diff --git a/@commitlint/cli/fixtures/default-ignores-false/commitlint.config.js b/@commitlint/cli/fixtures/default-ignores-false/commitlint.config.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e738f076ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/@commitlint/cli/fixtures/default-ignores-false/commitlint.config.js
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+module.exports = {
+	defaultIgnores: false,
+	rules: {
+		'subject-empty': [2, 'never']
+	}
+};
diff --git a/@commitlint/cli/fixtures/default-ignores-true/commitlint.config.js b/@commitlint/cli/fixtures/default-ignores-true/commitlint.config.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7cbab979de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/@commitlint/cli/fixtures/default-ignores-true/commitlint.config.js
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+module.exports = {
+	defaultIgnores: true,
+	rules: {
+		'subject-empty': [2, 'never']
+	}
+};
diff --git a/@commitlint/cli/fixtures/default-ignores-unset/commitlint.config.js b/@commitlint/cli/fixtures/default-ignores-unset/commitlint.config.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..426da89d6a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/@commitlint/cli/fixtures/default-ignores-unset/commitlint.config.js
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+module.exports = {
+	rules: {
+		'subject-empty': [2, 'never']
+	}
+};
diff --git a/@commitlint/cli/src/cli.js b/@commitlint/cli/src/cli.js
index 0e21fd94c6..cad49f191f 100755
--- a/@commitlint/cli/src/cli.js
+++ b/@commitlint/cli/src/cli.js
@@ -147,7 +147,8 @@ async function main(options) {
 	const opts = {
 		parserOpts: {},
 		plugins: {},
-		ignores: []
+		ignores: [],
+		defaultIgnores: true
 	};
 	if (parserOpts) {
 		opts.parserOpts = parserOpts;
@@ -158,6 +159,9 @@ async function main(options) {
 	if (loaded.ignores) {
 		opts.ignores = loaded.ignores;
 	}
+	if (loaded.defaultIgnores === false) {
+		opts.defaultIgnores = false;
+	}
 	const format = loadFormatter(loaded, flags);
 
 	// Strip comments if reading from `.git/COMMIT_EDIT_MSG`
diff --git a/@commitlint/cli/src/cli.test.js b/@commitlint/cli/src/cli.test.js
index 1ee4610941..692497064e 100644
--- a/@commitlint/cli/src/cli.test.js
+++ b/@commitlint/cli/src/cli.test.js
@@ -318,6 +318,24 @@ test('should not skip linting if message does not match ignores config', async t
 	t.is(actual.code, 1);
 });
 
+test('should not skip linting if defaultIgnores is false', async t => {
+	const cwd = await git.bootstrap('fixtures/default-ignores-false');
+	const actual = await cli([], {cwd})('fixup! foo: bar');
+	t.is(actual.code, 1);
+});
+
+test('should skip linting if defaultIgnores is true', async t => {
+	const cwd = await git.bootstrap('fixtures/default-ignores-true');
+	const actual = await cli([], {cwd})('fixup! foo: bar');
+	t.is(actual.code, 0);
+});
+
+test('should skip linting if defaultIgnores is unset', async t => {
+	const cwd = await git.bootstrap('fixtures/default-ignores-unset');
+	const actual = await cli([], {cwd})('fixup! foo: bar');
+	t.is(actual.code, 0);
+});
+
 test('should fail for invalid formatters from flags', async t => {
 	const cwd = await git.bootstrap('fixtures/custom-formatter');
 	const actual = await cli(['--format', 'through-flag'], {cwd})('foo: bar');