diff --git a/usr.sbin/syslogd/syslogd.8 b/usr.sbin/syslogd/syslogd.8
--- a/usr.sbin/syslogd/syslogd.8
+++ b/usr.sbin/syslogd/syslogd.8
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@
 .Op Fl O Ar format
 .Op Fl P Ar pid_file
 .Op Fl p Ar log_socket
+.Op Fl r Ar format
 .Op Fl S Ar logpriv_socket
 .Sh DESCRIPTION
 The
@@ -266,8 +267,12 @@
 .Fl s .
 .It Fl n
 Disable DNS query for every request.
-.It Fl O Ar format
-Select the output format of generated log messages.
+.It Fl O Ar format , Fl r Ar format
+Select the output format of generated log messages
+.Pq Fl O ,
+or just the format of log messages sent over the network to a remote
+log server
+.Pq Fl r .
 The values
 .Ar bsd
 and
diff --git a/usr.sbin/syslogd/syslogd.c b/usr.sbin/syslogd/syslogd.c
--- a/usr.sbin/syslogd/syslogd.c
+++ b/usr.sbin/syslogd/syslogd.c
@@ -363,6 +363,9 @@
 #define F_WALL		6		/* everyone logged on */
 #define F_PIPE		7		/* pipe to program */
 
+enum	log_format { DEFAULT_FORMAT = 0, RFC3164, RFC5424 };
+#define	DEFAULT_FORMAT_IS	RFC3164
+
 static const char *TypeNames[] = {
 	"UNUSED",	"FILE",		"TTY",		"CONSOLE",
 	"FORW",		"USERS",	"WALL",		"PIPE"
@@ -406,7 +409,14 @@
 static int	needdofsync = 0; /* Are any file(s) waiting to be fsynced? */
 static struct pidfh *pfh;
 static int	sigpipe[2];	/* Pipe to catch a signal during select(). */
-static bool	RFC3164OutputFormat = true; /* Use legacy format by default. */
+
+/*
+ * Formats to write output in.  NetworkFormat controls logs sent to
+ * remote syslog servers; when unset, it defaults to the same as
+ * OutputFormat.  OutputFormat defaults to RFC3164 format for backwards
+ * compatibility.
+ */
+static enum	log_format NetworkFormat, OutputFormat;
 
 static volatile sig_atomic_t MarkSet, WantDie, WantInitialize, WantReapchild;
 
@@ -553,7 +563,7 @@
 	if (madvise(NULL, 0, MADV_PROTECT) != 0)
 		dprintf("madvise() failed: %s\n", strerror(errno));
 
-	while ((ch = getopt(argc, argv, "468Aa:b:cCdf:FHkl:M:m:nNoO:p:P:sS:Tuv"))
+	while ((ch = getopt(argc, argv, "468Aa:b:cCdf:FHkl:M:m:nNoO:p:P:r:sS:Tuv"))
 	    != -1)
 		switch (ch) {
 #ifdef INET
@@ -686,10 +696,10 @@
 		case 'O':
 			if (strcmp(optarg, "bsd") == 0 ||
 			    strcmp(optarg, "rfc3164") == 0)
-				RFC3164OutputFormat = true;
+				OutputFormat = RFC3164;
 			else if (strcmp(optarg, "syslog") == 0 ||
 			    strcmp(optarg, "rfc5424") == 0)
-				RFC3164OutputFormat = false;
+				OutputFormat = RFC5424;
 			else
 				usage();
 			break;
@@ -699,6 +709,16 @@
 		case 'P':		/* path for alt. PID */
 			PidFile = optarg;
 			break;
+		case 'r':
+			if (strcmp(optarg, "bsd") == 0 ||
+			    strcmp(optarg, "rfc3164") == 0)
+				NetworkFormat = RFC3164;
+			else if (strcmp(optarg, "syslog") == 0 ||
+			    strcmp(optarg, "rfc5424") == 0)
+				NetworkFormat = RFC5424;
+			else
+				usage();
+			break;
 		case 's':		/* no network mode */
 			SecureMode++;
 			break;
@@ -717,7 +737,13 @@
 	if ((argc -= optind) != 0)
 		usage();
 
-	if (RFC3164OutputFormat && MaxForwardLen > 1024)
+       /* Explicitly set formats which have been defaulted to the defaults */
+       if (OutputFormat == DEFAULT_FORMAT)
+               OutputFormat = DEFAULT_FORMAT_IS;
+       if (NetworkFormat == DEFAULT_FORMAT)
+	       NetworkFormat = OutputFormat;
+
+	if (NetworkFormat == RFC3164 && MaxForwardLen > 1024)
 		errx(1, "RFC 3164 messages may not exceed 1024 bytes");
 
 	/* Pipe to catch a signal during select(). */
@@ -960,7 +986,7 @@
 		"               [-b bind_address] [-f config_file]\n"
 		"               [-l [mode:]path] [-M fwd_length]\n"
 		"               [-m mark_interval] [-O format] [-P pid_file]\n"
-		"               [-p log_socket] [-S logpriv_socket]\n");
+		"               [-p log_socket] [-r format] [-S logpriv_socket]\n");
 	exit(1);
 }
 
@@ -2148,6 +2174,7 @@
     const char *procid, const char *msgid __unused,
     const char *structured_data __unused, const char *msg, int flags)
 {
+	enum log_format want_format;
 
 	dprintf("Logging to %s", TypeNames[f->f_type]);
 	f->f_time = now;
@@ -2157,7 +2184,8 @@
 		return;
 	}
 
-	if (RFC3164OutputFormat)
+	want_format = (f->f_type == F_FORW) ? NetworkFormat : OutputFormat;
+	if (want_format == RFC3164)
 		fprintlog_rfc3164(f, hostname, app_name, procid, msg, flags);
 	else
 		fprintlog_rfc5424(f, hostname, app_name, procid, msgid,
@@ -2306,7 +2334,7 @@
 	if (hl > 0 && hname[hl-1] == '.')
 		hname[--hl] = '\0';
 	/* RFC 5424 prefers logging FQDNs. */
-	if (RFC3164OutputFormat)
+	if (OutputFormat == RFC3164)
 		trimdomain(hname, hl);
 	return (hname);
 }
@@ -2573,7 +2601,7 @@
 		err(EX_OSERR, "gethostname() failed");
 	if ((p = strchr(LocalHostName, '.')) != NULL) {
 		/* RFC 5424 prefers logging FQDNs. */
-		if (RFC3164OutputFormat)
+		if (OutputFormat == RFC3164)
 			*p = '\0';
 		LocalDomain = p + 1;
 	} else {
@@ -2935,7 +2963,7 @@
 		if (hl > 0 && f->f_host[hl-1] == '.')
 			f->f_host[--hl] = '\0';
 		/* RFC 5424 prefers logging FQDNs. */
-		if (RFC3164OutputFormat)
+		if (OutputFormat == RFC3164)
 			trimdomain(f->f_host, hl);
 	}