diff --git a/src/qonnx/util/basic.py b/src/qonnx/util/basic.py
index 363aa501..dcb72b3e 100644
--- a/src/qonnx/util/basic.py
+++ b/src/qonnx/util/basic.py
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@
 
 def get_preferred_onnx_opset():
     "Return preferred ONNX opset version for QONNX"
-    return 11
+    return 12
 
 
 def qonnx_make_model(graph_proto, **kwargs):