diff --git a/nav2_behavior_tree/include/nav2_behavior_tree/bt_action_server_impl.hpp b/nav2_behavior_tree/include/nav2_behavior_tree/bt_action_server_impl.hpp
index 32d65e155cf..64b59bbf14d 100644
--- a/nav2_behavior_tree/include/nav2_behavior_tree/bt_action_server_impl.hpp
+++ b/nav2_behavior_tree/include/nav2_behavior_tree/bt_action_server_impl.hpp
@@ -60,6 +60,9 @@ BtActionServer<ActionT>::BtActionServer(
   if (!node->has_parameter("default_server_timeout")) {
     node->declare_parameter("default_server_timeout", 20);
   }
+  if (!node->has_parameter("wait_for_service_timeout")) {
+    node->declare_parameter("wait_for_service_timeout", 1000);
+  }
 }
 
 template<class ActionT>