diff --git a/libavutil/timecode.h b/libavutil/timecode.h
index 56e3975fd8..37c1361bc2 100644
--- a/libavutil/timecode.h
+++ b/libavutil/timecode.h
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@
 #include <stdint.h>
 #include "rational.h"
 
-#define AV_TIMECODE_STR_SIZE 16
+#define AV_TIMECODE_STR_SIZE 23
 
 enum AVTimecodeFlag {
     AV_TIMECODE_FLAG_DROPFRAME      = 1<<0, ///< timecode is drop frame