diff --git a/pkg/policies/policies.go b/pkg/policies/policies.go
index 4ebbe8cd2..ebd173d89 100644
--- a/pkg/policies/policies.go
+++ b/pkg/policies/policies.go
@@ -230,12 +230,24 @@ func ComputeArguments(inputs []*v1.PolicyInput, args map[string]string, bindings
 		if input.Required && input.Default != "" {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("input %s can not be required and have a default at the same time", input.Name)
 		}
-		if _, ok := args[input.Name]; !ok {
+
+		// if the input exists, it might be an expression, apply bindings to see if it has a value
+		argValue := args[input.Name]
+		var err error
+		if argValue != "" {
+			argValue, err = templates.ApplyBinding(argValue, bindings)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, err
+			}
+		}
+
+		// if the input is not present, or the computed value is empty, we need to check if it's required
+		if _, ok := args[input.Name]; !ok || argValue == "" {
 			if input.Required {
 				return nil, fmt.Errorf("missing required input %q", input.Name)
 			}
 			// if not required, and it has a default value, let's use it
-			if args[input.Name] == "" && input.Default != "" {
+			if argValue == "" && input.Default != "" {
 				value, err := templates.ApplyBinding(input.Default, bindings)
 				if err != nil {
 					return nil, err
diff --git a/pkg/policies/policies_test.go b/pkg/policies/policies_test.go
index 19ce899b0..747865830 100644
--- a/pkg/policies/policies_test.go
+++ b/pkg/policies/policies_test.go
@@ -932,6 +932,15 @@ func (s *testSuite) TestComputePolicyArguments() {
 			bindings: map[string]string{"foo": "world", "bar": "template"},
 			expected: map[string]string{"arg1": "Hello world template", "arg2": "Bye template"},
 		},
+		{
+			name: "required input with missing binding",
+			inputs: []*v12.PolicyInput{{
+				Name:     "arg1",
+				Required: true,
+			}},
+			args:      map[string]string{"arg1": "{{ inputs.foo }}"},
+			expectErr: true,
+		},
 	}
 
 	for _, tc := range cases {
diff --git a/pkg/templates/templates.go b/pkg/templates/templates.go
index 10c5dff7a..21050a840 100644
--- a/pkg/templates/templates.go
+++ b/pkg/templates/templates.go
@@ -25,8 +25,12 @@ var inputsPrefixRegexp = regexp.MustCompile(`{{\s*(inputs.)`)
 
 // ApplyBinding renders an input template using bindings in Go templating format
 func ApplyBinding(input string, bindings map[string]string) (string, error) {
-	if bindings == nil || input == "" {
-		return input, nil
+	if input == "" {
+		return "", nil
+	}
+
+	if bindings == nil {
+		bindings = make(map[string]string)
 	}
 
 	// Support both `.inputs.foo` and `inputs.foo`