diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d7d6272..6aae164 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -16,3 +16,4 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 ### Changed
 - `post_operation_hook` has been renamed `post_operation_hooks`.
 - By default, logs are now sent to syslog instead of stderr.
+- The process is now daemonized by default. It is possible to still run it in the foreground using the `--foregroung` flag.
diff --git a/acmed/Cargo.toml b/acmed/Cargo.toml
index 327a91a..77224e2 100644
--- a/acmed/Cargo.toml
+++ b/acmed/Cargo.toml
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ include = ["src/**/*", "Cargo.toml", "LICENSE-*.txt"]
 [dependencies]
 acme-lib = "0.4"
 clap = "2.32"
+daemonize = "0.3"
 env_logger = "0.6"
 handlebars = "2.0.0-beta.1"
 log = "0.4"
diff --git a/acmed/src/main.rs b/acmed/src/main.rs
index 2d1410a..daf3e9b 100644
--- a/acmed/src/main.rs
+++ b/acmed/src/main.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 use clap::{App, Arg};
+use daemonize::Daemonize;
 use log::{error, LevelFilter};
 
 mod acmed;
@@ -10,6 +11,7 @@ mod logs;
 mod storage;
 
 pub const APP_NAME: &str = "acmed";
+pub const DEFAULT_PID_FILE: &str = "/var/run/admed.pid";
 pub const DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE: &str = "/etc/acmed/acmed.toml";
 pub const DEFAULT_ACCOUNTS_DIR: &str = "/etc/acmed/accounts";
 pub const DEFAULT_CERT_DIR: &str = "/etc/acmed/certs";
@@ -31,14 +33,14 @@ fn main() {
             Arg::with_name("config")
                 .short("c")
                 .long("config")
-                .help("Specify an alternative configuration file.")
+                .help("Specify an alternative configuration file")
                 .takes_value(true)
                 .value_name("FILE"),
         )
         .arg(
             Arg::with_name("log-level")
                 .long("log-level")
-                .help("Specify the log level.")
+                .help("Specify the log level")
                 .takes_value(true)
                 .value_name("LEVEL")
                 .possible_values(&["error", "warn", "info", "debug", "trace"]),
@@ -46,15 +48,30 @@ fn main() {
         .arg(
             Arg::with_name("to-syslog")
                 .long("log-syslog")
-                .help("Send log messages via syslog.")
+                .help("Sends log messages via syslog")
                 .conflicts_with("to-stderr"),
         )
         .arg(
             Arg::with_name("to-stderr")
                 .long("log-stderr")
-                .help("Print log messages to the standard error output.")
+                .help("Prints log messages to the standard error output")
                 .conflicts_with("log-syslog"),
         )
+        .arg(
+            Arg::with_name("foregroung")
+                .short("f")
+                .long("foregroung")
+                .help("Runs in the foregroung")
+                .conflicts_with("to-stderr"),
+        )
+        .arg(
+            Arg::with_name("pid-file")
+                .long("pid-file")
+                .help("Specifies the location of the PID file")
+                .takes_value(true)
+                .value_name("FILE")
+                .conflicts_with("foregroung"),
+        )
         .get_matches();
 
     match logs::set_log_system(
@@ -65,10 +82,22 @@ fn main() {
         Ok(_) => {}
         Err(e) => {
             eprintln!("Error: {}", e);
-            std::process::exit(1);
+            std::process::exit(2);
         }
     };
 
+    if !matches.is_present("foregroung") {
+        let pid_file = matches.value_of("pid-file").unwrap_or(DEFAULT_PID_FILE);
+        let daemonize = Daemonize::new().pid_file(pid_file);
+        match daemonize.start() {
+            Ok(_) => {}
+            Err(e) => {
+                eprintln!("Error: {}", e);
+                std::process::exit(3);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     let config_file = matches.value_of("config").unwrap_or(DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE);
     let mut srv = match acmed::Acmed::new(&config_file) {
         Ok(s) => s,