diff --git a/config_defaults_inc.php b/config_defaults_inc.php
index a894e3b658..66fedcd50d 100644
--- a/config_defaults_inc.php
+++ b/config_defaults_inc.php
@@ -2953,6 +2953,14 @@
  */
 $g_csv_separator = ',';
 
+/**
+ * CSV Export
+ * Add Byte Order Mark (BOM) at the begining of the file as it helps Excel display the file in UTF-8
+ * @global string $g_csv_add_bom
+ */
+$g_csv_add_bom = OFF;
+
+
 /**
  * The threshold required for users to be able to manage configuration of a project.
  * This includes workflow, email notifications, columns to view, and others.
diff --git a/csv_export.php b/csv_export.php
index 3bc309919d..e4823ca51d 100644
--- a/csv_export.php
+++ b/csv_export.php
@@ -78,6 +78,11 @@
 # Get columns to be exported
 $t_columns = csv_get_columns();
 
+# export BOM
+if ( config_get( 'csv_add_bom' ) == ON ) {
+	echo "\xEF\xBB\xBF";
+}
+
 # export the titles
 $t_first_column = true;
 ob_start();
diff --git a/docbook/Admin_Guide/en-US/Configuration.xml b/docbook/Admin_Guide/en-US/Configuration.xml
index 8165545cdf..0aace4418f 100644
--- a/docbook/Admin_Guide/en-US/Configuration.xml
+++ b/docbook/Admin_Guide/en-US/Configuration.xml
@@ -2439,6 +2439,14 @@
                     </para>
                 </listitem>
             </varlistentry>
+            <varlistentry>
+                <term>$g_csv_add_bom</term>
+                <listitem>
+                    <para>Add Byte Order Mark (BOM) at the begining of the file as it helps Excel display the file in UTF-8.
+                    The default value is OFF;
+                    </para>
+                </listitem>
+            </varlistentry>
         </variablelist>
     </section>