diff --git a/agent/config/builder.go b/agent/config/builder.go
index bf78d92df7..39c15c5d14 100644
--- a/agent/config/builder.go
+++ b/agent/config/builder.go
@@ -805,7 +805,7 @@ func (b *builder) build() (rt RuntimeConfig, err error) {
 		VersionPrerelease:          stringVal(c.VersionPrerelease),
 		VersionMetadata:            stringVal(c.VersionMetadata),
 		// What is a sensible default for BuildDate?
-		BuildDate: timeValWithDefault(c.BuildDate, time.Now()),
+		BuildDate: timeValWithDefault(c.BuildDate, time.Date(1970, 1, 00, 00, 00, 01, 0, time.UTC)),
 
 		// consul configuration
 		ConsulCoordinateUpdateBatchSize:  intVal(c.Consul.Coordinate.UpdateBatchSize),
diff --git a/version/version.go b/version/version.go
index 95e3961d71..8930b48224 100644
--- a/version/version.go
+++ b/version/version.go
@@ -25,7 +25,8 @@ var (
 	VersionPrerelease = "dev"
 
 	// The date/time of the build (actually the HEAD commit in git, to preserve stability)
-	BuildDate string = "2022-06-02T18:28:32Z"
+	// This isn't just informational, but is also used by the licensing system. Default is chosen to be flagantly wrong.
+	BuildDate string = "1970-01-01T00:00:01Z"
 )
 
 // GetHumanVersion composes the parts of the version in a way that's suitable