diff --git a/C4/Biblio.pm b/C4/Biblio.pm
index f68853481c..eaff2564b6 100644
--- a/C4/Biblio.pm
+++ b/C4/Biblio.pm
@@ -906,19 +906,21 @@ sub GetMarcStructure {
 
     my $dbh = C4::Context->dbh;
     my $sth = $dbh->prepare(
-        "SELECT tagfield,liblibrarian,libopac,mandatory,repeatable 
+        "SELECT tagfield,liblibrarian,libopac,mandatory,repeatable,ind1_defaultvalue,ind2_defaultvalue
         FROM marc_tag_structure 
         WHERE frameworkcode=? 
         ORDER BY tagfield"
     );
     $sth->execute($frameworkcode);
-    my ( $liblibrarian, $libopac, $tag, $res, $tab, $mandatory, $repeatable );
+    my ( $liblibrarian, $libopac, $tag, $res, $tab, $mandatory, $repeatable, $ind1_defaultvalue, $ind2_defaultvalue );
 
-    while ( ( $tag, $liblibrarian, $libopac, $mandatory, $repeatable ) = $sth->fetchrow ) {
+    while ( ( $tag, $liblibrarian, $libopac, $mandatory, $repeatable, $ind1_defaultvalue, $ind2_defaultvalue ) = $sth->fetchrow ) {
         $res->{$tag}->{lib}        = ( $forlibrarian or !$libopac ) ? $liblibrarian : $libopac;
         $res->{$tag}->{tab}        = "";
         $res->{$tag}->{mandatory}  = $mandatory;
         $res->{$tag}->{repeatable} = $repeatable;
+    $res->{$tag}->{ind1_defaultvalue} = $ind1_defaultvalue;
+    $res->{$tag}->{ind2_defaultvalue} = $ind2_defaultvalue;
     }
 
     $sth = $dbh->prepare(
diff --git a/admin/marctagstructure.pl b/admin/marctagstructure.pl
index 3ca143b000..43de4fb4ae 100755
--- a/admin/marctagstructure.pl
+++ b/admin/marctagstructure.pl
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ if ($op eq 'add_form') {
 	#---- if primkey exists, it's a modify action, so read values to modify...
 	my $data;
 	if ($searchfield) {
-		$sth=$dbh->prepare("select tagfield,liblibrarian,libopac,repeatable,mandatory,authorised_value from marc_tag_structure where tagfield=? and frameworkcode=?");
+        $sth=$dbh->prepare("select tagfield,liblibrarian,libopac,repeatable,mandatory,authorised_value,ind1_defaultvalue,ind2_defaultvalue from marc_tag_structure where tagfield=? and frameworkcode=?");
 		$sth->execute($searchfield,$frameworkcode);
 		$data=$sth->fetchrow_hashref;
 	}
@@ -108,6 +108,8 @@ if ($op eq 'add_form') {
             repeatable => $data->{'repeatable'},
             mandatory => $data->{'mandatory'},
             authorised_value => $data->{authorised_value},
+            ind1_defaultvalue => $data->{'ind1_defaultvalue'},
+            ind2_defaultvalue => $data->{'ind2_defaultvalue'},
 			frameworkcode => $frameworkcode,
     );  # FIXME: move checkboxes to presentation layer
 													# END $OP eq ADD_FORM
@@ -120,21 +122,25 @@ if ($op eq 'add_form') {
 	my $repeatable       = $input->param('repeatable') ? 1 : 0;
 	my $mandatory        = $input->param('mandatory')  ? 1 : 0;
 	my $authorised_value = $input->param('authorised_value');
+    my $ind1_defaultvalue = $input->param('ind1_defaultvalue');
+    my $ind2_defaultvalue = $input->param('ind2_defaultvalue');
     if ($input->param('modif')) {
         $sth = $dbh->prepare(
-        "UPDATE marc_tag_structure SET liblibrarian=? ,libopac=? ,repeatable=? ,mandatory=? ,authorised_value=? WHERE frameworkcode=? AND tagfield=?"
+        "UPDATE marc_tag_structure SET liblibrarian=? ,libopac=? ,repeatable=? ,mandatory=? ,authorised_value=?, ind1_defaultvalue=?, ind2_defaultvalue=? WHERE frameworkcode=? AND tagfield=?"
