diff --git a/bin/vhost-deploy.sh b/bin/vhost-deploy.sh
index 7151a6e..e58472a 100755
--- a/bin/vhost-deploy.sh
+++ b/bin/vhost-deploy.sh
@@ -13,14 +13,14 @@ help()
   thisfilename=$(basename -- "$0")
   echo "Add virtualhost to this server, including shell user and MySQL database."
   echo ""
-  echo "usage: $thisfilename -d <domain> [-u <username>] [-p <password>] [-x <fpmmax>] [-j] [-w] [-h]"
+  echo "usage: $thisfilename -d <domain> [-u <username>] [-p <password>] [-x <fpmmax>] [-j <0|1>] [-w] [-h]"
   echo ""
   echo "  -h            Print this help."
   echo "  -d <domain>   Domain name of VirtualHost to remove."
   echo "  -u <username> Username to use for this virtualhost. Optional, defaults to first 8 alphanumeric characters of virtualhost."
   echo "  -p <password> Password for username. Optional, random password generated if none specified."
   echo "  -x <fpmmax>   PHP-FPM pm.max_children. Optional, defaults to 4, recommended range 2-12 on Shared Server."
-  echo "  -j            Whether or not to jail the user. Optional, default is to not jail user."
+  echo "  -j <0|1>      Whether or not to jail the user. 0 = no, 1 = yes. Default is 1, which can be overriden in main config."
   echo "  -w            Write user & mysql info to files."
   exit
 }
@@ -103,8 +103,12 @@ if ! grep -q "^$username:" /etc/passwd; then
   else
     /usr/local/bin/vhost-user-add.sh -u $username -p "$password" -x $fpmmax
   fi
-  # if jail option is set then jail user
-  if [[ -n $jail ]]; then
+  # check for and set jail option
+  if [[ -z $jail ]]; then
+    jail=$JAIL_USER
+  fi
+  # if jail option is yes (1) then jail user
+  if [[ $jail == 1 ]]; then
     # job is run in the background as it can take about 1 minute to complete
     /usr/local/bin/vhost-user-jail.sh -u $username >/dev/null 2>/dev/null &
     # pause to give above script time to create jail home dir which is used by vhost-add.sh below
diff --git a/bin/vhost.sh b/bin/vhost.sh
index f6c68a1..49fa143 100755
--- a/bin/vhost.sh
+++ b/bin/vhost.sh
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ fi
 # constants
 
 FPM_MAX=4
+JAIL_USER=1
 
 # functions
 
@@ -87,8 +88,12 @@ function vhost:getoptions () {
         u ) # username
           username=${OPTARG,,}
           ;;
-        j ) # jail - if enabled user will be jailed
-          jail=true
+        j ) # jail - Whether or not to jail the user. 0 = no, 1 = yes.
+          jail=${OPTARG}
+          if [[ $jail != "0" ]] && [[ $jail != "1" ]]; then
+            echo "ERROR: Invalid jail setting: -j $jail."
+            exit 1
+          fi
           ;;
         n ) # dry-run
           dryrun=true