diff --git a/blobs.go b/blobs.go
index 2a659eaa3..ceeba0d3f 100644
--- a/blobs.go
+++ b/blobs.go
@@ -66,6 +66,10 @@ type Descriptor struct {
 	// Size in bytes of content.
 	Size int64 `json:"size,omitempty"`
 
+	// ModTime modification time for the file. For backends that
+	// don't have a modification time this may represent the creation time
+	ModTime time.Time
+
 	// Digest uniquely identifies the content. A byte stream can be verified
 	// against this digest.
 	Digest digest.Digest `json:"digest,omitempty"`
diff --git a/registry/storage/blobstore.go b/registry/storage/blobstore.go
index 1008aad8c..064ad0ba4 100644
--- a/registry/storage/blobstore.go
+++ b/registry/storage/blobstore.go
@@ -200,6 +200,7 @@ func (bs *blobStatter) Stat(ctx context.Context, dgst digest.Digest) (distributi
 		// for the specific repository.
 		MediaType: "application/octet-stream",
 		Digest:    dgst,
+		ModTime:   fi.ModTime(),
 	}, nil
 }