diff --git a/app/assets/javascripts/admin/controllers/admin-user-field-item.js.es6 b/app/assets/javascripts/admin/controllers/admin-user-field-item.js.es6
index f2ea7d746..0e0ac50be 100644
--- a/app/assets/javascripts/admin/controllers/admin-user-field-item.js.es6
+++ b/app/assets/javascripts/admin/controllers/admin-user-field-item.js.es6
@@ -9,11 +9,23 @@ export default Ember.ObjectController.extend(BufferedContent, {
     return UserField.fieldTypeById(this.get('field_type')).get('name');
   }.property('field_type'),
 
+  flags: function() {
+    var ret = [];
+    if (this.get('editable')) {
+      ret.push(I18n.t('admin.user_fields.editable.enabled'));
+    }
+    if (this.get('required')) {
+      ret.push(I18n.t('admin.user_fields.required.enabled'));
+    }
+
+    return ret.join(', ');
+  }.property('editable', 'required'),
+
   actions: {
     save: function() {
       var self = this;
 
-      var attrs = this.get('buffered').getProperties('name', 'description', 'field_type', 'editable');
+      var attrs = this.get('buffered').getProperties('name', 'description', 'field_type', 'editable', 'required');
 
       this.get('model').save(attrs).then(function(res) {
         self.set('model.id', res.user_field.id);
diff --git a/app/assets/javascripts/admin/templates/user-fields.hbs b/app/assets/javascripts/admin/templates/user-fields.hbs
index bb890d75f..c829ef18c 100644
--- a/app/assets/javascripts/admin/templates/user-fields.hbs
+++ b/app/assets/javascripts/admin/templates/user-fields.hbs
@@ -11,12 +11,10 @@
             {{input value=f.buffered.name class="user-field-name" placeholder=userFieldsName}}
           </div>
           <div class='form-element'>
-            {{combo-box content=fieldTypes valueAttribute="id" value=f.buffered.field_type}}
+            {{input value=f.buffered.description class="user-field-desc" placeholder=userFieldsDescription}}
           </div>
           <div class='form-element'>
-            <label>
-              {{input type="checkbox" checked=f.buffered.editable}} {{i18n admin.user_fields.editable.title}}
-            </label>
+            {{combo-box content=fieldTypes valueAttribute="id" value=f.buffered.field_type}}
           </div>
           <div class='form-element controls'>
             <button {{action "save"}}class='btn btn-primary'>{{fa-icon 'check'}} {{i18n admin.user_fields.save}}</button>
@@ -25,29 +23,29 @@
         </div>
         <div class="row">
           <div class='form-element'>
-            {{input value=f.buffered.description class="user-field-desc" placeholder=userFieldsDescription}}
+            <label>
+              {{input type="checkbox" checked=f.buffered.editable}} {{i18n admin.user_fields.editable.title}}
+            </label>
+          </div>
+          <div class='form-element'>
+            <label>
+              {{input type="checkbox" checked=f.buffered.required}} {{i18n admin.user_fields.required.title}}
+            </label>
           </div>
         </div>
       {{else}}
         <div class="row">
-        <div class='form-display'><strong>{{f.name}}</strong></div>
-        <div class='form-display'>{{f.fieldName}}</div>
-        <div class='form-display'>
-          {{#if f.editable}}
-            {{i18n admin.user_fields.editable.enabled}}
-          {{else}}
-            {{i18n admin.user_fields.editable.disabled}}
-          {{/if}}
+          <div class='form-display'><strong>{{f.name}}</strong></div>
+          <div class='form-display'>{{{f.description}}}</div>
+          <div class='form-display'>{{f.fieldName}}</div>
+          <div class='form-display'>
+          </div>
+          <div class='form-element controls'>
+            <button {{action "edit"}}class='btn btn-default'>{{fa-icon 'pencil'}} {{i18n admin.user_fields.edit}}</button>
+            <button {{action "destroy"}}class='btn btn-danger'>{{fa-icon 'trash-o'}} {{i18n admin.user_fields.delete}}</button>
+          </div>
         </div>
-        <div class='form-element controls'>
-          <button {{action "edit"}}class='btn btn-default'>{{fa-icon 'pencil'}} {{i18n admin.user_fields.edit}}</button>
-          <button {{action "destroy"}}class='btn btn-danger'>{{fa-icon 'trash-o'}} {{i18n admin.user_fields.delete}}</button>
-        </div>
-      </div>
-      <div class="row">
-        {{f.description}}
-      </div>
-
+        <div class="row">{{f.flags}}</div>
       {{/if}}
       <div class='clearfix'></div>
     {{/each}}
diff --git a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/controllers/create-account.js.es6 b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/controllers/create-account.js.es6
index 6352ade30..e9798fe5e 100644
--- a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/controllers/create-account.js.es6
+++ b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/controllers/create-account.js.es6
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ export default DiscourseController.extend(ModalFunctionality, {
 
