diff --git a/library/spit_results.py b/library/spit_results.py
index 3e04852..54d1ee0 100644
--- a/library/spit_results.py
+++ b/library/spit_results.py
@@ -288,6 +288,46 @@ def classify(key, fact_names, classifications):
     return result
 
 
+JBOSS_EAP_JBOSS_USER = 'jboss.eap.jboss-user'
+
+
+def process_id_u_jboss(fact_names, host_vars):
+    """Process the output from 'id -u jboss', as run by Ansible
+
+    :returns: a dict of key-value pairs to add to the output.
+    """
+
+    # We use the 'id' command to check for jboss because it's been in
+    # GNU coreutils since 1992, so it should be present on every
+    # system we encounter.
+
+    if 'jboss.eap.jboss-user' not in fact_names:
+        return {}
+
+    if 'jboss_eap_id_jboss' not in host_vars:
+        return {JBOSS_EAP_JBOSS_USER:
+                'Error: "id -u jboss" not in Ansible playbook'}
+
+    raw_output = host_vars['jboss_eap_id_jboss']
+
+    if 'rc' not in raw_output:
+        return {JBOSS_EAP_JBOSS_USER: 'Error: "id -u jboss" not run'}
+
+    if raw_output['rc'] == 0:
+        return {JBOSS_EAP_JBOSS_USER: "User 'jboss' present"}
+
+    # Don't output a definitive "not found" unless we see an error
+    # string that we recognize. We don't want to assume that any
+    # nonzero error code means "not found", because then we would give
+    # false negatives if the user didn't have permission to read
+    # /etc/passwd (or other errors).
+    if raw_output['stdout_lines'] == ['id: jboss: no such user']:
+        return {JBOSS_EAP_JBOSS_USER: 'No user "jboss" found'}
+
+    return {JBOSS_EAP_JBOSS_USER:
+            'Error: unexpected output from "id -u jboss": %s' % raw_output}
+
+
 def remove_newlines(data):
     """ Processes input data values and strips out any newlines
     """
@@ -477,6 +517,7 @@ def write_to_csv(self):
 
             host_vals.update(process_jboss_versions(keys, host_vars))
             host_vals.update(process_addon_versions(keys, host_vars))
+            host_vals.update(process_id_u_jboss(keys, host_vars))
 
         # Process System ID.
         for data in self.vals:
diff --git a/rho/utilities.py b/rho/utilities.py
index fceee6e..edc9384 100644
--- a/rho/utilities.py
+++ b/rho/utilities.py
@@ -113,7 +113,8 @@
                       'subman.virt.uuid',
                       'subman.has_facts_file')
 
-JBOSS_FACTS_TUPLE = ('jboss.eap.running-versions',)
+JBOSS_FACTS_TUPLE = ('jboss.eap.running-versions',
+                     'jboss.eap.jboss-user')
 
 JBOSS_SCAN_FACTS_TUPLE = ('jboss.eap.installed-versions',
                           'jboss.eap.deploy-dates')
diff --git a/roles/jboss_eap/tasks/main.yml b/roles/jboss_eap/tasks/main.yml
index f243f4e..06962fe 100644
--- a/roles/jboss_eap/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/roles/jboss_eap/tasks/main.yml
@@ -5,3 +5,7 @@
       register: jboss.eap.running-versions
       ignore_errors: yes
       when: 'have_java and "jboss.eap.running-versions" in facts_to_collect'
+    - name: check for user 'jboss'
+      raw: id -u jboss
+      register: jboss_eap_id_jboss
+      ignore_errors: yes
diff --git a/test/test_spit_results.py b/test/test_spit_results.py
index fb8b85c..68dd81c 100644
--- a/test/test_spit_results.py
+++ b/test/test_spit_results.py
@@ -94,3 +94,40 @@ def test_skipped_not_present(self):
             spit_results.safe_ansible_property(
                 {'foo': fact}, 'foo', 'property'),
             'value')
+
+
+class TestProcessIdUJboss(unittest.TestCase):
+    def run_func(self, output):
+        return spit_results.process_id_u_jboss(
+            ['jboss.eap.jboss-user'],
+            {'jboss_eap_id_jboss': output})
+
+    def test_fact_not_requested(self):
+        self.assertEqual(
+            spit_results.process_id_u_jboss([], None),
+            {})
+
+    def test_wrongly_skipped(self):
+        res = self.run_func({'skipped': True})
+        self.assertTrue('jboss.eap.jboss-user' in res and
+                        res['jboss.eap.jboss-user'].startswith('Error:'),
+                        msg=res['jboss.eap.jboss-user'])
+
+    def test_user_found(self):
+        self.assertEqual(
+            self.run_func({'rc': 0}),
+            {'jboss.eap.jboss-user': "User 'jboss' present"})
+
+    def test_no_such_user(self):
+        self.assertEqual(
+            self.run_func({'rc': 1,
+                           'stdout_lines': ['id: jboss: no such user']}),
+            {'jboss.eap.jboss-user': 'No user "jboss" found'})
+
+    def test_unknown_error(self):
+        res = self.run_func({'rc': 1,
+                             'stdout_lines': ['id: something went wrong!']})
+
+        self.assertTrue('jboss.eap.jboss-user' in res and
+                        res['jboss.eap.jboss-user'].startswith('Error:'),
+                        msg=res['jboss.eap.jboss-user'])
diff --git a/vagrant/setup-test-vms.yml b/vagrant/setup-test-vms.yml
index 80e4838..72cc078 100644
--- a/vagrant/setup-test-vms.yml
+++ b/vagrant/setup-test-vms.yml
@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@
 - hosts: test_2
   roles:
     - jboss-standalone
+  tasks:
+    - user:
+        name: jboss
+      become: yes
 
 - hosts: askpass
   tasks: