diff --git a/docs/api-guide/permissions.md b/docs/api-guide/permissions.md
index 25baa4813..ac2924a83 100644
--- a/docs/api-guide/permissions.md
+++ b/docs/api-guide/permissions.md
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ If you need to test if a request is a read operation or a write operation, you s
 
 ---
 
-Custom permissions will raise a `PermissionDenied` exception if the test fails. To change the error message associated with the exception, implement a `message` attribute directly on your custom permission. Otherwise the `default_detail` attribute from `PermissionDenied` will be used.
+Custom permissions will raise a `PermissionDenied` exception if the test fails. To change the error message associated with the exception, implement a `message` attribute directly on your custom permission. Otherwise the `default_detail` attribute from `PermissionDenied` will be used. Similarly, to change the code identifier associated with the exception, implement a `code` attribute directly on your custom permission - otherwise the `default_code` attribute from `PermissionDenied` will be used.
 
     from rest_framework import permissions
 
diff --git a/rest_framework/views.py b/rest_framework/views.py
index 69db053d6..d1b5e4ed9 100644
--- a/rest_framework/views.py
+++ b/rest_framework/views.py
@@ -166,13 +166,13 @@ class APIView(View):
         """
         raise exceptions.MethodNotAllowed(request.method)
 
-    def permission_denied(self, request, message=None):
+    def permission_denied(self, request, message=None, code=None):
         """
         If request is not permitted, determine what kind of exception to raise.
         """
         if request.authenticators and not request.successful_authenticator:
             raise exceptions.NotAuthenticated()
-        raise exceptions.PermissionDenied(detail=message)
+        raise exceptions.PermissionDenied(detail=message, code=code)
 
     def throttled(self, request, wait):
         """
@@ -331,7 +331,9 @@ class APIView(View):
         for permission in self.get_permissions():
             if not permission.has_permission(request, self):
                 self.permission_denied(
-                    request, message=getattr(permission, 'message', None)
+                    request,
+                    message=getattr(permission, 'message', None),
+                    code=getattr(permission, 'code', None)
                 )
 
     def check_object_permissions(self, request, obj):
@@ -342,7 +344,9 @@ class APIView(View):
         for permission in self.get_permissions():
             if not permission.has_object_permission(request, self, obj):
                 self.permission_denied(
-                    request, message=getattr(permission, 'message', None)
+                    request,
+                    message=getattr(permission, 'message', None),
+                    code=getattr(permission, 'code', None)
                 )
 
     def check_throttles(self, request):
diff --git a/tests/test_permissions.py b/tests/test_permissions.py
index b6178c0bb..d445f271d 100644
--- a/tests/test_permissions.py
+++ b/tests/test_permissions.py
@@ -438,6 +438,7 @@ class BasicPerm(permissions.BasePermission):
 
 class BasicPermWithDetail(permissions.BasePermission):
     message = 'Custom: You cannot access this resource'
+    code = 'permission_denied_custom'
 
     def has_permission(self, request, view):
         return False
@@ -450,6 +451,7 @@ class BasicObjectPerm(permissions.BasePermission):
 
 class BasicObjectPermWithDetail(permissions.BasePermission):
     message = 'Custom: You cannot access this resource'
+    code = 'permission_denied_custom'
 
     def has_object_permission(self, request, view, obj):
         return False
@@ -492,30 +494,35 @@ class CustomPermissionsTests(TestCase):
         credentials = basic_auth_header('username', 'password')
         self.request = factory.get('/1', format='json', HTTP_AUTHORIZATION=credentials)
         self.custom_message = 'Custom: You cannot access this resource'
+        self.custom_code = 'permission_denied_custom'
 
     def test_permission_denied(self):
         response = denied_view(self.request, pk=1)
         detail = response.data.get('detail')
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_403_FORBIDDEN)
         self.assertNotEqual(detail, self.custom_message)
+        self.assertNotEqual(detail.code, self.custom_code)
 
     def test_permission_denied_with_custom_detail(self):
         response = denied_view_with_detail(self.request, pk=1)
         detail = response.data.get('detail')
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_403_FORBIDDEN)
         self.assertEqual(detail, self.custom_message)
+        self.assertEqual(detail.code, self.custom_code)
 
     def test_permission_denied_for_object(self):
         response = denied_object_view(self.request, pk=1)
         detail = response.data.get('detail')
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_403_FORBIDDEN)
         self.assertNotEqual(detail, self.custom_message)
+        self.assertNotEqual(detail.code, self.custom_code)
 
     def test_permission_denied_for_object_with_custom_detail(self):
         response = denied_object_view_with_detail(self.request, pk=1)
         detail = response.data.get('detail')
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_403_FORBIDDEN)
         self.assertEqual(detail, self.custom_message)
+        self.assertEqual(detail.code, self.custom_code)
 
 
 class PermissionsCompositionTests(TestCase):