diff --git a/src/fu-device.c b/src/fu-device.c
index 9d4744adf..9e43974ab 100644
--- a/src/fu-device.c
+++ b/src/fu-device.c
@@ -721,6 +721,37 @@ fu_device_get_custom_flags (FuDevice *device)
 	return fu_device_get_metadata (device, "CustomFlags");
 }
 
+/**
+ * fu_device_has_custom_flag:
+ * @device: A #FuDevice
+ * @hint: A string, e.g. "bootloader"
+ *
+ * Checks if the custom flag exists for the device from the quirk system.
+ *
+ * It may be more efficient to call fu_device_get_custom_flags() and split the
+ * string locally if checking for lots of different flags.
+ *
+ * Returns: %TRUE if the hint exists
+ *
+ * Since: 1.1.0
+ **/
+gboolean
+fu_device_has_custom_flag (FuDevice *device, const gchar *hint)
+{
+	const gchar *hint_str;
+	g_auto(GStrv) hints = NULL;
+
+	g_return_val_if_fail (FU_IS_DEVICE (device), FALSE);
+	g_return_val_if_fail (hint != NULL, FALSE);
+
+	/* no hint is perfectly valid */
+	hint_str = fu_device_get_custom_flags (device);
+	if (hint_str == NULL)
+		return FALSE;
+	hints = g_strsplit (hint_str, ",", -1);
+	return g_strv_contains ((const gchar * const *) hints, hint);
+}
+
 /**
  * fu_device_set_platform_id:
  * @device: A #FuDevice
diff --git a/src/fu-device.h b/src/fu-device.h
index 5f3876c45..0d348569e 100644
--- a/src/fu-device.h
+++ b/src/fu-device.h
@@ -138,6 +138,8 @@ const gchar	*fu_device_get_serial			(FuDevice	*device);
 void		 fu_device_set_serial			(FuDevice	*device,
 							 const gchar	*serial);
 const gchar	*fu_device_get_custom_flags		(FuDevice	*device);
+gboolean	 fu_device_has_custom_flag		(FuDevice	*device,
+							 const gchar	*hint);
 void		 fu_device_set_custom_flags		(FuDevice	*device,
 							 const gchar	*custom_flags);
 void		 fu_device_set_name			(FuDevice	*device,