diff --git a/validator/internal/centralconsumer/centralconsumer.go b/validator/internal/centralconsumer/centralconsumer.go
index 85fa02e..087d55b 100644
--- a/validator/internal/centralconsumer/centralconsumer.go
+++ b/validator/internal/centralconsumer/centralconsumer.go
@@ -19,11 +19,12 @@ import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"strconv"
 
+	"github.com/dataphos/lib-brokers/pkg/broker"
+	"github.com/dataphos/lib-logger/logger"
 	"github.com/dataphos/schema-registry-validator/internal/errtemplates"
 	"github.com/dataphos/schema-registry-validator/internal/janitor"
 	"github.com/dataphos/schema-registry-validator/internal/registry"
-	"github.com/dataphos/lib-brokers/pkg/broker"
-	"github.com/dataphos/lib-logger/logger"
+	jsoninternal "github.com/dataphos/schema-registry-validator/internal/validator/json"
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 )
 
@@ -63,18 +64,19 @@ type VersionDetails struct {
 
 // CentralConsumer models the central consumer process.
 type CentralConsumer struct {
-	Registry      registry.SchemaRegistry
-	Validators    janitor.Validators
-	Router        janitor.Router
-	Publisher     broker.Publisher
-	topicIDs      Topics
-	topics        map[string]broker.Topic
-	registrySem   chan struct{}
-	validatorsSem chan struct{}
-	log           logger.Log
-	mode          Mode
-	schema        Schema
-	encryptionKey string
+	Registry        registry.SchemaRegistry
+	Validators      janitor.Validators
+	Router          janitor.Router
+	Publisher       broker.Publisher
+	topicIDs        Topics
+	topics          map[string]broker.Topic
+	registrySem     chan struct{}
+	validatorsSem   chan struct{}
+	log             logger.Log
+	mode            Mode
+	schema          Schema
+	encryptionKey   string
+	validateHeaders bool
 }
 
 // Settings holds settings concerning the concurrency limits for various stages of the central consumer pipeline.
@@ -84,6 +86,9 @@ type Settings struct {
 
 	// NumInferrers defines the maximum amount of inflight destination topic inference jobs (validation and routing).
 	NumInferrers int
+
+	// ValidateHeaders defines if the messages' headers will be validated
+	ValidateHeaders bool
 }
 
 // Topics defines the standard destination topics, based on validation results.
@@ -122,6 +127,13 @@ func New(registry registry.SchemaRegistry, publisher broker.Publisher, validator
 	if settings.NumInferrers > 0 {
 		validatorsSem = make(chan struct{}, settings.NumInferrers)
 	}
+	if settings.ValidateHeaders == true {
+		_, ok := validators["json"]
+		if !ok {
+			// if json validation is turned off, this version of json validator is used by default for validating message header
+			validators["json"] = jsoninternal.New()
+		}
+	}
 
 	var schemaReturned []byte
 	if mode == OneCCPerTopic {
@@ -171,7 +183,8 @@ func New(registry registry.SchemaRegistry, publisher broker.Publisher, validator
 			},
 			Specification: schemaVersion.Specification,
 		},
-		encryptionKey: encryptionKey,
+		encryptionKey:   encryptionKey,
+		validateHeaders: settings.ValidateHeaders,
 	}, nil
 }
 
@@ -286,6 +299,7 @@ func (cc *CentralConsumer) AsProcessor() *janitor.Processor {
 
 func (cc *CentralConsumer) Handle(ctx context.Context, message janitor.Message) (janitor.MessageTopicPair, error) {
 	var (
+		schema                []byte
 		messageSchemaPair     janitor.MessageSchemaPair
 		messageTopicPair      janitor.MessageTopicPair
 		specificSchemaVersion VersionDetails
@@ -293,14 +307,54 @@ func (cc *CentralConsumer) Handle(ctx context.Context, message janitor.Message)
 		encryptedMessageData  []byte
 	)
 
