diff --git a/src/config.rs b/src/config.rs
index 508b569232be..892b90b117ed 100644
--- a/src/config.rs
+++ b/src/config.rs
@@ -333,6 +333,7 @@ create_config! {
          via the --file-lines option";
     max_width: usize, 100, "Maximum width of each line";
     ideal_width: usize, 80, "Ideal width of each line";
+    error_on_line_overflow: bool, true, "Error if unable to get all lines within max_width";
     tab_spaces: usize, 4, "Number of spaces per tab";
     fn_call_width: usize, 60,
         "Maximum width of the args of a function call before falling back to vertical formatting";
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index abe9a6e8554e..4fdc9ff8675d 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -399,7 +399,7 @@ fn format_lines(text: &mut StringBuffer, name: &str, config: &Config, report: &m
                 line_len -= b - lw;
             }
             // Check for any line width errors we couldn't correct.
-            if line_len > config.max_width {
+            if config.error_on_line_overflow && line_len > config.max_width {
                 errors.push(FormattingError {
                     line: cur_line,
                     kind: ErrorKind::LineOverflow(line_len, config.max_width),