diff --git a/docs/ContentTypeParser.md b/docs/ContentTypeParser.md
index a061de3310..2ba1dfb217 100644
--- a/docs/ContentTypeParser.md
+++ b/docs/ContentTypeParser.md
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ if (!fastify.hasContentTypeParser('application/jsoff')){
 ```
 
 #### Body Parser
-You can parse the body of the request in two ways. The first one is shown above: you add a custom content type parser and handle the request stream. In the second one you should pass a `parseAs` option to the `addContentTypeParser` API, where you declare how you want to get the body, it could be `'string'` or `'buffer'`. If you use the `parseAs` option Fastify will internally handle the stream and perform some checks, such as the [maximum size](https://github.com/fastify/fastify/blob/master/docs/Factory.md#factory-body-limit) of the body and the content length.
+You can parse the body of the request in two ways. The first one is shown above: you add a custom content type parser and handle the request stream. In the second one you should pass a `parseAs` option to the `addContentTypeParser` API, where you declare how you want to get the body, it could be `'string'` or `'buffer'`. If you use the `parseAs` option Fastify will internally handle the stream and perform some checks, such as the [maximum size](https://github.com/fastify/fastify/blob/master/docs/Factory.md#factory-body-limit) of the body and the content length. If the limit is exceeded the custom parser will not be invoked.
 ```js
 fastify.addContentTypeParser('application/json', { parseAs: 'string' }, function (req, body, done) {
   try {
@@ -48,6 +48,10 @@ As you can see, now the function signature is `(req, body, done)` instead of `(r
 
 See [`example/parser.js`](https://github.com/fastify/fastify/blob/master/examples/parser.js) for an example.
 
+##### Custom Parser Options
++ `parseAs` (string): Either `'string'` or `'buffer'` to designate how the incoming data should be collected. Default: `'buffer'`.
++ `bodyLimit` (number): The maximum payload size, in bytes, that the custom parser will accept. Defaults to the global body limit passed to the [`Fastify factory function`](https://github.com/fastify/fastify/blob/master/docs/Factory.md#bodylimit).
+
 #### Catch All
 There are some cases where you need to catch all requests regardless of their content type. With Fastify, you just need to add the `'*'` content type.
 ```js
diff --git a/fastify.js b/fastify.js
index 552a91002d..c3e9ced996 100644
--- a/fastify.js
+++ b/fastify.js
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ function build (options) {
   // custom parsers
   fastify.addContentTypeParser = addContentTypeParser
   fastify.hasContentTypeParser = hasContentTypeParser
-  fastify._contentTypeParser = new ContentTypeParser()
+  fastify._contentTypeParser = new ContentTypeParser(fastify._bodyLimit)
 
   fastify.setSchemaCompiler = setSchemaCompiler
   fastify.setSchemaCompiler(buildSchemaCompiler())
@@ -471,7 +471,6 @@ function build (options) {
       opts.path = url
       opts.prefix = prefix
       opts.logLevel = opts.logLevel || _fastify._logLevel
-      opts.bodyLimit = opts.bodyLimit || _fastify._bodyLimit
 
       // run 'onRoute' hooks
       for (var h of onRouteHooks) {
@@ -556,7 +555,7 @@ function build (options) {
     this.errorHandler = errorHandler
     this._middie = null
     this._parserOptions = {
-      limit: bodyLimit
+      limit: bodyLimit || null
     }
     this._fastify = fastify
     this.logLevel = logLevel
@@ -636,6 +635,14 @@ function build (options) {
       opts = {}
     }
 
+    if (!opts) {
+      opts = {}
+    }
+
+    if (!opts.bodyLimit) {
+      opts.bodyLimit = this._bodyLimit
+    }
+
     this._contentTypeParser.add(contentType, opts, parser)
     return this
   }