+	// header validation is turned on if a message specifies so in the header OR if validateHeaders flag is set
+	// on the Validator level
+	if message.RawAttributes[janitor.HeaderValidation] == "true" ||
+		(cc.validateHeaders == true && message.RawAttributes[janitor.HeaderValidation] != "false") {
+		_, ok := cc.Validators["json"]
+		// it is possible json validator isn't initialized by this point so we are checking it just in case
+		if !ok {
+			cc.Validators["json"] = jsoninternal.New()
+		}
+		var (
+			headerId      string
+			headerVersion string
+			headerSchema  []byte
+		)
+
+		headerId, headerVersion, err = janitor.GetHeaderIdAndVersion(message)
+		if err != nil {
+			return janitor.MessageTopicPair{Message: message, Topic: cc.Router.Route(janitor.Deadletter, message)}, err
+		}
+		acquireIfSet(cc.registrySem)
+		headerSchema, err = janitor.CollectSchema(ctx, headerId, headerVersion, cc.Registry)
+		if err != nil {
+			setMessageRawAttributes(message, err, "Wrong compile")
+			releaseIfSet(cc.registrySem)
+			return janitor.MessageTopicPair{Message: message, Topic: cc.Router.Route(janitor.Deadletter, message)}, err
+		}
+		releaseIfSet(cc.registrySem)
+		messageSchemaPair = janitor.MessageSchemaPair{Message: message, Schema: headerSchema}
+
+		var isValid bool
+		isValid, err = janitor.ValidateHeader(message, headerSchema, cc.Validators)
+		if err != nil {
+			return janitor.MessageTopicPair{Message: message, Topic: cc.Router.Route(janitor.Deadletter, message)}, err
+		}
+		if !isValid {
+			return janitor.MessageTopicPair{Message: message, Topic: cc.Router.Route(janitor.Deadletter, message)}, nil
+		}
+	}
+
 	if cc.mode == Default {
 		acquireIfSet(cc.registrySem)
-		messageSchemaPair, err = janitor.CollectSchema(ctx, message, cc.Registry)
+		schema, err = janitor.CollectSchema(ctx, message.SchemaID, message.Version, cc.Registry)
 		if err != nil {
 			setMessageRawAttributes(message, err, "Wrong compile")
 			releaseIfSet(cc.registrySem)
 			return janitor.MessageTopicPair{Message: message, Topic: cc.Router.Route(janitor.Deadletter, message)}, err
 		}
+		messageSchemaPair = janitor.MessageSchemaPair{Message: message, Schema: schema}
 		releaseIfSet(cc.registrySem)
 
 		messageTopicPair, err = cc.getMessageTopicPair(messageSchemaPair, encryptedMessageData)
diff --git a/validator/internal/config/centralconsumer.go b/validator/internal/config/centralconsumer.go
index c6d264d..4545bb0 100644
--- a/validator/internal/config/centralconsumer.go
+++ b/validator/internal/config/centralconsumer.go
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ type CentralConsumer struct {
 	ShouldLog              CentralConsumerShouldLog  `toml:"should_log"`
 	NumSchemaCollectors    int                       `toml:"num_schema_collectors" default:"-1"`
 	NumInferrers           int                       `toml:"num_inferrers" default:"-1"`
+	ValidateHeaders        bool                      `toml:"validate_headers"`
 	MetricsLoggingInterval time.Duration             `toml:"metrics_logging_interval" default:"5s"`
 	RunOptions             RunOptions                `toml:"run_option"`
 	Mode                   int                       `toml:"mode"`
diff --git a/validator/internal/errcodes/errcodes.go b/validator/internal/errcodes/errcodes.go
index 6114ea7..c908eba 100644
--- a/validator/internal/errcodes/errcodes.go
+++ b/validator/internal/errcodes/errcodes.go
@@ -77,6 +77,9 @@ const (
 	// CompletedWithErrors marks that the process has completed but errors occurred.
 	CompletedWithErrors = 904
 
+	// MissingHeader declares that something in the header is missing
+	MissingHeader = 906
+
 	// Miscellaneous is used when no other available error code is fitting.
 	Miscellaneous = 999
 )
diff --git a/validator/internal/janitor/janitor.go b/validator/internal/janitor/janitor.go
index 6b9af88..e9ea488 100644
--- a/validator/internal/janitor/janitor.go
+++ b/validator/internal/janitor/janitor.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ package janitor
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
@@ -35,18 +36,19 @@ import (
 // Message defines a Message used for processing broker messages.
 // Essentially, Message decorates broker messages with additional, extracted information.
 type Message struct {
-	ID            string
-	Key           string
-	RawAttributes map[string]interface{}
-	Payload       []byte
-	IngestionTime time.Time
-	SchemaID      string
-	Version       string
-	Format        string
+	ID               string
+	Key              string
+	RawAttributes    map[string]interface{}
+	Payload          []byte
+	IngestionTime    time.Time
+	SchemaID         string
+	Version          string
+	Format           string
+	HeaderValidation bool
 }
 
 const (
-	// AttributeSchemaID is one of the keys expected to beł found in the attributes field of the message.
+	// AttributeSchemaID is one of the keys expected to be found in the attributes field of the message.
 	// It holds the schema id information concerning the data field of the message
 	AttributeSchemaID = "schemaId"
 
