diff --git a/docs/release-notes/version-3.1.md b/docs/release-notes/version-3.1.md
index df7ad3a4a..1a0daf93f 100644
--- a/docs/release-notes/version-3.1.md
+++ b/docs/release-notes/version-3.1.md
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 ### Bug Fixes
 
 * [#7756](https://github.com/netbox-community/netbox/issues/7756) - Fix AttributeError exception when editing an IP address assigned to a FHRPGroup
+* [#7771](https://github.com/netbox-community/netbox/issues/7771) - Group assignment should be optional when creating contacts via REST API
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/netbox/tenancy/api/serializers.py b/netbox/tenancy/api/serializers.py
index b97c3dac4..f60c8f258 100644
--- a/netbox/tenancy/api/serializers.py
+++ b/netbox/tenancy/api/serializers.py
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ class ContactRoleSerializer(PrimaryModelSerializer):
 
 class ContactSerializer(PrimaryModelSerializer):
     url = serializers.HyperlinkedIdentityField(view_name='tenancy-api:contact-detail')
-    group = NestedContactGroupSerializer(required=False, allow_null=True)
+    group = NestedContactGroupSerializer(required=False, allow_null=True, default=None)
 
     class Meta:
         model = Contact
diff --git a/netbox/tenancy/tests/test_api.py b/netbox/tenancy/tests/test_api.py
index 467352588..a4469e0f2 100644
--- a/netbox/tenancy/tests/test_api.py
+++ b/netbox/tenancy/tests/test_api.py
@@ -200,7 +200,6 @@ class ContactTest(APIViewTestCases.APIViewTestCase):
             },
             {
                 'name': 'Contact 6',
-                'group': contact_groups[1].pk,
             },
         ]