diff --git a/configs/configschema/coerce_value.go b/configs/configschema/coerce_value.go
index 23a48e1be..41a533745 100644
--- a/configs/configschema/coerce_value.go
+++ b/configs/configschema/coerce_value.go
@@ -8,9 +8,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 // CoerceValue attempts to force the given value to conform to the type
-// implied by the receiever, while also applying the same validation and
-// transformation rules that would be applied by the decoder specification
-// returned by method DecoderSpec.
+// implied by the receiever.
 //
 // This is useful in situations where a configuration must be derived from
 // an already-decoded value. It is always better to decode directly from
@@ -83,16 +81,8 @@ func (b *Block) coerceValue(in cty.Value, path cty.Path) (cty.Value, error) {
 				if err != nil {
 					return cty.UnknownVal(b.ImpliedType()), err
 				}
-			case blockS.MinItems != 1 && blockS.MaxItems != 1:
-				if blockS.Nesting == NestingGroup {
-					attrs[typeName] = blockS.EmptyValue()
-				} else {
-					attrs[typeName] = cty.NullVal(blockS.ImpliedType())
-				}
 			default:
-				// We use the word "attribute" here because we're talking about
-				// the cty sense of that word rather than the HCL sense.
-				return cty.UnknownVal(b.ImpliedType()), path.NewErrorf("attribute %q is required", typeName)
+				attrs[typeName] = blockS.EmptyValue()
 			}
 
 		case NestingList:
diff --git a/configs/configschema/coerce_value_test.go b/configs/configschema/coerce_value_test.go
index 084107878..974dfdd35 100644
--- a/configs/configschema/coerce_value_test.go
+++ b/configs/configschema/coerce_value_test.go
@@ -288,8 +288,10 @@ func TestCoerceValue(t *testing.T) {
 				},
 			},
 			cty.EmptyObjectVal,
-			cty.DynamicVal,
-			`attribute "foo" is required`,
+			cty.ObjectVal(map[string]cty.Value{
+				"foo": cty.NullVal(cty.EmptyObject),
+			}),
+			``,
 		},
 		"unknown nested list": {
 			&Block{
diff --git a/configs/configschema/decoder_spec.go b/configs/configschema/decoder_spec.go
index e748dd20d..c4bc3be03 100644
--- a/configs/configschema/decoder_spec.go
+++ b/configs/configschema/decoder_spec.go
@@ -35,7 +35,8 @@ func (b *Block) DecoderSpec() hcldec.Spec {
 
 		// We can only validate 0 or 1 for MinItems, because a dynamic block
 		// may satisfy any number of min items while only having a single
-		// block in the config.
+		// block in the config. We cannot validate MaxItems because a
+		// configuration may have any number of dynamic blocks
 		minItems := 0
 		if blockS.MinItems > 1 {
 			minItems = 1
@@ -46,7 +47,7 @@ func (b *Block) DecoderSpec() hcldec.Spec {
 			ret[name] = &hcldec.BlockSpec{
 				TypeName: name,
 				Nested:   childSpec,
-				Required: blockS.MinItems == 1 && blockS.MaxItems >= 1,
+				Required: blockS.MinItems == 1,
 			}
 			if blockS.Nesting == NestingGroup {
 				ret[name] = &hcldec.DefaultSpec{
@@ -66,14 +67,12 @@ func (b *Block) DecoderSpec() hcldec.Spec {
 					TypeName: name,
 					Nested:   childSpec,
 					MinItems: minItems,
-					MaxItems: blockS.MaxItems,
 				}
 			} else {
 				ret[name] = &hcldec.BlockListSpec{
 					TypeName: name,
 					Nested:   childSpec,
 					MinItems: minItems,
-					MaxItems: blockS.MaxItems,
 				}
 			}
 		case NestingSet:
@@ -86,7 +85,6 @@ func (b *Block) DecoderSpec() hcldec.Spec {
 				TypeName: name,
 				Nested:   childSpec,
 				MinItems: minItems,
-				MaxItems: blockS.MaxItems,
 			}
 		case NestingMap:
 			// We prefer to use a list where possible, since it makes our
diff --git a/configs/configschema/decoder_spec_test.go b/configs/configschema/decoder_spec_test.go
index d6f6a6a15..1e7b1d4c6 100644
--- a/configs/configschema/decoder_spec_test.go
+++ b/configs/configschema/decoder_spec_test.go
@@ -354,7 +354,7 @@ func TestBlockDecoderSpec(t *testing.T) {
 					cty.EmptyObjectVal,
 				}),
 			}),
-			1, // too many "foo" blocks
+			0, // max items cannot be validated during decode
 		},
 		// dynamic blocks may fulfill MinItems, but there is only one block to
 		// decode.