@@ -57,6 +59,18 @@ const (
 	// AttributeFormat is one of the keys expected to be found in the attributes field of the message.
 	// It holds the format of the data field of the message.
 	AttributeFormat = "format"
+
+	// HeaderValidation is one of the keys that can occur in raw attributes section of header.
+	// It determines if the header will be validated
+	HeaderValidation = "headerValidation"
+
+	// AttributeHeaderID is one of the keys expected in raw attributes section of header, but only if HeaderValidation is true.
+	// It holds the header's schema id that is used to check header validity
+	AttributeHeaderID = "headerSchemaId"
+
+	// AttributeHeaderVersion is one of the keys expected in raw attributes section of header, but only if HeaderValidation is true.
+	// It holds the header's schema version that is used to check header validity
+	AttributeHeaderVersion = "headerVersionId"
 )
 
 // MessageSchemaPair wraps a Message with the Schema relating to this Message.
@@ -65,27 +79,27 @@ type MessageSchemaPair struct {
 	Schema  []byte
 }
 
-// CollectSchema retrieves the schema of the given Message from registry.SchemaRegistry.
+// CollectSchema retrieves the schema with the given id and version from registry.SchemaRegistry.
 //
-// If schema retrieval results in registry.ErrNotFound, or Message.SchemaID or Message.Version is an empty string,
+// If schema retrieval results in registry.ErrNotFound, or id or version are an empty string,
 // the Message is put on the results channel with MessageSchemaPair.Schema set to nil.
 //
 // The returned error is an instance of OpError for improved error handling (so that the source of this error is identifiable
 // even if combined with other errors).
-func CollectSchema(ctx context.Context, message Message, schemaRegistry registry.SchemaRegistry) (MessageSchemaPair, error) {
-	if message.SchemaID == "" || message.Version == "" {
-		return MessageSchemaPair{Message: message, Schema: nil}, nil
+func CollectSchema(ctx context.Context, id string, version string, schemaRegistry registry.SchemaRegistry) ([]byte, error) {
+	if id == "" || version == "" {
+		return nil, nil
 	}
 
-	schema, err := schemaRegistry.Get(ctx, message.SchemaID, message.Version)
+	schema, err := schemaRegistry.Get(ctx, id, version)
 	if err != nil {
 		if errors.Is(err, registry.ErrNotFound) {
-			return MessageSchemaPair{Message: message, Schema: nil}, nil
+			return nil, nil
 		}
-		return MessageSchemaPair{}, intoOpErr(message.ID, errcodes.RegistryUnresponsive, err)
+		return nil, intoOpErr(id, errcodes.RegistryUnresponsive, err)
 	}
 
-	return MessageSchemaPair{Message: message, Schema: schema}, nil
+	return schema, nil
 }
 
 // Validators is a convenience type for a map containing validator.Validator instances for available message formats.
@@ -103,6 +117,78 @@ func (vs Validators) Validate(message Message, schema []byte) (bool, error) {
 	return v.Validate(message.Payload, schema, message.SchemaID, message.Version)
 }
 
+func GetHeaderIdAndVersion(message Message) (string, string, error) {
+	var id string
+	var version string
+	var ok bool
+
+	if id, ok = message.RawAttributes[AttributeHeaderID].(string); !ok {
+		return "", "", intoOpErr(message.ID, errcodes.MissingHeader, errors.New("missing header ID"))
+	}
+	if version, ok = message.RawAttributes[AttributeHeaderVersion].(string); !ok {
+		return "", "", intoOpErr(message.ID, errcodes.MissingHeader, errors.New("missing header version"))
+	}
+	return id, version, nil
+}
+
+func ValidateHeader(message Message, schema []byte, validators Validators) (bool, error) {
+	if len(schema) == 0 {
+		errMissingHeaderSchema := errors.WithMessage(validator.ErrMissingHeaderSchema, "")
+		message.RawAttributes["deadLetterErrorCategory"] = "Header schema error"
+		message.RawAttributes["deadLetterErrorReason"] = errMissingHeaderSchema.Error()
+		return false, nil
+	}
+	headerData, err := generateHeaderData(message.RawAttributes)
+	if err != nil {
+		message.RawAttributes["deadLetterErrorCategory"] = "Header schema error"
+		message.RawAttributes["deadLetterErrorReason"] = err.Error()
+		return false, err
+	}
+
+	headerSchemaId, ok := message.RawAttributes[AttributeHeaderID].(string)
+	if !ok {
+		return false, errors.New("header ID is not in a supported format")
+	}
+	headerSchemaVersion, ok := message.RawAttributes[AttributeHeaderVersion].(string)
+	if !ok {
+		return false, errors.New("header version is not in a supported format")
+	}
+
+	isValid, err := validators["json"].Validate(headerData, schema, headerSchemaId, headerSchemaVersion)
+	if err != nil {
+		if errors.Is(err, validator.ErrFailedValidation) {
+			message.RawAttributes["deadLetterErrorCategory"] = "Header validation error"
+			message.RawAttributes["deadLetterErrorReason"] = errors.WithMessage(validator.ErrFailedHeaderValidation, err.Error())
+			return false, nil
+		} else if errors.Is(err, validator.ErrDeadletter) {
+			return false, nil
+		}
+		return false, intoOpErr(message.ID, errcodes.ValidationFailure, err)
+	}
+
+	if isValid {
+		return true, nil
+	}
+	return false, nil
+}
+
+func generateHeaderData(rawAttributes map[string]interface{}) ([]byte, error) {
+	cleanAttributes := make(map[string]interface{})
+	for key, value := range rawAttributes {
+		if key == HeaderValidation || key == AttributeHeaderID || key == AttributeHeaderVersion ||
+			key == AttributeSchemaID || key == AttributeSchemaVersion || key == AttributeFormat {
+			continue
+		} else {
+			cleanAttributes[key] = value
+		}
+	}
+	headerData, err := json.Marshal(cleanAttributes)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return headerData, nil
+}
+
 // SchemaGenerators is a convenience type for a map containing schemagen.Generator instances for available message formats.
 type SchemaGenerators map[string]schemagen.Generator
 
