diff --git a/changelog.d/9793.misc b/changelog.d/9793.misc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6334689d26
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/9793.misc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Add option to skip unit tests when building Debian packages.
diff --git a/debian/build_virtualenv b/debian/build_virtualenv
index cad7d16883..21caad90cc 100755
--- a/debian/build_virtualenv
+++ b/debian/build_virtualenv
@@ -50,15 +50,24 @@ PACKAGE_BUILD_DIR="debian/matrix-synapse-py3"
 VIRTUALENV_DIR="${PACKAGE_BUILD_DIR}${DH_VIRTUALENV_INSTALL_ROOT}/matrix-synapse"
 TARGET_PYTHON="${VIRTUALENV_DIR}/bin/python"
 
-# we copy the tests to a temporary directory so that we can put them on the
-# PYTHONPATH without putting the uninstalled synapse on the pythonpath.
-tmpdir=`mktemp -d`
-trap "rm -r $tmpdir" EXIT
+case "$DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS" in
+    *nocheck*)
+        # Skip running tests if "nocheck" present in $DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS
+        ;;
 
-cp -r tests "$tmpdir"
+    *)
+        # Copy tests to a temporary directory so that we can put them on the
+        # PYTHONPATH without putting the uninstalled synapse on the pythonpath.
+        tmpdir=`mktemp -d`
+        trap "rm -r $tmpdir" EXIT
 
-PYTHONPATH="$tmpdir" \
-    "${TARGET_PYTHON}" -m twisted.trial --reporter=text -j2 tests
+        cp -r tests "$tmpdir"
+
+        PYTHONPATH="$tmpdir" \
+            "${TARGET_PYTHON}" -m twisted.trial --reporter=text -j2 tests
+
+        ;;
+esac
 
 # build the config file
 "${TARGET_PYTHON}" "${VIRTUALENV_DIR}/bin/generate_config" \
diff --git a/debian/changelog b/debian/changelog
index 09602ff54b..5d526316fc 100644
--- a/debian/changelog
+++ b/debian/changelog
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+matrix-synapse-py3 (1.31.0+nmu1) UNRELEASED; urgency=medium
+
+  * Skip tests when DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS contains "nocheck".
+
+ -- Dan Callahan <danc@element.io>  Mon, 12 Apr 2021 13:07:36 +0000
+
 matrix-synapse-py3 (1.31.0) stable; urgency=medium
 
   * New synapse release 1.31.0.
diff --git a/scripts-dev/build_debian_packages b/scripts-dev/build_debian_packages
index bddc441df2..3bb6e2c7ea 100755
--- a/scripts-dev/build_debian_packages
+++ b/scripts-dev/build_debian_packages
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ class Builder(object):
         self._lock = threading.Lock()
         self._failed = False
 
-    def run_build(self, dist):
+    def run_build(self, dist, skip_tests=False):
         """Build deb for a single distribution"""
 
         if self._failed:
@@ -49,13 +49,13 @@ class Builder(object):
             raise Exception("failed")
 
         try:
-            self._inner_build(dist)
+            self._inner_build(dist, skip_tests)
         except Exception as e:
             print("build of %s failed: %s" % (dist, e), file=sys.stderr)
             self._failed = True
             raise
 
-    def _inner_build(self, dist):
+    def _inner_build(self, dist, skip_tests=False):
         projdir = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)))
         os.chdir(projdir)
 
@@ -99,6 +99,7 @@ class Builder(object):
             "--volume=" + debsdir + ":/debs",
             "-e", "TARGET_USERID=%i" % (os.getuid(), ),
             "-e", "TARGET_GROUPID=%i" % (os.getgid(), ),
+            "-e", "DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS=%s" % ("nocheck" if skip_tests else ""),
             "dh-venv-builder:" + tag,
         ], stdout=stdout, stderr=subprocess.STDOUT)
 
@@ -122,7 +123,7 @@ class Builder(object):
                 self.active_containers.remove(c)
 
 
-def run_builds(dists, jobs=1):
+def run_builds(dists, jobs=1, skip_tests=False):
     builder = Builder(redirect_stdout=(jobs > 1))
 
     def sig(signum, _frame):
@@ -131,7 +132,7 @@ def run_builds(dists, jobs=1):
     signal.signal(signal.SIGINT, sig)
 
     with ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=jobs) as e:
-        res = e.map(builder.run_build, dists)
+        res = e.map(lambda dist: builder.run_build(dist, skip_tests), dists)
 
     # make sure we consume the iterable so that exceptions are raised.
     for r in res:
@@ -146,9 +147,13 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
         '-j', '--jobs', type=int, default=1,
         help='specify the number of builds to run in parallel',
     )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        '--no-check', action='store_true',
+        help='skip running tests after building',
+    )
     parser.add_argument(
         'dist', nargs='*', default=DISTS,
         help='a list of distributions to build for. Default: %(default)s',
     )
     args = parser.parse_args()
-    run_builds(dists=args.dist, jobs=args.jobs)
+    run_builds(dists=args.dist, jobs=args.jobs, skip_tests=args.no_check)