diff --git a/UpdateEngine.conf b/UpdateEngine.conf
index 949e5bb..4c6cd1c 100644
--- a/UpdateEngine.conf
+++ b/UpdateEngine.conf
@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@
            send_member="AttemptUpdate"/>
     <allow send_destination="org.chromium.UpdateEngine"
            send_interface="org.chromium.UpdateEngineInterface"
+           send_member="ResetStatus"/>
+    <allow send_destination="org.chromium.UpdateEngine"
+           send_interface="org.chromium.UpdateEngineInterface"
            send_member="GetStatus"/>
     <allow send_destination="org.chromium.UpdateEngine"
            send_interface="org.chromium.UpdateEngineInterface"
diff --git a/dbus_service.cc b/dbus_service.cc
index ef68596..2d0f31b 100644
--- a/dbus_service.cc
+++ b/dbus_service.cc
@@ -100,6 +100,13 @@
   return TRUE;
 }
 
+gboolean update_engine_service_reset_status(UpdateEngineService* self,
+                                            GError **error) {
+  *error = NULL;
+  return self->update_attempter_->ResetStatus();
+}
+
+
 gboolean update_engine_service_get_status(UpdateEngineService* self,
                                           int64_t* last_checked_time,
                                           double* progress,
diff --git a/dbus_service.h b/dbus_service.h
index 4fe17e9..56e4ef3 100644
--- a/dbus_service.h
+++ b/dbus_service.h
@@ -51,6 +51,9 @@
                                               gchar* omaha_url,
                                               GError **error);
 
+gboolean update_engine_service_reset_status(UpdateEngineService* self,
+                                            GError **error);
+
 gboolean update_engine_service_get_status(UpdateEngineService* self,
                                           int64_t* last_checked_time,
                                           double* progress,
diff --git a/update_attempter.cc b/update_attempter.cc
index 4422e4c..6bef755 100644
--- a/update_attempter.cc
+++ b/update_attempter.cc
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 #include <tr1/memory>
 #include <vector>
 
+#include <base/file_util.h>
 #include <base/rand_util.h>
 #include <glib.h>
 #include <metrics/metrics_library.h>
@@ -717,6 +718,32 @@
   }
 }
 
+bool UpdateAttempter::ResetStatus() {
+  LOG(INFO) << "Attempting to reset state from "
+            << UpdateStatusToString(status_) << " to UPDATE_STATUS_IDLE";
+
+  switch (status_) {
+    case UPDATE_STATUS_IDLE:
+      // no-op.
+      return true;
+
+    case UPDATE_STATUS_UPDATED_NEED_REBOOT:  {
+      status_ = UPDATE_STATUS_IDLE;
+      LOG(INFO) << "Reset Successful";
+
+      // also remove the reboot marker so that if the machine is rebooted
+      // after resetting to idle state, it doesn't go back to
+      // UPDATE_STATUS_UPDATED_NEED_REBOOT state.
+      const FilePath kUpdateCompletedMarkerPath(kUpdateCompletedMarker);
+      return file_util::Delete(kUpdateCompletedMarkerPath, false);
+    }
+
+    default:
+      LOG(ERROR) << "Reset not allowed in this state.";
+      return false;
+  }
+}
+
 bool UpdateAttempter::GetStatus(int64_t* last_checked_time,
                                 double* progress,
                                 string* current_operation,
diff --git a/update_attempter.h b/update_attempter.h
index 9109cec..89e8144 100644
--- a/update_attempter.h
+++ b/update_attempter.h
@@ -97,6 +97,13 @@
   // Try to resume from a previously Terminate()d update.
   void ResumeUpdating();
 
+  // Resets the current state to UPDATE_STATUS_IDLE.
+  // Used by update_engine_client for restarting a new update without
+  // having to reboot once the previous update has reached
+  // UPDATE_STATUS_UPDATED_NEED_REBOOT state. This is used only
+  // for testing purposes.
+  bool ResetStatus();
+
   // Returns the current status in the out params. Returns true on success.
   bool GetStatus(int64_t* last_checked_time,
                  double* progress,
diff --git a/update_engine.xml b/update_engine.xml
index 2008d2d..f226fa4 100644
--- a/update_engine.xml
+++ b/update_engine.xml
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@
       <arg type="s" name="app_version" />
       <arg type="s" name="omaha_url" />
     </method>
+    <method name="ResetStatus">
+    </method>
     <method name="GetStatus">
       <arg type="x" name="last_checked_time" direction="out" />
       <arg type="d" name="progress" direction="out" />
diff --git a/update_engine_client.cc b/update_engine_client.cc
index db14fb6..f8396c9 100644
--- a/update_engine_client.cc
+++ b/update_engine_client.cc
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-// Copyright (c) 2011 The Chromium OS Authors. All rights reserved.
+// Copyright (c) 2012 The Chromium OS Authors. All rights reserved.
 // Use of this source code is governed by a BSD-style license that can be
 // found in the LICENSE file.
 
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
 DEFINE_bool(reboot, false, "Initiate a reboot if needed.");
 DEFINE_bool(show_track, false, "Show the update track.");
 DEFINE_bool(status, false, "Print the status to stdout.");
+DEFINE_bool(reset_status, false, "Sets the status in update_engine to idle.");
 DEFINE_string(track, "", "Permanently change the update track.");
 DEFINE_bool(update, false, "Forces an update and waits for its completion. "
             "Exit status is 0 if the update succeeded, and 1 otherwise.");
@@ -81,6 +82,18 @@
   LOG(INFO) << "  new_size: " << new_size;
 }
 
+bool ResetStatus() {
+  DBusGProxy* proxy;
+  GError* error = NULL;
+
+  CHECK(GetProxy(&proxy));
+
+  gboolean rc =
+      org_chromium_UpdateEngineInterface_reset_status(proxy, &error);
+  return rc;
+}
+
+
 // If |op| is non-NULL, sets it to the current operation string or an
 // empty string if unable to obtain the current status.
 bool GetStatus(string* op) {
@@ -251,6 +264,19 @@
   chromeos_update_engine::Subprocess::Init();
   google::ParseCommandLineFlags(&argc, &argv, true);
 
+  // Update the status if requested.
+  if (FLAGS_reset_status) {
+    LOG(INFO) << "Setting Update Engine status to idle ...";
+    if (!ResetStatus()) {
+      LOG(ERROR) << "ResetStatus failed.";
+      return 1;
+    }
+
+    LOG(INFO) << "ResetStatus succeeded.";
+    return 0;
+  }
+
+
   if (FLAGS_status) {
     LOG(INFO) << "Querying Update Engine status...";
     if (!GetStatus(NULL)) {