diff --git a/pkg/drain/drain.go b/pkg/drain/drain.go
index 3f5b274e530c..9cf1cea026ad 100644
--- a/pkg/drain/drain.go
+++ b/pkg/drain/drain.go
@@ -51,7 +51,9 @@ type DrainOptions struct {
 
 	// Period of time in seconds given to each pod to terminate
 	// gracefully.  If negative, the default value specified in the pod
-	// will be used.
+	// will be used. If higher than pod's, it's ignored in favor of the
+	// period specified in the pod. If lower, it's passed to the delete
+	// and eviction API requests.
 	GracePeriodSeconds int
 
 	// The length of time to wait before giving up on deletion or
@@ -368,11 +370,6 @@ func getPodsForDeletion(client kubernetes.Interface, node *corev1.Node, options
 }
 
 func evictPod(client typedpolicyv1beta1.PolicyV1beta1Interface, pod corev1.Pod, policyGroupVersion string, gracePeriodSeconds int) error {
-	deleteOptions := &metav1.DeleteOptions{}
-	if gracePeriodSeconds >= 0 {
-		gracePeriod := int64(gracePeriodSeconds)
-		deleteOptions.GracePeriodSeconds = &gracePeriod
-	}
 	eviction := &policyv1beta1.Eviction{
 		TypeMeta: metav1.TypeMeta{
 			APIVersion: policyGroupVersion,
@@ -382,7 +379,7 @@ func evictPod(client typedpolicyv1beta1.PolicyV1beta1Interface, pod corev1.Pod,
 			Name:      pod.Name,
 			Namespace: pod.Namespace,
 		},
-		DeleteOptions: deleteOptions,
+		DeleteOptions: buildDeleteOptions(&pod, gracePeriodSeconds),
 	}
 	return client.Evictions(eviction.Namespace).Evict(eviction)
 }
@@ -483,13 +480,8 @@ func deletePods(client typedcorev1.CoreV1Interface, pods []corev1.Pod, options *
 	} else {
 		globalTimeout = options.Timeout
 	}
-	deleteOptions := &metav1.DeleteOptions{}
-	if options.GracePeriodSeconds >= 0 {
-		gracePeriodSeconds := int64(options.GracePeriodSeconds)
-		deleteOptions.GracePeriodSeconds = &gracePeriodSeconds
-	}
 	for _, pod := range pods {
-		err := client.Pods(pod.Namespace).Delete(pod.Name, deleteOptions)
+		err := client.Pods(pod.Namespace).Delete(pod.Name, buildDeleteOptions(&pod, options.GracePeriodSeconds))
 		if err != nil && !apierrors.IsNotFound(err) {
 			return err
 		}
@@ -498,6 +490,18 @@ func deletePods(client typedcorev1.CoreV1Interface, pods []corev1.Pod, options *
 	return err
 }
 
+func buildDeleteOptions(pod *corev1.Pod, gracePeriodSeconds int) *metav1.DeleteOptions {
+	deleteOptions := &metav1.DeleteOptions{}
+	if gracePeriodSeconds >= 0 {
+		gracePeriod := int64(gracePeriodSeconds)
+		if pod.DeletionGracePeriodSeconds != nil && gracePeriod > *pod.DeletionGracePeriodSeconds {
+			gracePeriod = *pod.DeletionGracePeriodSeconds
+		}
+		deleteOptions.GracePeriodSeconds = &gracePeriod
+	}
+	return deleteOptions
+}
+
 func waitForDelete(pods []corev1.Pod, interval, timeout time.Duration, usingEviction bool, logger golog.Logger, getPodFn func(string, string) (*corev1.Pod, error)) ([]corev1.Pod, error) {
 	var verbStr string
 	if usingEviction {
diff --git a/pkg/drain/drain_test.go b/pkg/drain/drain_test.go
index 176a09673ee5..2c62e33c098e 100644
--- a/pkg/drain/drain_test.go
+++ b/pkg/drain/drain_test.go
@@ -764,3 +764,43 @@ func objBody(codec runtime.Codec, obj runtime.Object) io.ReadCloser {
 func stringBody(body string) io.ReadCloser {
 	return ioutil.NopCloser(bytes.NewReader([]byte(body)))
 }
+
+func TestBuildDeleteOptions(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		description    string
+		podGracePeriod int64
+		gracePeriod    int
+		// -1 signals not set
+		expected int64
+	}{
+		{
+			description:    "library grace period seconds cannot exceed pod's",
+			podGracePeriod: 30,
+			gracePeriod:    600,
+			expected:       30,
+		},
+		{
+			description:    "library grace period negative doesn't set delete options",
+			podGracePeriod: 30,
+			gracePeriod:    -1,
+			expected:       -1,
+		},
+		{
+			description:    "library's grace period is honored if lower than pod's",
+			podGracePeriod: 30,
+			gracePeriod:    10,
+			expected:       10,
+		},
+	}
+	for _, test := range tests {
+		t.Run(test.description, func(t *testing.T) {
+			doptions := buildDeleteOptions(&corev1.Pod{ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{DeletionGracePeriodSeconds: &test.podGracePeriod}}, test.gracePeriod)
+			if doptions.GracePeriodSeconds != nil && *doptions.GracePeriodSeconds != test.expected {
+				t.Fatalf("expected delete options grace period of %d, got %d instead", test.expected, *doptions.GracePeriodSeconds)
+			}
+			if doptions.GracePeriodSeconds != nil && test.expected == -1 {
+				t.Fatalf("expected nil delete options grace period, got %d instead", *doptions.GracePeriodSeconds)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}