diff --git a/ipa-client/man/default.conf.5 b/ipa-client/man/default.conf.5
index e345e9300..75b9f86bc 100644
--- a/ipa-client/man/default.conf.5
+++ b/ipa-client/man/default.conf.5
@@ -166,6 +166,9 @@ Specifies how the expiration of a session is computed. With \fBinactivity_timeou
 .B server <hostname>
 Specifies the IPA Server hostname.
 .TP
+.B skip_version_check <boolean>
+Skip client vs. server API version checking. Can lead to errors/strange behavior when newer clients talk to older servers. Use with caution.
+.TP
 .B startup_timeout <time in seconds>
 Controls the amount of time waited when starting a service. The default value is 120 seconds.
 .TP
diff --git a/ipalib/frontend.py b/ipalib/frontend.py
index 3a59838d7..2ca3aaea8 100644
--- a/ipalib/frontend.py
+++ b/ipalib/frontend.py
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ from distutils import version
 
 from ipapython.version import API_VERSION
 from ipapython.ipa_log_manager import root_logger
+from ipalib.capabilities import VERSION_WITHOUT_CAPABILITIES
 from base import NameSpace
 from plugable import Plugin
 from parameters import create_param, Param, Str, Flag, Password
@@ -423,7 +424,9 @@ class Command(HasParam):
         version_provided = 'version' in options
         if version_provided:
             self.verify_client_version(unicode(options['version']))
-        elif self.api.env.in_server or not self.api.env.skip_version_check:
+        elif self.api.env.skip_version_check and not self.api.env.in_server:
+            options['version'] = VERSION_WITHOUT_CAPABILITIES
+        else:
             options['version'] = API_VERSION
         params = self.args_options_2_params(*args, **options)
         self.debug(
@@ -451,7 +454,7 @@ class Command(HasParam):
         ):
             ret['summary'] = self.get_summary_default(ret)
         if self.use_output_validation and (self.output or ret is not None):
-            self.validate_output(ret, options.get('version', API_VERSION))
+            self.validate_output(ret, options['version'])
         return ret
 
     def soft_validate(self, values):
diff --git a/ipalib/plugable.py b/ipalib/plugable.py
index 269d58092..2ce7acfd6 100644
--- a/ipalib/plugable.py
+++ b/ipalib/plugable.py
@@ -484,12 +484,6 @@ class API(ReadOnly):
                 dest='fallback',
                 help='Only use the server configured in /etc/ipa/default.conf'
             )
-            parser.add_option(
-                '--skip-version-check',
-                action='store_true',
-                dest='skip_version_check',
-                help=optparse.SUPPRESS_HELP
-            )
 
         return parser
 
@@ -509,7 +503,7 @@ class API(ReadOnly):
                     pass
                 overrides[str(key.strip())] = value.strip()
         for key in ('conf', 'debug', 'verbose', 'prompt_all', 'interactive',
-            'fallback', 'delegate', 'skip_version_check'):
+            'fallback', 'delegate'):
             value = getattr(options, key, None)
             if value is not None:
                 overrides[key] = value