diff --git a/validator/internal/janitor/parse.go b/validator/internal/janitor/parse.go
index 1ac9e55..42657a6 100644
--- a/validator/internal/janitor/parse.go
+++ b/validator/internal/janitor/parse.go
@@ -15,8 +15,8 @@
 package janitor
 
 import (
-	"github.com/dataphos/schema-registry-validator/internal/errtemplates"
 	"github.com/dataphos/lib-streamproc/pkg/streamproc"
+	"github.com/dataphos/schema-registry-validator/internal/errtemplates"
 )
 
 // ParseMessage parses a given broker.Message into Message, by setting Message.Payload to the value of the data field of the given
diff --git a/validator/internal/janitorctl/run.go b/validator/internal/janitorctl/run.go
index 35b112d..f719707 100644
--- a/validator/internal/janitorctl/run.go
+++ b/validator/internal/janitorctl/run.go
@@ -18,16 +18,16 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"runtime/debug"
 
+	"github.com/dataphos/lib-brokers/pkg/broker"
+	"github.com/dataphos/lib-logger/logger"
+	"github.com/dataphos/lib-logger/standardlogger"
+	"github.com/dataphos/lib-shutdown/pkg/graceful"
 	"github.com/dataphos/schema-registry-validator/internal/centralconsumer"
 	"github.com/dataphos/schema-registry-validator/internal/config"
 	"github.com/dataphos/schema-registry-validator/internal/errcodes"
 	"github.com/dataphos/schema-registry-validator/internal/janitor"
 	"github.com/dataphos/schema-registry-validator/internal/pullercleaner"
 	"github.com/dataphos/schema-registry-validator/internal/registry"
-	"github.com/dataphos/lib-brokers/pkg/broker"
-	"github.com/dataphos/lib-logger/logger"
-	"github.com/dataphos/lib-logger/standardlogger"
-	"github.com/dataphos/lib-shutdown/pkg/graceful"
 )
 
 type ProcessorInitFunc func(context.Context, registry.SchemaRegistry, broker.Publisher) (*janitor.Processor, error)
@@ -86,6 +86,7 @@ func RunCentralConsumer(configFile string) {
 			centralconsumer.Settings{
 				NumSchemaCollectors: cfg.NumSchemaCollectors,
 				NumInferrers:        cfg.NumInferrers,
+				ValidateHeaders:     cfg.ValidateHeaders,
 			},
 			log,
 			centralconsumer.RouterFlags{
diff --git a/validator/internal/validator/validator.go b/validator/internal/validator/validator.go
index 82ccaac..ce74d22 100644
--- a/validator/internal/validator/validator.go
+++ b/validator/internal/validator/validator.go
@@ -24,13 +24,19 @@ var ErrDeadletter = errors.New("deadletter")
 var ErrBrokenMessage = errors.New("Message is not in valid format")
 
 // ErrWrongCompile is a special error type to help distinguish messages that had fault while compiling.
-var ErrWrongCompile = errors.New("There is an error while compiling.")
+var ErrWrongCompile = errors.New("There is an error while compiling")
 
 // ErrMissingSchema is a special error type to help distinguish messages that are missing schema.
 var ErrMissingSchema = errors.New("Message is missing a schema")
 
+// ErrMissingHeaderSchema is a special error type to help distinguish headers that are missing schema (header validation).
+var ErrMissingHeaderSchema = errors.New("Header is missing a schema")
+
 // ErrFailedValidation is a special error type to help distinguish messages that have failed in validation.
-var ErrFailedValidation = errors.New("An error occured while validating message.")
+var ErrFailedValidation = errors.New("An error occured while validating message")
+
+// ErrFailedHeaderValidation is a special error type to help distinguish messages' headers that have failed in validation.
+var ErrFailedHeaderValidation = errors.New("An error occured while validating message's header")
 
 // Validator is the interface used to model message validators.
 type Validator interface {