diff --git a/pkg/api/validation/validation.go b/pkg/api/validation/validation.go
index 022dbae2c44..755e36bf9c6 100644
--- a/pkg/api/validation/validation.go
+++ b/pkg/api/validation/validation.go
@@ -903,8 +903,14 @@ func ValidatePersistentVolumeClaim(pvc *api.PersistentVolumeClaim) field.ErrorLi
 }
 
 func ValidatePersistentVolumeClaimUpdate(newPvc, oldPvc *api.PersistentVolumeClaim) field.ErrorList {
-	allErrs := field.ErrorList{}
-	allErrs = ValidatePersistentVolumeClaim(newPvc)
+	allErrs := ValidateObjectMetaUpdate(&newPvc.ObjectMeta, &oldPvc.ObjectMeta, field.NewPath("metadata"))
+	allErrs = append(allErrs, ValidatePersistentVolumeClaim(newPvc)...)
+	// if a pvc had a bound volume, we should not allow updates to resources or access modes
+	if len(oldPvc.Spec.VolumeName) != 0 {
+		if !api.Semantic.DeepEqual(newPvc.Spec, oldPvc.Spec) {
+			allErrs = append(allErrs, field.Forbidden(field.NewPath("spec"), "spec is immutable once a claim has been bound to a volume"))
+		}
+	}
 	newPvc.Status = oldPvc.Status
 	return allErrs
 }
diff --git a/pkg/api/validation/validation_test.go b/pkg/api/validation/validation_test.go
index 19a1b702838..5f93808c0e4 100644
--- a/pkg/api/validation/validation_test.go
+++ b/pkg/api/validation/validation_test.go
@@ -463,6 +463,89 @@ func TestValidatePersistentVolumeClaim(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestValidatePersistentVolumeClaimUpdate(t *testing.T) {
+	validClaim := testVolumeClaim("foo", "ns", api.PersistentVolumeClaimSpec{
+		AccessModes: []api.PersistentVolumeAccessMode{
+			api.ReadWriteOnce,
+			api.ReadOnlyMany,
+		},
+		Resources: api.ResourceRequirements{
+			Requests: api.ResourceList{
+				api.ResourceName(api.ResourceStorage): resource.MustParse("10G"),
+			},
+		},
+	})
+	validUpdateClaim := testVolumeClaim("foo", "ns", api.PersistentVolumeClaimSpec{
+		AccessModes: []api.PersistentVolumeAccessMode{
+			api.ReadWriteOnce,
+			api.ReadOnlyMany,
+		},
+		Resources: api.ResourceRequirements{
+			Requests: api.ResourceList{
+				api.ResourceName(api.ResourceStorage): resource.MustParse("10G"),
+			},
+		},
+		VolumeName: "volume",
+	})
+	invalidUpdateClaimResources := testVolumeClaim("foo", "ns", api.PersistentVolumeClaimSpec{
+		AccessModes: []api.PersistentVolumeAccessMode{
+			api.ReadWriteOnce,
+			api.ReadOnlyMany,
+		},
+		Resources: api.ResourceRequirements{
+			Requests: api.ResourceList{
+				api.ResourceName(api.ResourceStorage): resource.MustParse("20G"),
+			},
+		},
+		VolumeName: "volume",
+	})
+	invalidUpdateClaimAccessModes := testVolumeClaim("foo", "ns", api.PersistentVolumeClaimSpec{
+		AccessModes: []api.PersistentVolumeAccessMode{
+			api.ReadWriteOnce,
+		},
+		Resources: api.ResourceRequirements{
+			Requests: api.ResourceList{
+				api.ResourceName(api.ResourceStorage): resource.MustParse("10G"),
+			},
+		},
+		VolumeName: "volume",
+	})
+	scenarios := map[string]struct {
+		isExpectedFailure bool
+		oldClaim          *api.PersistentVolumeClaim
+		newClaim          *api.PersistentVolumeClaim
+	}{
+		"valid-update": {
+			isExpectedFailure: false,
+			oldClaim:          validClaim,
+			newClaim:          validUpdateClaim,
+		},
+		"invalid-update-change-resources-on-bound-claim": {
+			isExpectedFailure: true,
+			oldClaim:          validUpdateClaim,
+			newClaim:          invalidUpdateClaimResources,
+		},
+		"invalid-update-change-access-modes-on-bound-claim": {
+			isExpectedFailure: true,
+			oldClaim:          validUpdateClaim,
+			newClaim:          invalidUpdateClaimAccessModes,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for name, scenario := range scenarios {
+		// ensure we have a resource version specified for updates
+		scenario.oldClaim.ResourceVersion = "1"
+		scenario.newClaim.ResourceVersion = "1"
+		errs := ValidatePersistentVolumeClaimUpdate(scenario.newClaim, scenario.oldClaim)
+		if len(errs) == 0 && scenario.isExpectedFailure {
+			t.Errorf("Unexpected success for scenario: %s", name)
+		}
+		if len(errs) > 0 && !scenario.isExpectedFailure {
+			t.Errorf("Unexpected failure for scenario: %s - %+v", name, errs)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 func TestValidateVolumes(t *testing.T) {
 	lun := 1
 	successCase := []api.Volume{