diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 9334a3ac..e5aef4f4 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -482,6 +482,14 @@ rescue JWT::InvalidIssuerError
 end
 ```
 
+### Required Claims
+
+You can specify claims that must be present for decoding to be successful. JWT::MissingRequiredClaim will be raised if any are missing
+```ruby
+# Will raise a JWT::ExpiredSignature error if the 'exp' claim is absent
+JWT.decode token, hmac_secret, true, { required_claims: ['exp'], algorithm: 'HS256' }
+```
+
 ### JSON Web Key (JWK)
 
 JWK is a JSON structure representing a cryptographic key. Currently only supports RSA public keys.
diff --git a/lib/jwt/decode.rb b/lib/jwt/decode.rb
index 3d97baad..4677056e 100644
--- a/lib/jwt/decode.rb
+++ b/lib/jwt/decode.rb
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ def find_key(&keyfinder)
 
     def verify_claims
       Verify.verify_claims(payload, @options)
+      Verify.verify_required_claims(payload, @options)
     end
 
     def validate_segment_count!
diff --git a/lib/jwt/default_options.rb b/lib/jwt/default_options.rb
index 0cf0e3de..fc02c70f 100644
--- a/lib/jwt/default_options.rb
+++ b/lib/jwt/default_options.rb
@@ -9,7 +9,8 @@ module DefaultOptions
       verify_aud: false,
       verify_sub: false,
       leeway: 0,
-      algorithms: ['HS256']
+      algorithms: ['HS256'],
+      required_claims: []
     }.freeze
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/jwt/error.rb b/lib/jwt/error.rb
index ab573a0e..c0bf2f69 100644
--- a/lib/jwt/error.rb
+++ b/lib/jwt/error.rb
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ class InvalidAudError < DecodeError; end
   class InvalidSubError < DecodeError; end
   class InvalidJtiError < DecodeError; end
   class InvalidPayload < DecodeError; end
+  class MissingRequiredClaim < DecodeError; end
 
   class JWKError < DecodeError; end
 end
diff --git a/lib/jwt/verify.rb b/lib/jwt/verify.rb
index 7c699352..cea4f89b 100644
--- a/lib/jwt/verify.rb
+++ b/lib/jwt/verify.rb
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ class Verify
     }.freeze
 
     class << self
-      %w[verify_aud verify_expiration verify_iat verify_iss verify_jti verify_not_before verify_sub].each do |method_name|
+      %w[verify_aud verify_expiration verify_iat verify_iss verify_jti verify_not_before verify_sub verify_required_claims].each do |method_name|
         define_method method_name do |payload, options|
           new(payload, options).send(method_name)
         end
@@ -81,6 +81,13 @@ def verify_sub
       raise(JWT::InvalidSubError, "Invalid subject. Expected #{options_sub}, received #{sub || '<none>'}") unless sub.to_s == options_sub.to_s
     end
 
+    def verify_required_claims
+      return unless (options_required_claims = @options[:required_claims])
+      options_required_claims.each do |required_claim|
+        raise(JWT::MissingRequiredClaim, "Missing required claim #{required_claim}") unless @payload.include?(required_claim)
+      end
+    end
+
     private
 
     def global_leeway
diff --git a/spec/integration/readme_examples_spec.rb b/spec/integration/readme_examples_spec.rb
index e424a0d4..98e0a3dd 100644
--- a/spec/integration/readme_examples_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/integration/readme_examples_spec.rb
@@ -226,6 +226,20 @@
       end.not_to raise_error
     end
 
+    it 'required_claims' do
+      payload = { data: 'test' }
+
+      token = JWT.encode payload, hmac_secret, 'HS256'
+
+      expect do
+        JWT.decode token, hmac_secret, true, required_claims: ['exp'], algorithm: 'HS256'
+      end.to raise_error(JWT::MissingRequiredClaim)
+
+      expect do
+        JWT.decode token, hmac_secret, true, required_claims: ['data'], algorithm: 'HS256'
+      end.not_to raise_error
+    end
+
     it 'find_key' do
       issuers = %w[My_Awesome_Company1 My_Awesome_Company2]
       iss_payload = { data: 'data', iss: issuers.first }
diff --git a/spec/jwt/verify_spec.rb b/spec/jwt/verify_spec.rb
index d4757758..0bcea214 100644
--- a/spec/jwt/verify_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/jwt/verify_spec.rb
@@ -248,4 +248,17 @@
       end
     end
   end
+
+  context '.verify_required_claims(payload, options)' do
+    it 'must raise JWT::MissingRequiredClaim if a required claim is absent' do
+      expect do
+        described_class.verify_required_claims(base_payload, options.merge(required_claims: ['exp']))
+      end.to raise_error JWT::MissingRequiredClaim
+    end
+
+    it 'must verify the claims if all required claims are present' do
+      payload = base_payload.merge('exp' => (Time.now.to_i + 5), 'custom_claim' => true)
+      described_class.verify_required_claims(payload, options.merge(required_claims: ['exp', 'custom_claim']))
+    end
+  end
 end