diff --git a/app/start.sh b/app/start.sh
index 94db50f4..4e90974f 100755
--- a/app/start.sh
+++ b/app/start.sh
@@ -20,7 +20,11 @@ letsencrypt_service_pid=$!
 
 wait_default="5s:20s"
 DOCKER_GEN_WAIT="${DOCKER_GEN_WAIT:-$wait_default}"
-docker-gen -watch -notify '/app/signal_le_service' -wait "$DOCKER_GEN_WAIT" /app/letsencrypt_service_data.tmpl /app/letsencrypt_service_data &
+if parse_true "${INCLUDE_STOPPED:=false}"; then
+  docker-gen -watch -include-stopped -notify '/app/signal_le_service' -wait "$DOCKER_GEN_WAIT" /app/letsencrypt_service_data.tmpl /app/letsencrypt_service_data &
+else
+  docker-gen -watch -notify '/app/signal_le_service' -wait "$DOCKER_GEN_WAIT" /app/letsencrypt_service_data.tmpl /app/letsencrypt_service_data &
+fi
 docker_gen_pid=$!
 
 # wait "indefinitely"
diff --git a/docs/Container-configuration.md b/docs/Container-configuration.md
index 8465054a..a302bcb0 100644
--- a/docs/Container-configuration.md
+++ b/docs/Container-configuration.md
@@ -40,3 +40,4 @@ You can also create test certificates per container (see [Test certificates](./L
 
 * `RELOAD_NGINX_ONLY_ONCE` - The companion reload nginx configuration after every new or renewed certificate. Previously this was done only once per service loop, at the end of the loop (this was causing delayed availability of HTTPS enabled application when multiple new certificates where requested at once, see [issue #1147](https://github.com/nginx-proxy/acme-companion/issues/1147)). You can restore the previous behaviour if needed by setting the environment variable `RELOAD_NGINX_ONLY_ONCE` to `true`.
 
+* `INCLUDE_STOPPED` - Whether to include stopped containers when generating certificates. Useful for when the **nginx-proxy** container might need to serve a valid page for offline containers.
\ No newline at end of file