diff --git a/agent/config/builder.go b/agent/config/builder.go
index e9cb19394c..7b99b49602 100644
--- a/agent/config/builder.go
+++ b/agent/config/builder.go
@@ -997,11 +997,18 @@ func (b *Builder) serviceVal(v *ServiceDefinition) *structs.ServiceDefinition {
 		checks = append(checks, b.checkVal(v.Check).CheckType())
 	}
 
+	meta := make(map[string]string)
+	if err := structs.ValidateMetadata(v.Meta, false); err != nil {
+		b.err = multierror.Append(fmt.Errorf("invalid meta for service %v: %v", v.Name, err))
+	} else {
+		meta = v.Meta
+	}
 	return &structs.ServiceDefinition{
 		ID:                b.stringVal(v.ID),
 		Name:              b.stringVal(v.Name),
 		Tags:              v.Tags,
 		Address:           b.stringVal(v.Address),
+		Meta:              meta,
 		Port:              b.intVal(v.Port),
 		Token:             b.stringVal(v.Token),
 		EnableTagOverride: b.boolVal(v.EnableTagOverride),
diff --git a/agent/config/config.go b/agent/config/config.go
index 2a14abc6b8..6b8ba113a5 100644
--- a/agent/config/config.go
+++ b/agent/config/config.go
@@ -319,6 +319,7 @@ type ServiceDefinition struct {
 	Name              *string           `json:"name,omitempty" hcl:"name" mapstructure:"name"`
 	Tags              []string          `json:"tags,omitempty" hcl:"tags" mapstructure:"tags"`
 	Address           *string           `json:"address,omitempty" hcl:"address" mapstructure:"address"`
+	Meta              map[string]string `json:"node_meta,omitempty" hcl:"meta" mapstructure:"meta"`
 	Port              *int              `json:"port,omitempty" hcl:"port" mapstructure:"port"`
 	Check             *CheckDefinition  `json:"check,omitempty" hcl:"check" mapstructure:"check"`
 	Checks            []CheckDefinition `json:"checks,omitempty" hcl:"checks" mapstructure:"checks"`
diff --git a/agent/config/runtime_test.go b/agent/config/runtime_test.go
index da62e0339c..511ebc4a80 100644
--- a/agent/config/runtime_test.go
+++ b/agent/config/runtime_test.go
@@ -49,6 +49,8 @@ func TestConfigFlagsAndEdgecases(t *testing.T) {
 	dataDir := testutil.TempDir(t, "consul")
 	defer os.RemoveAll(dataDir)
 
+	metaVal := make(map[string]string)
+	metaVal["my"] = "value"
 	tests := []configTest{
 		// ------------------------------------------------------------
 		// cmd line flags
@@ -1923,16 +1925,16 @@ func TestConfigFlagsAndEdgecases(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 			json: []string{
 				`{ "service": { "name": "a", "port": 80 } }`,
-				`{ "service": { "name": "b", "port": 90 } }`,
+				`{ "service": { "name": "b", "port": 90, "meta": {"my": "value"} } }`,
 			},
 			hcl: []string{
 				`service = { name = "a" port = 80 }`,
-				`service = { name = "b" port = 90 }`,
+				`service = { name = "b" port = 90 meta={my="value"}}`,
 			},
 			patch: func(rt *RuntimeConfig) {
 				rt.Services = []*structs.ServiceDefinition{
 					&structs.ServiceDefinition{Name: "a", Port: 80},
-					&structs.ServiceDefinition{Name: "b", Port: 90},
+					&structs.ServiceDefinition{Name: "b", Port: 90, Meta: metaVal},
 				}
 				rt.DataDir = dataDir
 			},