diff --git a/lib/Db/IdentifyMethod.php b/lib/Db/IdentifyMethod.php
index 2f15f8469e..49882541a1 100644
--- a/lib/Db/IdentifyMethod.php
+++ b/lib/Db/IdentifyMethod.php
@@ -35,8 +35,8 @@ class IdentifyMethod extends Entity {
 	public string $identifierValue = '';
 	public int $attempts = 0;
 	public ?string $code = '';
-	public ?\DateTime $identifiedAtDate;
-	public ?\DateTime $lastAttemptDate;
+	public ?\DateTime $identifiedAtDate = null;
+	public ?\DateTime $lastAttemptDate = null;
 	protected array $metadata = [];
 
 	public function __construct() {