     // Validate required fields
     var userFields = this.get('userFields');
+    if (userFields) { userFields = userFields.filterProperty('field.required'); }
     if (!Ember.empty(userFields)) {
       var anyEmpty = userFields.any(function(uf) {
         var val = uf.get('value');
diff --git a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/templates/components/user-fields/text.hbs b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/templates/components/user-fields/text.hbs
index 11d2d2629..499752add 100644
--- a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/templates/components/user-fields/text.hbs
+++ b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/templates/components/user-fields/text.hbs
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 <label>{{{field.name}}}</label>
 <div class='controls'>
   {{input value=value}}
+  {{#if field.required}}<span class='required'>*</span>{{/if}}
   <p>{{{field.description}}}</p>
 </div>
diff --git a/app/assets/stylesheets/common/base/login.scss b/app/assets/stylesheets/common/base/login.scss
index 82d184166..5f5dc26d0 100644
--- a/app/assets/stylesheets/common/base/login.scss
+++ b/app/assets/stylesheets/common/base/login.scss
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
     }
     .controls {
       margin-left: 92px;
+      margin-bottom: 15px;
       label {
         width: auto;
         text-align: left;
diff --git a/app/assets/stylesheets/common/base/user.scss b/app/assets/stylesheets/common/base/user.scss
index d447e4d87..910cabc5d 100644
--- a/app/assets/stylesheets/common/base/user.scss
+++ b/app/assets/stylesheets/common/base/user.scss
@@ -15,6 +15,15 @@
   }
 }
 
+.user-field {
+  .required {
+    text-align: top;
+    color: $danger;
+    font-weight: bold;
+    font-size: 1.3em;
+  }
+}
+
 .end-of-stream {
   border: 3px solid $primary;
   width: 100%;
@@ -22,7 +31,7 @@
 
 .user-navigation {
 
-    .map {
+  .map {
     height: 50px;
   }
   .avatar {
diff --git a/app/assets/stylesheets/mobile/login.scss b/app/assets/stylesheets/mobile/login.scss
index 8b3ab15d2..3c6275d08 100644
--- a/app/assets/stylesheets/mobile/login.scss
+++ b/app/assets/stylesheets/mobile/login.scss
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ a#forgot-password-link {clear: left; float: left; }
     label {
       width: 85px;
     }
+
     input[type=text] {
       margin-top: 0;
       width: 184px;
diff --git a/app/controllers/admin/user_fields_controller.rb b/app/controllers/admin/user_fields_controller.rb
index 20774d923..856f48b38 100644
--- a/app/controllers/admin/user_fields_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/admin/user_fields_controller.rb
@@ -1,7 +1,11 @@
 class Admin::UserFieldsController < Admin::AdminController
 
+  def self.columns
+    [:name, :field_type, :editable, :description, :required]
+  end
+
   def create
-    field = UserField.new(params.require(:user_field).permit(:name, :field_type, :editable, :description))
+    field = UserField.new(params.require(:user_field).permit(*Admin::UserFieldsController.columns))
     json_result(field, serializer: UserFieldSerializer) do
       field.save
     end
@@ -15,10 +19,10 @@ class Admin::UserFieldsController < Admin::AdminController
     field_params = params.require(:user_field)
 
     field = UserField.where(id: params.require(:id)).first
-    field.name = field_params[:name]
-    field.field_type = field_params[:field_type]
-    field.description = field_params[:description]
-    field.editable = field_params[:editable] == "true"
+
+    Admin::UserFieldsController.columns.each do |col|
+      field.send("#{col}=", field_params[col] || false)
+    end
 
     json_result(field, serializer: UserFieldSerializer) do
       field.save
diff --git a/app/controllers/users_controller.rb b/app/controllers/users_controller.rb
index ea6f338cf..4afdadbad 100644
--- a/app/controllers/users_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/users_controller.rb
@@ -49,11 +49,12 @@ class UsersController < ApplicationController
 
