diff --git a/plugins/out_es/es.c b/plugins/out_es/es.c
index 0c02508695f..e4f87249c86 100644
--- a/plugins/out_es/es.c
+++ b/plugins/out_es/es.c
@@ -35,7 +35,9 @@
 
 struct flb_output_plugin out_es_plugin;
 
-static inline void es_pack_map_content(msgpack_packer *tmp_pck, msgpack_object map)
+static inline void es_pack_map_content(msgpack_packer *tmp_pck,
+                                       msgpack_object map,
+                                       struct flb_elasticsearch *ctx)
 {
     int i;
     char *ptr_key = NULL;
@@ -79,11 +81,13 @@ static inline void es_pack_map_content(msgpack_packer *tmp_pck, msgpack_object m
          *
          *   https://goo.gl/R5NMTr
          */
-        char *p   = ptr_key;
-        char *end = ptr_key + key_size;
-        while (p != end) {
-            if (*p == '.') *p = '_';
-            p++;
+        if (ctx->replace_dots == FLB_TRUE) {
+            char *p   = ptr_key;
+            char *end = ptr_key + key_size;
+            while (p != end) {
+                if (*p == '.') *p = '_';
+                p++;
+            }
         }
 
         /* Append the key */
@@ -102,7 +106,7 @@ static inline void es_pack_map_content(msgpack_packer *tmp_pck, msgpack_object m
          */
         if (v->type == MSGPACK_OBJECT_MAP) {
             msgpack_pack_map(tmp_pck, v->via.map.size);
-            es_pack_map_content(tmp_pck, *v);
+            es_pack_map_content(tmp_pck, *v, ctx);
         }
         else {
             msgpack_pack_object(tmp_pck, *v);
@@ -278,7 +282,7 @@ static char *elasticsearch_format(void *data, size_t bytes,
          * Elasticsearch have a restriction that key names cannot contain
          * a dot; if some dot is found, it's replaced with an underscore.
          */
-        es_pack_map_content(&tmp_pck, map);
+        es_pack_map_content(&tmp_pck, map, ctx);
 
         if (ctx->generate_id == FLB_TRUE) {
             MurmurHash3_x64_128(tmp_sbuf.data, tmp_sbuf.size, 42, hash);
diff --git a/plugins/out_es/es.h b/plugins/out_es/es.h
index d1d7846e9eb..1ea680c41ad 100644
--- a/plugins/out_es/es.h
+++ b/plugins/out_es/es.h
@@ -42,6 +42,12 @@ struct flb_elasticsearch {
     /* HTTP Client Setup */
     size_t buffer_size;
 
+    /*
+     * If enabled, replace field name dots with underscore, required for
+     * Elasticsearch 2.0-2.3.
+     */
+    int replace_dots;
+
     /*
      * Logstash compatibility options
      * ==============================
diff --git a/plugins/out_es/es_conf.c b/plugins/out_es/es_conf.c
index 86334e8fbdb..d272787d9c3 100644
--- a/plugins/out_es/es_conf.c
+++ b/plugins/out_es/es_conf.c
@@ -247,6 +247,14 @@ struct flb_elasticsearch *flb_es_conf_create(struct flb_output_instance *ins,
         ctx->generate_id = FLB_FALSE;
     }
 
+    /* Replace dots */
+    tmp = flb_output_get_property("replace_dots", ins);
+    if (tmp) {
+        ctx->replace_dots = flb_utils_bool(tmp);
+    }
+    else {
+        ctx->replace_dots = FLB_FALSE;
+    }
     return ctx;
 }