diff --git a/admin/index.php b/admin/index.php
index 237d7f430d2..4de2eaa622a 100644
--- a/admin/index.php
+++ b/admin/index.php
@@ -252,6 +252,9 @@
 /// Check all enrolment plugins and upgrade if necessary
     upgrade_enrol_plugins("$CFG->wwwroot/$CFG->admin/index.php");  // Return here afterwards
 
+/// Check for local database customisations
+    require_once("$CFG->dirroot/lib/locallib.php");
+    upgrade_local_db("$CFG->wwwroot/$CFG->admin/index.php");  // Return here afterwards
 
 
 /// Set up the overall site name etc.
diff --git a/lang/en/moodle.php b/lang/en/moodle.php
index 7525c28892c..2743c17f46d 100644
--- a/lang/en/moodle.php
+++ b/lang/en/moodle.php
@@ -248,6 +248,7 @@ $string['databasesetup'] = 'Setting up database';
 $string['databasesuccess'] = 'Database was successfully upgraded';
 $string['databaseupgradebackups'] = 'Backup version is now $a';
 $string['databaseupgradeblocks'] = 'Blocks version is now $a';
+$string['databaseupgradelocal'] = 'Local database customisations version is now $a';
 $string['databaseupgrades'] = 'Upgrading database';
 $string['date'] = 'Date';
 $string['datemostrecentfirst'] = 'Date - most recent first';
diff --git a/lib/locallib.php b/lib/locallib.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..06effafa198
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/locallib.php
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+<?php
+
+/**
+ * This file should be a series of functions that provide hooks for customisations
+ * to play happily. To have local database customisations, provide the following
+ * 
+ * local/
+ * local/version.php
+ * local/db/{$CFG->dbtype}.php
+ * 
+ * To make it easier for people running custom moodles, it isn't necessary to have {$CFG->dbtype}.sql 
+ * as well. Rather than detecting the difference between install and upgrade, 
+ * and looking for {$CFG->dbtype}.php or {$CFG->type}.sql accordingly,
+ * the upgrade_local_db function will just start from 0 if it hasn't been run before,
+ * effectively playing all upgrades in {$CFG->dbtype}.php
+*/
+
+
+function upgrade_local_db($continueto) {
+
+    global $CFG, $db;
+    
+    // if we don't have code version or a db upgrade file, just return true, we're unneeded
+    if (!file_exists($CFG->dirroot.'/local/version.php') || !file_exists($CFG->dirroot.'/local/db/'.$CFG->dbtype.'.php')) {
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    require_once ($CFG->dirroot .'/local/version.php');  // Get code versions
+
+    if (empty($CFG->local_version)) { // normally we'd install, but just replay all the upgrades.
+        $CFG->local_version = 0;
+    }
+
+    if ($local_version > $CFG->local_version) { // upgrade! 
+        $strdatabaseupgrades = get_string('databaseupgrades');
+        print_header($strdatabaseupgrades, $strdatabaseupgrades, $strdatabaseupgrades);
+        
+        require_once ($CFG->dirroot .'/local/db/'. $CFG->dbtype .'.php');
+
+        $db->debug=true;
+        if (local_upgrade($CFG->local_version)) {
+            $db->debug=false;
+            if (set_config('local_version', $local_version)) {
+                notify(get_string('databasesuccess'), 'notifysuccess');
+                notify(get_string('databaseupgradelocal', '', $local_version));
+                print_continue($continueto);
+                exit;
+            } else {
+                error('Upgrade of local database customisations failed! (Could not update version in config table)');
+            }
+        } else {
+            $db->debug=false;
+            error('Upgrade failed!  See local/version.php');
+        }
+
+    } else if ($local_version < $CFG->local_version) {
+        notify('WARNING!!!  The local version you are using is OLDER than the version that made these databases!');
+    }
+}
+
+
+?>
\ No newline at end of file