diff --git a/base/HidlSupport.cpp b/base/HidlSupport.cpp
index dce2585..5237088 100644
--- a/base/HidlSupport.cpp
+++ b/base/HidlSupport.cpp
@@ -44,6 +44,10 @@
     copyFrom(s, strlen(s));
 }
 
+hidl_string::hidl_string(const char *s, size_t length) : hidl_string() {
+    copyFrom(s, length);
+}
+
 hidl_string::hidl_string(const hidl_string &other): hidl_string() {
     copyFrom(other.c_str(), other.size());
 }
diff --git a/base/include/hidl/HidlSupport.h b/base/include/hidl/HidlSupport.h
index 106fb02..7477352 100644
--- a/base/include/hidl/HidlSupport.h
+++ b/base/include/hidl/HidlSupport.h
@@ -128,6 +128,8 @@
     hidl_string(const hidl_string &);
     // copy from a C-style string.
     hidl_string(const char *);
+    // copy the first length characters from a C-style string.
+    hidl_string(const char *, size_t length);
     // copy from an std::string.
     hidl_string(const std::string &);