diff --git a/.env.production.sample b/.env.production.sample
index 91fcce6ac45..41440447669 100644
--- a/.env.production.sample
+++ b/.env.production.sample
@@ -134,3 +134,6 @@ STREAMING_CLUSTER_NUM=1
 # If you use Docker, you may want to assign UID/GID manually.
 # UID=1000
 # GID=1000
+
+# Maximum allowed character count
+# MAX_CHARS=500
diff --git a/app/validators/status_length_validator.rb b/app/validators/status_length_validator.rb
index 77be3f1f543..2be899740f1 100644
--- a/app/validators/status_length_validator.rb
+++ b/app/validators/status_length_validator.rb
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # frozen_string_literal: true
 
 class StatusLengthValidator < ActiveModel::Validator
-  MAX_CHARS = 500
+  MAX_CHARS = (ENV["MAX_CHARS"] || 500).to_i
 
   def validate(status)
     return unless status.local? && !status.reblog?