 <p>Use <code>ng-init</code>: <a href="https://docs.angularjs.org/api/ng/directive/ngInit" rel="nofollow">https://docs.angularjs.org/api/ng/directive/ngInit</a></p> <pre><code>&lt;div ng-repeat="name in names"&gt; &lt;label&gt;&lt;input type="checkbox" ng-init="value = true" ng-model="value" ng-change="checkName(name, value)"&gt;{{name}}&lt;/label&gt; &lt;/div&gt; </code></pre>