diff --git a/django-postgres/django_postgres/django_postgres/settings.py b/django-postgres/django_postgres/django_postgres/settings.py
index 2791ed4..1e76767 100644
--- a/django-postgres/django_postgres/django_postgres/settings.py
+++ b/django-postgres/django_postgres/django_postgres/settings.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 """
 
 from pathlib import Path
+import os
 
 # Build paths inside the project like this: BASE_DIR / 'subdir'.
 BASE_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
@@ -27,7 +28,6 @@
 
 ALLOWED_HOSTS = ["*"]
 
-
 # Application definition
 
 INSTALLED_APPS = [
@@ -71,6 +71,31 @@
 
 WSGI_APPLICATION = 'django_postgres.wsgi.application'
 
+def _db_options_from_env():
+    """
+    Build psycopg2 OPTIONS dict, adding SSL keys only if requested.
+    """
+    opts = {}
+    sslmode = os.getenv("DB_SSLMODE", "disable").strip()
+    print("DB_SSLMODE is:", sslmode)
+    if sslmode and sslmode.lower() != "disable":
+        # Common values: require | verify-ca | verify-full
+        opts["sslmode"] = sslmode
+        # Optional files if you want verification / mTLS
+        rootcert = os.getenv("DB_SSLROOTCERT", "").strip()
+        sslcert  = os.getenv("DB_SSLCERT", "").strip()
+        sslkey   = os.getenv("DB_SSLKEY", "").strip()
+        sslcrl   = os.getenv("DB_SSLCRL", "").strip()
+        if rootcert:
+            opts["sslrootcert"] = rootcert
+        if sslcert:
+            opts["sslcert"] = sslcert
+        if sslkey:
+            opts["sslkey"] = sslkey
+        if sslcrl:
+            opts["sslcrl"] = sslcrl
+    return opts
+
 
 # Database
 # https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/ref/settings/#databases
@@ -83,10 +108,10 @@
         'PASSWORD': 'postgres',
         'HOST': '0.0.0.0',
         'PORT': '5432',
+        'OPTIONS':  _db_options_from_env(),
     }
 }
 
-
 # Password validation
 # https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/ref/settings/#auth-password-validators
 
diff --git a/django-postgres/django_postgres/docker-compose.yml b/django-postgres/django_postgres/docker-compose.yml
index e5a43b7..de47937 100644
--- a/django-postgres/django_postgres/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/django-postgres/django_postgres/docker-compose.yml
@@ -12,3 +12,17 @@ services:
     volumes: 
       - ./sql/init.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/init.sql
 
+  postgres_ssl:
+    image: postgres:latest
+    environment:
+      POSTGRES_DB: usersdb
+      POSTGRES_USER: postgres
+      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: postgres
+    ports:
+      - "5432:5432"
+    volumes:
+      - pgdata_ssl:/var/lib/postgresql
+      - ./sql/enable-ssl.sh:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/enable-ssl.sh:ro
+
+volumes:
+  pgdata_ssl:
diff --git a/django-postgres/django_postgres/sql/enable-ssl.sh b/django-postgres/django_postgres/sql/enable-ssl.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..2af15e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/django-postgres/django_postgres/sql/enable-ssl.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -e
+
+# Generate a self-signed server cert the first time the cluster initializes
+if [[ ! -f "$PGDATA/server.crt" ]]; then
+  openssl req -new -x509 -days 365 -nodes -text \
+    -subj "/CN=postgres_ssl" \
+    -keyout "$PGDATA/server.key" \
+    -out "$PGDATA/server.crt"
+  chmod 600 "$PGDATA/server.key" "$PGDATA/server.crt"
+  chown postgres:postgres "$PGDATA/server.key" "$PGDATA/server.crt"
+  echo "ssl = on" >> "$PGDATA/postgresql.conf"
+  echo "ssl_cert_file = 'server.crt'" >> "$PGDATA/postgresql.conf"
+  echo "ssl_key_file  = 'server.key'"  >> "$PGDATA/postgresql.conf"
+fi