diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b2641908..1719d809 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -95,6 +95,9 @@ proxy requests. The following options are supported:
 * array of strings `originWhitelist` - If set, requests whose origin is not listed are blocked.  
   If this list is empty, all origins are allowed.
   Example: `['https://good.example.com', 'http://good.example.com']`
+* function `handleInitialRequest` - If set, it is called with the request, response and a parsed
+  URL of the requested destination (null if unavailable). If the function returns true, the request
+  will not be handled further. It is the responsibility of the function to handle the request.
 * function `checkRateLimit` - If set, it is called with the origin (string) of the request. If this
   function returns a non-empty string, the request is rejected and the string is send to the client.
 * boolean `redirectSameOrigin` - If true, requests to URLs from the same origin will not be proxied but redirected.
diff --git a/lib/cors-anywhere.js b/lib/cors-anywhere.js
index 90026448..0897f940 100644
--- a/lib/cors-anywhere.js
+++ b/lib/cors-anywhere.js
@@ -256,6 +256,7 @@ function parseURL(req_url) {
 // Request handler factory
 function getHandler(options, proxy) {
   var corsAnywhere = {
+    handleInitialRequest: null,     // Function that may handle the request instead, by returning a truthy value.
     getProxyForUrl: getProxyForUrl, // Function that specifies the proxy to use
     maxRedirects: 5,                // Maximum number of redirects to be followed.
     originBlacklist: [],            // Requests from these origins will be blocked.
@@ -310,6 +311,10 @@ function getHandler(options, proxy) {
 
     var location = parseURL(req.url.slice(1));
 
+    if (corsAnywhere.handleInitialRequest && corsAnywhere.handleInitialRequest(req, res, location)) {
+      return;
+    }
+
     if (!location) {
       // Invalid API call. Show how to correctly use the API
       showUsage(corsAnywhere.helpFile, cors_headers, res);
diff --git a/test/test.js b/test/test.js
index 3795a506..b3a47a41 100644
--- a/test/test.js
+++ b/test/test.js
@@ -620,6 +620,53 @@ describe('originWhitelist', function() {
   });
 });
 
+describe('handleInitialRequest', function() {
+  afterEach(stopServer);
+
+  it('GET / with handleInitialRequest', function(done) {
+    cors_anywhere = createServer({
+      handleInitialRequest: function(req, res, location) {
+        res.writeHead(419);
+        res.end('res:' + (location && location.href));
+        return true;
+      },
+    });
+    cors_anywhere_port = cors_anywhere.listen(0).address().port;
+    request(cors_anywhere)
+      .get('/')
+      .expect(419, 'res:null', done);
+  });
+
+  it('GET /dummy with handleInitialRequest', function(done) {
+    cors_anywhere = createServer({
+      handleInitialRequest: function(req, res, location) {
+        res.writeHead(419);
+        res.end('res:' + (location && location.href));
+        return true;
+      },
+    });
+    cors_anywhere_port = cors_anywhere.listen(0).address().port;
+    request(cors_anywhere)
+      .get('/dummy')
+      .expect(419, 'res:http://dummy/', done);
+  });
+
+  it('GET /example.com with handleInitialRequest', function(done) {
+    cors_anywhere = createServer({
+      handleInitialRequest: function(req, res, location) {
+        res.setHeader('X-Extra-Header', 'hello ' + location.href);
+      },
+    });
+    cors_anywhere_port = cors_anywhere.listen(0).address().port;
+    request(cors_anywhere)
+      .get('/example.com')
+      .set('Origin', 'null')
+      .expect('Access-Control-Allow-Origin', '*')
+      .expect('X-Extra-Header', 'hello http://example.com/')
+      .expect(200, 'Response from example.com', done);
+  });
+});
+
 describe('checkRateLimit', function() {
   afterEach(stopServer);