         );
         $sth->execute(  $liblibrarian,
                         $libopac,
                         $repeatable,
                         $mandatory,
                         $authorised_value,
+                        $ind1_defaultvalue,
+                        $ind2_defaultvalue,
                         $frameworkcode,
                         $tagfield
         );
     } else {
         $sth = $dbh->prepare(
-        "INSERT INTO marc_tag_structure (tagfield,liblibrarian,libopac,repeatable,mandatory,authorised_value,frameworkcode) values (?,?,?,?,?,?,?)"
+        "INSERT INTO marc_tag_structure (tagfield,liblibrarian,libopac,repeatable,mandatory,authorised_value,ind1_defaultvalue,ind2_defaultvalue,frameworkcode) values (?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?)"
         );
         $sth->execute($tagfield,
                       $liblibrarian,
@@ -142,6 +148,8 @@ if ($op eq 'add_form') {
                       $repeatable,
                       $mandatory,
                       $authorised_value,
+                      $ind1_defaultvalue,
+                      $ind2_defaultvalue,
                       $frameworkcode
         );
     }
@@ -155,7 +163,7 @@ if ($op eq 'add_form') {
 ################## DELETE_CONFIRM ##################################
 # called by default form, used to confirm deletion of data in DB
 } elsif ($op eq 'delete_confirm') {
-	$sth=$dbh->prepare("select tagfield,liblibrarian,libopac,repeatable,mandatory,authorised_value from marc_tag_structure where tagfield=? and frameworkcode=?");
+    $sth=$dbh->prepare("select tagfield,liblibrarian,libopac,repeatable,mandatory,authorised_value,ind1_defaultvalue,ind2_defaultvalue from marc_tag_structure where tagfield=? and frameworkcode=?");
     $sth->execute($searchfield, $frameworkcode);
     my $data = $sth->fetchrow_hashref;
 	$template->param(
@@ -215,6 +223,8 @@ if ($op eq 'add_form') {
 		              marc_tag_structure.repeatable as mts_repeatable,
 		              marc_tag_structure.mandatory as mts_mandatory,
 		              marc_tag_structure.authorised_value as mts_authorized_value,
+                  marc_tag_structure.ind1_defaultvalue as mts_ind1_defaultvalue,
+                  marc_tag_structure.ind1_defaultvalue as mts_ind2_defaultvalue,
 		              marc_subfield_structure.*
                 FROM marc_tag_structure 
                 LEFT JOIN marc_subfield_structure ON (marc_tag_structure.tagfield=marc_subfield_structure.tagfield AND marc_tag_structure.frameworkcode=marc_subfield_structure.frameworkcode) WHERE (marc_tag_structure.tagfield >= ? and marc_tag_structure.frameworkcode=?) AND marc_subfield_structure.tab>=0 ORDER BY marc_tag_structure.tagfield,marc_subfield_structure.tagsubfield");
@@ -236,6 +246,8 @@ if ($op eq 'add_form') {
 			$row_data{repeatable}       = $results[$i]->{'mts_repeatable'};
 			$row_data{mandatory}        = $results[$i]->{'mts_mandatory'};
 			$row_data{authorised_value} = $results[$i]->{'mts_authorised_value'};
+            $row_data{ind1_defaultvalue} = $results[$i]->{'mts_ind1_defaultvalue'};
