diff --git a/include/openssl/ssl.h b/include/openssl/ssl.h
index 1d0b486..c7b2581 100644
--- a/include/openssl/ssl.h
+++ b/include/openssl/ssl.h
@@ -487,6 +487,16 @@
  * and zero on failure. */
 OPENSSL_EXPORT int SSL_set_mtu(SSL *ssl, unsigned mtu);
 
+/* DTLSv1_set_initial_timeout_duration sets the initial duration for a DTLS
+ * handshake timeout.
+ *
+ * This duration overrides the default of 1 second, which is the strong
+ * recommendation of RFC 6347 (see section 4.2.4.1). However, there may exist
+ * situations where a shorter timeout would be beneficial, such as for
+ * time-sensitive applications. */
+OPENSSL_EXPORT void DTLSv1_set_initial_timeout_duration(SSL *ssl,
+                                                        unsigned duration_ms);
+
 /* DTLSv1_get_timeout queries the next DTLS handshake timeout. If there is a
  * timeout in progress, it sets |*out| to the time remaining and returns one.
  * Otherwise, it returns zero.
@@ -3882,6 +3892,10 @@
   struct ssl3_state_st *s3;  /* SSLv3 variables */
   struct dtls1_state_st *d1; /* DTLSv1 variables */
 
+  /* initial_timeout_duration_ms is the default DTLS timeout duration in
+   * milliseconds. It's used to initialize the timer any time it's restarted. */
+  unsigned initial_timeout_duration_ms;
+
   /* callback that allows applications to peek at protocol messages */
   void (*msg_callback)(int write_p, int version, int content_type,
                        const void *buf, size_t len, SSL *ssl, void *arg);