diff --git a/Changelog.md b/Changelog.md
index 90ef440d..eb562222 100644
--- a/Changelog.md
+++ b/Changelog.md
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 - gitlab: upgrade to CE v.7.5.1
 - gitlab-shell to v2.2.0
 - added `GITLAB_TIMEZONE` configuration option
+- added `GITLAB_EMAIL_ENABLED` configuration option
 
 **7.4.4**
 - gitlab: upgrade to CE v.7.4.4
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c0dbc04a..a26568a3 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -699,6 +699,7 @@ Below is the complete list of available options that can be used to customize yo
 - **GITLAB_PORT**: The port of the GitLab server. Defaults to `80` for plain http and `443` when https is enabled.
 - **GITLAB_TIMEZONE**: Configure the timezone for the gitlab application. Defaults to `UTC`.
 - **GITLAB_EMAIL**: The email address for the GitLab server.  Defaults to `example@example.com`.
+- **GITLAB_EMAIL_ENABLED**: Enable or disable gitlab mailer. Defaults to the `SMTP_ENABLED` configuration.
 - **GITLAB_SIGNUP**: Enable or disable user signups. Default is `false`.
 - **GITLAB_SIGNIN**: If set to `false`, standard login form won't be shown on the sign-in page. Default is `true`.
 - **GITLAB_PROJECTS_LIMIT**: Set default projects limit. Defaults to `100`.
diff --git a/assets/config/gitlabhq/gitlab.yml b/assets/config/gitlabhq/gitlab.yml
index fddcf195..1f0476e4 100644
--- a/assets/config/gitlabhq/gitlab.yml
+++ b/assets/config/gitlabhq/gitlab.yml
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ production: &base
 
     ## Email settings
     # Uncomment and set to false if you need to disable email sending from GitLab (default: true)
-    # email_enabled: true
+    email_enabled: {{GITLAB_EMAIL_ENABLED}}
     # Email address used in the "From" field in mails sent by GitLab
     email_from: "{{GITLAB_EMAIL}}"
 
diff --git a/assets/init b/assets/init
index 4237816c..e535f5fd 100755
--- a/assets/init
+++ b/assets/init
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@ if [ -n "${SMTP_USER}" ]; then
   SMTP_AUTHENTICATION=${SMTP_AUTHENTICATION:-login}
 fi
 SMTP_ENABLED=${SMTP_ENABLED:-false}
+GITLAB_EMAIL_ENABLED=${GITLAB_EMAIL_ENABLED:-$SMTP_ENABLED}
 
 LDAP_ENABLED=${LDAP_ENABLED:-false}
 LDAP_HOST=${LDAP_HOST:-}
@@ -440,8 +441,9 @@ sudo -u git -H sed 's/{{UNICORN_WORKERS}}/'"${UNICORN_WORKERS}"'/' -i config/uni
 # configure unicorn timeout
 sudo -u git -H sed 's/{{UNICORN_TIMEOUT}}/'"${UNICORN_TIMEOUT}"'/' -i config/unicorn.rb
 
+# configure mail delivery
+sudo -u git -H sed 's/{{GITLAB_EMAIL_ENABLED}}/'"${GITLAB_EMAIL_ENABLED}"'/' -i config/gitlab.yml
 if [ "${SMTP_ENABLED}" == "true" ]; then
-  # configure mail delivery
   sudo -u git -H sed 's/{{SMTP_HOST}}/'"${SMTP_HOST}"'/' -i config/initializers/smtp_settings.rb
   sudo -u git -H sed 's/{{SMTP_PORT}}/'"${SMTP_PORT}"'/' -i config/initializers/smtp_settings.rb