     if params[:user_fields].present?
       params[:custom_fields] ||= {}
-      UserField.where(editable: true).pluck(:id).each do |fid|
-        val = params[:user_fields][fid.to_s]
+      UserField.where(editable: true).each do |f|
+        val = params[:user_fields][f.id.to_s]
         val = nil if val === "false"
-        return render_json_error(I18n.t("login.missing_user_field")) if val.blank?
-        params[:custom_fields]["user_field_#{fid}"] = val
+
+        return render_json_error(I18n.t("login.missing_user_field")) if val.blank? && f.required?
+        params[:custom_fields]["user_field_#{f.id}"] = val
       end
     end
 
@@ -188,16 +189,19 @@ class UsersController < ApplicationController
     user = User.new(user_params)
 
     # Handle custom fields
-    user_field_ids = UserField.pluck(:id)
-    if user_field_ids.present?
-      if params[:user_fields].blank?
+    user_fields = UserField.all
+    if user_fields.present?
+      if params[:user_fields].blank? && UserField.where(required: true).exists?
         return fail_with("login.missing_user_field")
       else
         fields = user.custom_fields
-        user_field_ids.each do |fid|
-          field_val = params[:user_fields][fid.to_s]
-          return fail_with("login.missing_user_field") if field_val.blank?
-          fields["user_field_#{fid}"] = field_val
+        user_fields.each do |f|
+          field_val = params[:user_fields][f.id.to_s]
+          if field_val.blank?
+            return fail_with("login.missing_user_field") if f.required?
+          else
+            fields["user_field_#{f.id}"] = field_val
+          end
         end
         user.custom_fields = fields
       end
diff --git a/app/models/user_field_serializer.rb b/app/models/user_field_serializer.rb
index 52a9a8b4f..ff2da805e 100644
--- a/app/models/user_field_serializer.rb
+++ b/app/models/user_field_serializer.rb
@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
 class UserFieldSerializer < ApplicationSerializer
-  attributes :id, :name, :description, :field_type, :editable
+  attributes :id,
+             :name,
+             :description,
+             :field_type,
+             :editable,
+             :required
 end
diff --git a/config/locales/client.en.yml b/config/locales/client.en.yml
index 25caf6d56..176704524 100644
--- a/config/locales/client.en.yml
+++ b/config/locales/client.en.yml
@@ -2019,6 +2019,10 @@ en:
         delete: "Delete"
         cancel: "Cancel"
         delete_confirm: "Are you sure you want to delete that user field?"
+        required:
+          title: "Required at signup?"
+          enabled: "required"
+          disabled: "not required"
         editable:
           title: "Editable after signup?"
           enabled: "editable"
diff --git a/db/migrate/20141008181228_add_required_signup_to_user_fields.rb b/db/migrate/20141008181228_add_required_signup_to_user_fields.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d95286054
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/migrate/20141008181228_add_required_signup_to_user_fields.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+class AddRequiredSignupToUserFields < ActiveRecord::Migration
+  def change
+    add_column :user_fields, :required, :boolean, default: true, null: false
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/controllers/admin/user_fields_controller_spec.rb b/spec/controllers/admin/user_fields_controller_spec.rb
index 97412e742..5e6165f5a 100644
--- a/spec/controllers/admin/user_fields_controller_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/controllers/admin/user_fields_controller_spec.rb
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ describe Admin::UserFieldsController do
     context '.destroy' do
       let!(:user_field) { Fabricate(:user_field) }
 
-      it "returns a list of user fields" do
+      it "deletes the user field" do
         -> {
           xhr :delete, :destroy, id: user_field.id
           response.should be_success
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ describe Admin::UserFieldsController do
     context '.update' do
       let!(:user_field) { Fabricate(:user_field) }
 
-      it "returns a list of user fields" do
+      it "updates the user field" do
         xhr :put, :update, id: user_field.id, user_field: {name: 'fraggle', field_type: 'confirm', description: 'muppet'}
         response.should be_success
         user_field.reload
diff --git a/spec/controllers/users_controller_spec.rb b/spec/controllers/users_controller_spec.rb
index 6270e6bdc..1af534373 100644
--- a/spec/controllers/users_controller_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/controllers/users_controller_spec.rb
@@ -559,6 +559,7 @@ describe UsersController do
     context "with custom fields" do
       let!(:user_field) { Fabricate(:user_field) }
       let!(:another_field) { Fabricate(:user_field) }
+      let!(:optional_field) { Fabricate(:user_field, required: false) }
 
       context "without a value for the fields" do
         let(:create_params) { {name: @user.name, password: 'watwatwat', username: @user.username, email: @user.email} }
@@ -577,7 +578,7 @@ describe UsersController do
           }
         } }
 