+            $row_data{ind2_defaultvalue} = $results[$i]->{'mts_ind2_defaultvalue'};
 			$row_data{subfield_link} = "marc_subfields_structure.pl?op=add_form&tagfield=".$results[$i]->{'mts_tagfield'}."&frameworkcode=".$frameworkcode;
 			$row_data{edit}          = "$script_name?op=add_form&searchfield="            .$results[$i]->{'mts_tagfield'}."&frameworkcode=".$frameworkcode;
 			$row_data{delete}        = "$script_name?op=delete_confirm&searchfield="      .$results[$i]->{'mts_tagfield'}."&frameworkcode=".$frameworkcode;
@@ -281,6 +293,8 @@ if ($op eq 'add_form') {
 			$row_data{repeatable}       = $results->[$i]{'repeatable'};
 			$row_data{mandatory}        = $results->[$i]{'mandatory'};
 			$row_data{authorised_value} = $results->[$i]{'authorised_value'};
+            $row_data{ind1_defaultvalue} = $results->[$i]{'ind1_defaultvalue'};
+            $row_data{ind2_defaultvalue} = $results->[$i]{'ind2_defaultvalue'};
 			$row_data{subfield_link}    = "marc_subfields_structure.pl?tagfield="          .$results->[$i]{'tagfield'}."&frameworkcode=".$frameworkcode;
 			$row_data{edit}             = "$script_name?op=add_form&searchfield="      .$results->[$i]{'tagfield'}."&frameworkcode=".$frameworkcode;
 			$row_data{delete}           = "$script_name?op=delete_confirm&searchfield=".$results->[$i]{'tagfield'}."&frameworkcode=".$frameworkcode;
@@ -313,7 +327,7 @@ output_html_with_http_headers $input, $cookie, $template->output;
 sub StringSearch  {
 	my ($searchstring,$frameworkcode)=@_;
 	my $sth = C4::Context->dbh->prepare("
-    SELECT tagfield,liblibrarian,libopac,repeatable,mandatory,authorised_value
+    SELECT tagfield,liblibrarian,libopac,repeatable,mandatory,authorised_value,ind1_defaultvalue,ind2_defaultvalue
      FROM  marc_tag_structure
      WHERE (tagfield >= ? and frameworkcode=?)
     ORDER BY tagfield
@@ -329,8 +343,8 @@ sub StringSearch  {
 sub duplicate_framework {
 	my ($newframeworkcode,$oldframeworkcode) = @_;
 	my $dbh = C4::Context->dbh;
-    $dbh->do(q|INSERT INTO marc_tag_structure (tagfield, liblibrarian, libopac, repeatable, mandatory, authorised_value, frameworkcode)
-        SELECT tagfield,liblibrarian,libopac,repeatable,mandatory,authorised_value, ? from marc_tag_structure where frameworkcode=?|, undef, $newframeworkcode, $oldframeworkcode );
+    $dbh->do(q|INSERT INTO marc_tag_structure (tagfield, liblibrarian, libopac, repeatable, mandatory, authorised_value, ind1_defaultvalue, ind2_defaultvalue, frameworkcode)
+        SELECT tagfield,liblibrarian,libopac,repeatable,mandatory,authorised_value, ind1_defaultvalue, ind2_defaultvalue, ? from marc_tag_structure where frameworkcode=?|, undef, $newframeworkcode, $oldframeworkcode );
 
     $dbh->do(q|INSERT INTO marc_subfield_structure (frameworkcode,tagfield,tagsubfield,liblibrarian,libopac,repeatable,mandatory,kohafield,tab,authorised_value,authtypecode,value_builder,seealso,hidden)
         SELECT ?,tagfield,tagsubfield,liblibrarian,libopac,repeatable,mandatory,kohafield,tab,authorised_value,authtypecode,value_builder,seealso,hidden from marc_subfield_structure where frameworkcode=?
