diff --git a/specification/common/common.md b/specification/common/common.md
index 6cb26c12f..c3f434aa8 100644
--- a/specification/common/common.md
+++ b/specification/common/common.md
@@ -78,8 +78,9 @@ in the list below.
 An SDK MAY implement model-specific limits, for example
 `SpanAttributeCountLimit`. If both a general and a model-specific limit are
 implemented, then the SDK MUST first attempt to use the model-specific limit, if
-it isn't set and doesn't have a default, then the SDK MUST attempt to use the
-general limit.
+it isn't set, then the SDK MUST attempt to use the general limit. If neither are
+defined, then the SDK MUST try to use the model-specific limit default value,
+followed by the global limit default value.
 
 <a name="attribute-limits-configuration"></a>
 **Configurable parameters:**