diff --git a/controllers/nginx/Dockerfile b/controllers/nginx/Dockerfile
index cb285d9b3..28e44a7d9 100644
--- a/controllers/nginx/Dockerfile
+++ b/controllers/nginx/Dockerfile
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
   && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
 COPY nginx-ingress-controller /
-COPY nginx.tmpl /
+COPY nginx.tmpl /etc/nginx/template/nginx.tmpl
 COPY default.conf /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
 
 COPY lua /etc/nginx/lua/
diff --git a/controllers/nginx/README.md b/controllers/nginx/README.md
index f2ed1e63d..c82d71c81 100644
--- a/controllers/nginx/README.md
+++ b/controllers/nginx/README.md
@@ -180,6 +180,15 @@ Using a ConfigMap it is possible to customize the defaults in nginx.
 Please check the [tcp services](examples/custom-configuration/README.md) example
 
 
+## Custom NGINX template
+
+The NGINX template is located in the file `/etc/nginx/template/nginx.tmpl`. Mounting a volume is possible to use a custom version.
+Use the [custom-template](examples/custom-template/README.md) example as a guide
+
+**Please note the template is tied to the go code. Be sure to no change names in the variable `$cfg`**
+
+
+
 ### NGINX status page
 
 The ngx_http_stub_status_module module provides access to basic status information. This is the default module active in the url `/nginx_status`.
diff --git a/controllers/nginx/examples/custom-template/README.md b/controllers/nginx/examples/custom-template/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6d6375d0b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/controllers/nginx/examples/custom-template/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+
+This example shows how is possible to use a custom template
+
+First create a configmap with a template inside running:
+```
+kubectl create configmap nginx-template --from-file=nginx.tmpl=../../nginx.tmpl
+```
+
+Next create the rc `kubectl create -f custom-template.yaml`
diff --git a/controllers/nginx/examples/custom-template/custom-template.yaml b/controllers/nginx/examples/custom-template/custom-template.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ac7991033
--- /dev/null
+++ b/controllers/nginx/examples/custom-template/custom-template.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: ReplicationController
+metadata:
+  name: nginx-ingress-controller
+  labels:
+    k8s-app: nginx-ingress-lb
+spec:
+  replicas: 1
+  selector:
+    k8s-app: nginx-ingress-lb
+  template:
+    metadata:
+      labels:
+        k8s-app: nginx-ingress-lb
+        name: nginx-ingress-lb
+    spec:
+      terminationGracePeriodSeconds: 60      
+      containers:
+      - image: aledbf/nginx-third-party:0.15
+        name: nginx-ingress-lb
+        imagePullPolicy: Always
+        livenessProbe:
+          httpGet:
+            path: /healthz
+            port: 10249
+            scheme: HTTP
+          initialDelaySeconds: 30
+          timeoutSeconds: 5
+        # use downward API
+        env:
+          - name: POD_NAME
+            valueFrom:
+              fieldRef:
+                fieldPath: metadata.name
+          - name: POD_NAMESPACE
+            valueFrom:
+              fieldRef:
+                fieldPath: metadata.namespace
+        ports:
+        - containerPort: 80
+          hostPort: 80
+        - containerPort: 443
+          hostPort: 4430
+        args:
+        - /nginx-ingress-controller
+        - --default-backend-service=default/default-http-backend
+        volumeMounts:
+          - mountPath: /etc/nginx/template
+            name: nginx-template-volume
+            readOnly: true
+      volumes:
+        - name: nginx-template-volume
+          configMap:
+            name: nginx-template
+            items:
+            - key: nginx.tmpl
+              path: nginx.tmpl
diff --git a/controllers/nginx/nginx/template.go b/controllers/nginx/nginx/template.go
index fc67cfd1c..8a5b1626f 100644
--- a/controllers/nginx/nginx/template.go
+++ b/controllers/nginx/nginx/template.go
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ import (
 
 var (
 	camelRegexp = regexp.MustCompile("[0-9A-Za-z]+")
+	tmplPath    = "/etc/nginx/template/nginx.tmpl"
 
 	funcMap = template.FuncMap{
 		"empty": func(input interface{}) bool {
@@ -43,7 +44,7 @@ var (
 )
 
 func (ngx *Manager) loadTemplate() {
-	tmpl, _ := template.New("nginx.tmpl").Funcs(funcMap).ParseFiles("./nginx.tmpl")
+	tmpl, _ := template.New("nginx.tmpl").Funcs(funcMap).ParseFiles(tmplPath)
 	ngx.template = tmpl
 }