diff --git a/bookwyrm/forms.py b/bookwyrm/forms.py
index d723ebdbf..0a69dbe09 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/forms.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/forms.py
@@ -202,6 +202,12 @@ class ExpiryWidget(widgets.Select):
         return timezone.now() + interval
 
 
+class InviteRequestForm(CustomForm):
+    class Meta:
+        model = models.InviteRequest
+        fields = ["email"]
+
+
 class CreateInviteForm(CustomForm):
     class Meta:
         model = models.SiteInvite
diff --git a/bookwyrm/migrations/0056_auto_20210321_0123.py b/bookwyrm/migrations/0056_auto_20210321_0123.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f36e4b12d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bookwyrm/migrations/0056_auto_20210321_0123.py
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+# Generated by Django 3.1.6 on 2021-03-21 01:23
+
+import bookwyrm.models.fields
+from django.db import migrations, models
+import django.db.models.deletion
+
+
+class Migration(migrations.Migration):
+
+    dependencies = [
+        ("bookwyrm", "0055_auto_20210321_0101"),
+    ]
+
+    operations = [
+        migrations.AddField(
+            model_name="sitesettings",
+            name="allow_invite_requests",
+            field=models.BooleanField(default=True),
+        ),
+        migrations.CreateModel(
+            name="InviteRequest",
+            fields=[
+                (
+                    "id",
+                    models.AutoField(
+                        auto_created=True,
+                        primary_key=True,
+                        serialize=False,
+                        verbose_name="ID",
+                    ),
+                ),
+                ("created_date", models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)),
+                ("updated_date", models.DateTimeField(auto_now=True)),
+                (
+                    "remote_id",
+                    bookwyrm.models.fields.RemoteIdField(
+                        max_length=255,
+                        null=True,
+                        validators=[bookwyrm.models.fields.validate_remote_id],
+                    ),
+                ),
+                ("email", models.EmailField(max_length=255, unique=True)),
+                ("invite_sent", models.BooleanField(default=False)),
+                (
+                    "invite",
+                    models.ForeignKey(
+                        blank=True,
+                        null=True,
+                        on_delete=django.db.models.deletion.SET_NULL,
+                        to="bookwyrm.siteinvite",
+                    ),
+                ),
+            ],
+            options={
+                "abstract": False,
+            },
+        ),
+    ]
diff --git a/bookwyrm/models/__init__.py b/bookwyrm/models/__init__.py
index 326a673e1..35e32c2cf 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/models/__init__.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/models/__init__.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ from .federated_server import FederatedServer
 
 from .import_job import ImportJob, ImportItem
 
-from .site import SiteSettings, SiteInvite, PasswordReset
+from .site import SiteSettings, SiteInvite, PasswordReset, InviteRequest
 
 cls_members = inspect.getmembers(sys.modules[__name__], inspect.isclass)
 activity_models = {
diff --git a/bookwyrm/models/site.py b/bookwyrm/models/site.py
index 7fde6781e..2722de174 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/models/site.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/models/site.py
@@ -3,10 +3,11 @@ import base64
 import datetime
 
 from Crypto import Random
-from django.db import models
+from django.db import models, IntegrityError
 from django.utils import timezone
 
 from bookwyrm.settings import DOMAIN
+from .base_model import BookWyrmModel
 from .user import User
 
 
@@ -24,6 +25,7 @@ class SiteSettings(models.Model):
     code_of_conduct = models.TextField(default="Add a code of conduct here.")
     privacy_policy = models.TextField(default="Add a privacy policy here.")
     allow_registration = models.BooleanField(default=True)
+    allow_invite_requests = models.BooleanField(default=True)
     logo = models.ImageField(upload_to="logos/", null=True, blank=True)
     logo_small = models.ImageField(upload_to="logos/", null=True, blank=True)
     favicon = models.ImageField(upload_to="logos/", null=True, blank=True)
@@ -69,6 +71,22 @@ class SiteInvite(models.Model):
         return "https://{}/invite/{}".format(DOMAIN, self.code)
 
 
+class InviteRequest(BookWyrmModel):
+    """ prospective users can request an invite """
+
+    email = models.EmailField(max_length=255, unique=True)
+    invite = models.ForeignKey(
+        SiteInvite, on_delete=models.SET_NULL, null=True, blank=True
+    )
+    invite_sent = models.BooleanField(default=False)
+
+    def save(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        """ don't create a request for a registered email """
+        if User.objects.filter(email=self.email).exists():
+            raise IntegrityError()
+        super().save(*args, **kwargs)
+
+
 def get_passowrd_reset_expiry():
     """ give people a limited time to use the link """
     now = timezone.now()