diff --git a/lib/ContentTypeParser.js b/lib/ContentTypeParser.js
index 3364b78fe1..f247b93467 100644
--- a/lib/ContentTypeParser.js
+++ b/lib/ContentTypeParser.js
@@ -3,9 +3,9 @@
 
 const lru = require('tiny-lru')
 
-function ContentTypeParser () {
+function ContentTypeParser (bodyLimit) {
   this.customParsers = {}
-  this.customParsers['application/json'] = new Parser(true, false, defaultJsonParser)
+  this.customParsers['application/json'] = new Parser(true, false, bodyLimit, defaultJsonParser)
   this.parserList = ['application/json']
   this.cache = lru(100)
 }
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ ContentTypeParser.prototype.add = function (contentType, opts, parserFn) {
   const parser = new Parser(
     opts.parseAs === 'string',
     opts.parseAs === 'buffer',
+    opts.bodyLimit,
     parserFn
   )
 
@@ -94,7 +95,7 @@ ContentTypeParser.prototype.run = function (contentType, handler, request, reply
 
 function rawBody (request, reply, options, parser, done) {
   var asString = parser.asString
-  var limit = options.limit
+  var limit = options.limit === null ? parser.bodyLimit : options.limit
   var contentLength = request.headers['content-length'] === undefined
     ? NaN
     : Number.parseInt(request.headers['content-length'], 10)
@@ -178,9 +179,10 @@ function buildContentTypeParser (c) {
   return contentTypeParser
 }
 
-function Parser (asString, asBuffer, fn) {
+function Parser (asString, asBuffer, bodyLimit, fn) {
   this.asString = asString
   this.asBuffer = asBuffer
+  this.bodyLimit = bodyLimit
   this.fn = fn
 }
 
diff --git a/test/custom-parser.test.js b/test/custom-parser.test.js
index bede90806d..f8ad743635 100644
--- a/test/custom-parser.test.js
+++ b/test/custom-parser.test.js
@@ -630,3 +630,81 @@ test('Wrong parseAs parameter', t => {
     t.is(err.message, 'The body parser can only parse your data as \'string\' or \'buffer\', you asked \'fireworks\' which is not supported.')
   }
 })
+
+test('Should allow defining the bodyLimit per parser', t => {
+  t.plan(3)
+  const fastify = Fastify()
+  t.tearDown(() => fastify.close())
+
+  fastify.post('/', (req, reply) => {
+    reply.send(req.body)
+  })
+
+  fastify.addContentTypeParser(
+    'x/foo',
+    { parseAs: 'string', bodyLimit: 5 },
+    function (req, body, done) {
+      t.fail('should not be invoked')
+      done()
+    }
+  )
+
+  fastify.listen(0, err => {
+    t.error(err)
+
+    sget({
+      method: 'POST',
+      url: 'http://localhost:' + fastify.server.address().port,
+      body: '1234567890',
+      headers: {
+        'Content-Type': 'x/foo'
+      }
+    }, (err, response, body) => {
+      t.error(err)
+      t.strictDeepEqual(JSON.parse(body.toString()), {
+        statusCode: 413,
+        error: 'Payload Too Large',
+        message: 'Request body is too large'
+      })
+      fastify.close()
+    })
+  })
+})
+
+test('route bodyLimit should take precedence over a custom parser bodyLimit', t => {
+  t.plan(3)
+  const fastify = Fastify()
+  t.tearDown(() => fastify.close())
+
+  fastify.post('/', { bodyLimit: 5 }, (request, reply) => {
+    reply.send(request.body)
+  })
+
+  fastify.addContentTypeParser(
+    'x/foo',
+    { parseAs: 'string', bodyLimit: 100 },
+    function (req, body, done) {
+      t.fail('should not be invoked')
+      done()
+    }
+  )
+
+  fastify.listen(0, err => {
+    t.error(err)
+
+    sget({
+      method: 'POST',
+      url: 'http://localhost:' + fastify.server.address().port,
+      body: '1234567890',
+      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'x/foo' }
+    }, (err, response, body) => {
+      t.error(err)
+      t.strictDeepEqual(JSON.parse(body.toString()), {
+        statusCode: 413,
+        error: 'Payload Too Large',
+        message: 'Request body is too large'
+      })
+      fastify.close()
+    })
+  })
+})