-        it "should succeed" do
+        it "should succeed without the optional field" do
           xhr :post, :create, create_params
           response.should be_success
           inserted = User.where(email: @user.email).first
@@ -585,6 +586,19 @@ describe UsersController do
           inserted.custom_fields.should be_present
           inserted.custom_fields["user_field_#{user_field.id}"].should == 'value1'
           inserted.custom_fields["user_field_#{another_field.id}"].should == 'value2'
+          inserted.custom_fields["user_field_#{optional_field.id}"].should be_blank
+        end
+
+        it "should succeed with the optional field" do
+          create_params[:user_fields][optional_field.id.to_s] = 'value3'
+          xhr :post, :create, create_params.merge(create_params)
+          response.should be_success
+          inserted = User.where(email: @user.email).first
+          inserted.should be_present
+          inserted.custom_fields.should be_present
+          inserted.custom_fields["user_field_#{user_field.id}"].should == 'value1'
+          inserted.custom_fields["user_field_#{another_field.id}"].should == 'value2'
+          inserted.custom_fields["user_field_#{optional_field.id}"].should == 'value3'
         end
 
       end
@@ -904,6 +918,7 @@ describe UsersController do
         context "with user fields" do
           context "an editable field" do
             let!(:user_field) { Fabricate(:user_field) }
+            let!(:optional_field) { Fabricate(:user_field, required: false ) }
 
             it "should update the user field" do
               put :update, username: user.username, name: 'Jim Tom', user_fields: { user_field.id.to_s => 'happy' }
diff --git a/spec/fabricators/user_field.rb b/spec/fabricators/user_field_fabricator.rb
similarity index 90%
rename from spec/fabricators/user_field.rb
rename to spec/fabricators/user_field_fabricator.rb
index b1a3ec3ed..41b1dff07 100644
--- a/spec/fabricators/user_field.rb
+++ b/spec/fabricators/user_field_fabricator.rb
@@ -3,4 +3,5 @@ Fabricator(:user_field) do
   description "user field description"
   field_type 'text'
   editable true
+  required true
 end
diff --git a/test/javascripts/integration/create-account-user-fields-test.js.es6 b/test/javascripts/integration/create-account-user-fields-test.js.es6
index 939ea8fcc..63198c24d 100644
--- a/test/javascripts/integration/create-account-user-fields-test.js.es6
+++ b/test/javascripts/integration/create-account-user-fields-test.js.es6
@@ -2,8 +2,9 @@ import { integration } from "helpers/qunit-helpers";
 
 integration("Create Account - User Fields", {
   site: {
-    user_fields: [{"id":34,"name":"I've read the terms of service","field_type":"confirm"},
-                  {"id":35,"name":"What is your pet's name?","field_type":"text"}]
+    user_fields: [{"id":34,"name":"I've read the terms of service","field_type":"confirm","required":true},
+                  {"id":35,"name":"What is your pet's name?","field_type":"text","required":true},
+                  {"id":36,"name":"What's your dad like?","field_type":"text","required":false}]
   }
 });
 
@@ -27,7 +28,7 @@ test("create account with user fields", function() {
     ok(exists('.modal-footer .btn-primary:disabled'), 'create account is still disabled due to lack of user fields');
   });
 
-  fillIn(".user-field input[type=text]", "Barky");
+  fillIn(".user-field input[type=text]:first", "Barky");
 
   andThen(function() {
     ok(exists('.modal-footer .btn-primary:disabled'), 'create account is disabled because field is not checked');
@@ -35,7 +36,7 @@ test("create account with user fields", function() {
 
   click(".user-field input[type=checkbox]");
   andThen(function() {
-    not(exists('.modal-footer .btn-primary:disabled'), 'create account is disabled because field is not checked');
+    not(exists('.modal-footer .btn-primary:disabled'), 'create account is enabled because field is not checked');
   });
 
   click(".user-field input[type=checkbox]");