diff --git a/CHANGELOG b/CHANGELOG
index 21f24b5b61aa30783d195838dd6d74053b332b37..e5b8b9d7ce67a68c7a13848e58c7892bd030ad87 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG
+++ b/CHANGELOG
@@ -18,11 +18,11 @@ v 8.7.0 (unreleased)
   - Preserve time notes/comments have been updated at when moving issue
   - Make HTTP(s) label consistent on clone bar (Stan Hu)
   - Expose label description in API (Mariusz Jachimowicz)
-  - Allow back dating on issues when created through the API
   - API: Ability to update a group (Robert Schilling)
   - API: Ability to move issues (Robert Schilling)
   - Fix Error 500 after renaming a project path (Stan Hu)
   - Fix a bug whith trailing slash in teamcity_url (Charles May)
+  - Allow back dating on issues when created or updated through the API
   - Fix avatar stretching by providing a cropping feature
   - API: Expose `subscribed` for issues and merge requests (Robert Schilling)
   - Allow SAML to handle external users based on user's information !3530
diff --git a/doc/api/issues.md b/doc/api/issues.md
index 42024becc3647a4971d28006d0041658cf41405d..3e78149f442f9d16cc72d15427028e4f7c19e96b 100644
--- a/doc/api/issues.md
+++ b/doc/api/issues.md
@@ -298,6 +298,7 @@ PUT /projects/:id/issues/:issue_id
 | `milestone_id`  | integer | no  | The ID of a milestone to assign the issue to |
 | `labels`        | string  | no  | Comma-separated label names for an issue  |
 | `state_event`   | string  | no  | The state event of an issue. Set `close` to close the issue and `reopen` to reopen it |
+| `updated_at`    | string  | no  | Date time string, ISO 8601 formatted, e.g. `2016-03-11T03:45:40Z` |
 
 ```bash
 curl -X PUT -H "PRIVATE-TOKEN: 9koXpg98eAheJpvBs5tK" https://gitlab.example.com/api/v3/projects/4/issues/85?state_event=close
diff --git a/lib/api/issues.rb b/lib/api/issues.rb
index 4cdecadfe0f7f5e3b0ebfc7e8e938f10bdbbbc05..8aa08fd5accf83c6026044b796a3aa719a293518 100644
--- a/lib/api/issues.rb
+++ b/lib/api/issues.rb
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ module API
       #   assignee_id (optional)  - The ID of a user to assign issue
       #   milestone_id (optional) - The ID of a milestone to assign issue
       #   labels (optional)       - The labels of an issue
-      #   created_at (optional)   - The date
+      #   created_at (optional)   - Date time string, ISO 8601 formatted
       # Example Request:
       #   POST /projects/:id/issues
       post ":id/issues" do
@@ -166,12 +166,15 @@ module API
       #   milestone_id (optional) - The ID of a milestone to assign issue
       #   labels (optional) - The labels of an issue
       #   state_event (optional) - The state event of an issue (close|reopen)
+      #   updated_at (optional) - Date time string, ISO 8601 formatted
       # Example Request:
       #   PUT /projects/:id/issues/:issue_id
       put ":id/issues/:issue_id" do
         issue = user_project.issues.find(params[:issue_id])
         authorize! :update_issue, issue
-        attrs = attributes_for_keys [:title, :description, :assignee_id, :milestone_id, :state_event]
+        keys = [:title, :description, :assignee_id, :milestone_id, :state_event]
+        keys << :updated_at if current_user.admin? || user_project.owner == current_user
+        attrs = attributes_for_keys(keys)
 
         # Validate label names in advance
         if (errors = validate_label_params(params)).any?
diff --git a/spec/requests/api/issues_spec.rb b/spec/requests/api/issues_spec.rb
index 86ea223f2068b2b1891b7f3a386c5ad57b58cdd5..f88e39cad9eeab0e43fdf6dd75bc641f3ae7edfe 100644
--- a/spec/requests/api/issues_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/requests/api/issues_spec.rb
@@ -321,13 +321,13 @@ describe API::API, api: true  do
     end
 
     context 'when an admin or owner makes the request' do
-      it "accepts the creation date to be set" do
+      it 'accepts the creation date to be set' do
+        creation_time = 2.weeks.ago
         post api("/projects/#{project.id}/issues", user),
-          title: 'new issue', labels: 'label, label2', created_at: 2.weeks.ago
+          title: 'new issue', labels: 'label, label2', created_at: creation_time
 
         expect(response.status).to eq(201)
-        # this take about a second, so probably not equal
-        expect(Time.parse(json_response['created_at'])).to be <= 2.weeks.ago
+        expect(Time.parse(json_response['created_at'])).to be_within(1.second).of(creation_time)
       end
     end
   end
@@ -478,6 +478,18 @@ describe API::API, api: true  do
       expect(json_response['labels']).to include 'label2'
       expect(json_response['state']).to eq "closed"
     end
+
+    context 'when an admin or owner makes the request' do
+      it 'accepts the update date to be set' do
+        update_time = 2.weeks.ago
+        put api("/projects/#{project.id}/issues/#{issue.id}", user),
+          labels: 'label3', state_event: 'close', updated_at: update_time
+        expect(response.status).to eq(200)
+
+        expect(json_response['labels']).to include 'label3'
+        expect(Time.parse(json_response['updated_at'])).to be_within(1.second).of(update_time)
+      end
+    end
   end
 
   describe "DELETE /projects/:id/issues/:issue_id" do