diff --git a/docs/README.md b/docs/README.md
index 208ed35..2ee008a 100644
--- a/docs/README.md
+++ b/docs/README.md
@@ -582,7 +582,7 @@ By default, [HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS)](https://developer.mozilla.or
 
 If no matching certificate is found for a given virtual host, nginx-proxy will:
 
-- configure nginx to use the default certificate (`default.crt` with `default.key`) and return a 500 error for HTTPS,
+- configure nginx to use the default certificate (`default.crt` with `default.key`),
 - force enable HTTP; i.e. `HTTPS_METHOD` will switch to `noredirect` if it was set to `nohttp` or `redirect`.
   If this switch to HTTP is not wanted set `ENABLE_HTTP_ON_MISSING_CERT=false` (default is `true`).
 
diff --git a/nginx.tmpl b/nginx.tmpl
index a15e7e8..b9b0598 100644
--- a/nginx.tmpl
+++ b/nginx.tmpl
@@ -918,15 +918,21 @@ server {
             {{- end }}
         {{- end }}
 
-        {{- if $vhost.cert_ok }}
+        {{- if or $vhost.cert_ok $globals.config.default_cert_ok }}
             {{- template "ssl_policy" (dict "ssl_policy" $vhost.ssl_policy) }}
 
     ssl_session_timeout 5m;
     ssl_session_cache shared:SSL:50m;
     ssl_session_tickets off;
 
+            {{- if $vhost.cert_ok }}
     ssl_certificate /etc/nginx/certs/{{ (printf "%s.crt" $vhost.cert) }};
     ssl_certificate_key /etc/nginx/certs/{{ (printf "%s.key" $vhost.cert) }};
+            {{- else }}
+    # No vhost certificate found, using the default certificate.
+    ssl_certificate /etc/nginx/certs/default.crt;
+    ssl_certificate_key /etc/nginx/certs/default.key;
+            {{- end }}
 
             {{- if (exists (printf "/etc/nginx/certs/%s.dhparam.pem" $vhost.cert)) }}
     ssl_dhparam {{ printf "/etc/nginx/certs/%s.dhparam.pem" $vhost.cert }};
@@ -945,14 +951,6 @@ server {
     }
     add_header Strict-Transport-Security $sts_header always;
             {{- end }}
-        {{- else if $globals.config.default_cert_ok }}
-    # No certificate found for this vhost, so use the default certificate and
-    # return an error code if the user connects via https.
-    ssl_certificate /etc/nginx/certs/default.crt;
-    ssl_certificate_key /etc/nginx/certs/default.key;
-    if ($https) {
-        return 500;
-    }
         {{- else }}
     # No certificate for this vhost nor default certificate found, so reject SSL handshake.
     ssl_reject_handshake on;
diff --git a/test/test_fallback.py b/test/test_fallback.py
index a8a673a..13af825 100644
--- a/test/test_fallback.py
+++ b/test/test_fallback.py
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ INTERNAL_ERR_RE = re.compile("TLSV1_UNRECOGNIZED_NAME")
     ("withdefault.yml", "http://http-only.nginx-proxy.test/", 200, None),
     ("withdefault.yml", "https://http-only.nginx-proxy.test/", 503, None),
     ("withdefault.yml", "http://missing-cert.nginx-proxy.test/", 200, None),
-    ("withdefault.yml", "https://missing-cert.nginx-proxy.test/", 500, None),
+    ("withdefault.yml", "https://missing-cert.nginx-proxy.test/", 200, None),
     ("withdefault.yml", "http://unknown.nginx-proxy.test/", 503, None),
     ("withdefault.yml", "https://unknown.nginx-proxy.test/", 503, None),
     # Same as withdefault.yml, except there is no default.crt.
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ INTERNAL_ERR_RE = re.compile("TLSV1_UNRECOGNIZED_NAME")
     ("nohttp-with-missing-cert.yml", "http://https-only.nginx-proxy.test/", 503, None),
     ("nohttp-with-missing-cert.yml", "https://https-only.nginx-proxy.test/", 200, None),
     ("nohttp-with-missing-cert.yml", "http://missing-cert.nginx-proxy.test/", 200, None),
-    ("nohttp-with-missing-cert.yml", "https://missing-cert.nginx-proxy.test/", 500, None),
+    ("nohttp-with-missing-cert.yml", "https://missing-cert.nginx-proxy.test/", 200, None),
     ("nohttp-with-missing-cert.yml", "http://unknown.nginx-proxy.test/", 503, None),
     ("nohttp-with-missing-cert.yml", "https://unknown.nginx-proxy.test/", 503, None),
     # HTTPS_METHOD=nohttps on nginx-proxy, HTTPS_METHOD unset on the app container.