diff --git a/cataloguing/addbiblio.pl b/cataloguing/addbiblio.pl
index 4ecaf69e21..0f40ecd18f 100755
--- a/cataloguing/addbiblio.pl
+++ b/cataloguing/addbiblio.pl
@@ -657,8 +657,8 @@ sub build_tabs {
                         tag_lib          => $tagslib->{$tag}->{lib},
                         repeatable       => $tagslib->{$tag}->{repeatable},
                         mandatory       => $tagslib->{$tag}->{mandatory},
-                        indicator1       => $indicator1,
-                        indicator2       => $indicator2,
+                        indicator1       => ( $indicator1 || $tagslib->{$tag}->{ind1_defaultvalue} ), #if not set, try to load the default value
+                        indicator2       => ( $indicator2 || $tagslib->{$tag}->{ind2_defaultvalue} ), #use short-circuit operator for efficiency
                         subfield_loop    => \@subfields_data,
                         tagfirstsubfield => $subfields_data[0],
                         fixedfield       => $tag < 10?1:0,
diff --git a/installer/data/mysql/atomicupdate/bug_9701-add_default_indicators.sql b/installer/data/mysql/atomicupdate/bug_9701-add_default_indicators.sql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7cccd91fad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/installer/data/mysql/atomicupdate/bug_9701-add_default_indicators.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+ALTER TABLE marc_tag_structure
+ADD COLUMN ind2_defaultvalue VARCHAR(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT '' AFTER authorised_value,
+ADD COLUMN ind1_defaultvalue VARCHAR(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT '' AFTER authorised_value;
diff --git a/installer/data/mysql/kohastructure.sql b/installer/data/mysql/kohastructure.sql
index 52f0922967..6842eb580c 100644
--- a/installer/data/mysql/kohastructure.sql
+++ b/installer/data/mysql/kohastructure.sql
@@ -1141,6 +1141,8 @@ CREATE TABLE `marc_tag_structure` (
   `repeatable` tinyint(4) NOT NULL default 0,
   `mandatory` tinyint(4) NOT NULL default 0,
   `authorised_value` varchar(10) default NULL,
+  `ind1_defaultvalue` varchar(1) NOT NULL default '',
+  `ind2_defaultvalue` varchar(1) NOT NULL default '',
   `frameworkcode` varchar(4) NOT NULL default '',
   PRIMARY KEY  (`frameworkcode`,`tagfield`)
 ) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4 COLLATE=utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
diff --git a/koha-tmpl/intranet-tmpl/prog/en/modules/admin/marctagstructure.tt b/koha-tmpl/intranet-tmpl/prog/en/modules/admin/marctagstructure.tt
index f4d8023da1..366e99e78b 100644
--- a/koha-tmpl/intranet-tmpl/prog/en/modules/admin/marctagstructure.tt
+++ b/koha-tmpl/intranet-tmpl/prog/en/modules/admin/marctagstructure.tt
@@ -79,6 +79,12 @@
             <input type="checkbox" name="mandatory" id="mandatory" value="1" />
         [% END %]
     </li>
+    <li><label for="ind1_defaultvalue">First indicator default value: </label>
+        <input id="ind1_defaultvalue" type="text" name="ind1_defaultvalue" value="[% ind1_defaultvalue |html %]" maxlength="1" size="1" />
+    </li>
+    <li><label for="ind2_defaultvalue">Second indicator default value: </label>
+        <input id="ind2_defaultvalue" type="text" name="ind2_defaultvalue" value="[% ind2_defaultvalue |html %]" maxlength="1" size="1" />
+    </li>
     <li><label for="authorised_value">Authorized value: </label>
         <select name="authorised_value" id="authorised_value" size="1">
             <option value=""></option>
@@ -170,6 +176,8 @@
         <th>Repeatable</th>
         <th>Mandatory</th>
         <th>Auth value</th>
+        <th>Indicator 1</th>
+        <th>Indicator 2</th>
         <th>&nbsp;</th>
         </tr>
     </thead>
@@ -190,6 +198,8 @@
             <td>[% IF ( loo.repeatable ) %]Yes[% ELSE %]No[% END %]</td>
             <td>[% IF ( loo.mandatory ) %]Yes[% ELSE %]No[% END %]</td>
             <td>[% loo.authorised_value %]</td>
+            <td>[% loo.ind1_defaultvalue %]</td>
+            <td>[% loo.ind2_defaultvalue %]</td>
             <td>
                 <div class="dropdown">
                     <a class="btn btn-default btn-xs dropdown-toggle" id="marctagactions[% loo.tagfield %]" role="button" data-toggle="dropdown" href="#">
@@ -211,6 +221,8 @@
         <td>[% IF ( loo.repeatable ) %]Yes[% ELSE %]No[% END %]</td>
         <td>[% IF ( loo.mandatory ) %]Yes[% ELSE %]No[% END %]</td>
         <td>[% loo.authorised_value %]</td>
+        <td>[% loo.ind1_defaultvalue %]</td>
+        <td>[% loo.ind2_defaultvalue %]</td>
         <td>
             <div class="dropdown">
                 <a class="btn btn-default btn-xs dropdown-toggle" id="marctagactions[% loo.tagfield %]" role="button" data-toggle="dropdown" href="#">