StandardFormActions, StandardFormSection } from '../../components'
-import { SCHEMA_SECTIONS, getSectionPath, useSchemas } from '../../lib'
+import {
+    DEFAULT_CATEGORY_COMBO_ID,
+    SCHEMA_SECTIONS,
+    getSectionPath,
+    useSchemas,
+} from '../../lib'
 import { Attribute } from '../../types/generated'
 import {
     DataElementFormFields,
@@ -44,7 +49,7 @@ function useInitialValues(customAttributes: Attribute[]) {
             aggregationType:
                 schemas.dataElement.properties.aggregationType.constants?.[0],
             style: { icon: '', color: '' },
-            categoryCombo: { id: '' },
+            categoryCombo: { id: DEFAULT_CATEGORY_COMBO_ID },
             optionSet: { id: '' },
             commentOptionSet: { id: '' },
             legendSets: [],