diff --git a/ironic_inspector/common/ironic.py b/ironic_inspector/common/ironic.py
index c8ba563c3..00024ab80 100644
--- a/ironic_inspector/common/ironic.py
+++ b/ironic_inspector/common/ironic.py
@@ -35,11 +35,12 @@ VALID_ACTIVE_STATES = frozenset(['active', 'rescue'])
 
 # 1.38 is the latest API version in the Queens release series, 10.1.0.
 # 1.46 is the latest API version in the Rocky release series, 11.1.0.
+# 1.56 is the latest API version in the Stein release series, 12.1.0
 # NOTE(mgoddard): This should be updated with each release to ensure that
 # inspector is able to use the latest ironic API. In particular, this version
 # is used when processing introspection rules, and is the default version used
 # by processing plugins.
-DEFAULT_IRONIC_API_VERSION = ['1.38', '1.46']
+DEFAULT_IRONIC_API_VERSION = ['1.38', '1.46', '1.56']
 
 IRONIC_SESSION = None
 
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/update-default-ironic-api-stein-b3b01ec542fa8f15.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/update-default-ironic-api-stein-b3b01ec542fa8f15.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0254bef8c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/update-default-ironic-api-stein-b3b01ec542fa8f15.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+upgrade:
+  - |
+    Updates the default Ironic API version to 1.56, which is the most
+    recent version in the Stein series Bare Metal release (12.1.0).
+