diff --git a/cmd/options.go b/cmd/options.go
index aceb01843..e96f6f9b3 100644
--- a/cmd/options.go
+++ b/cmd/options.go
@@ -14,7 +14,11 @@
 
 package cmd
 
-import "github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/cloud-sql-proxy/v2/cloudsql"
+import (
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/cloud-sql-proxy/v2/cloudsql"
+)
 
 // Option is a function that configures a Command.
 type Option func(*Command)
@@ -98,6 +102,13 @@ func WithLazyRefresh() Option {
 	}
 }
 
+// WithFailoverPeriod configures the frequency to check for changes to DNS names.
+func WithFailoverPeriod(d time.Duration) Option {
+	return func(c *Command) {
+		c.conf.FailoverPeriod = &d
+	}
+}
+
 // WithConnRefuseNotify configures the Proxy to call the provided function when
 // a connection is refused. The notification function is run in a goroutine.
 func WithConnRefuseNotify(n func()) Option {
diff --git a/cmd/options_test.go b/cmd/options_test.go
index c3dc718f6..1de2e5d00 100644
--- a/cmd/options_test.go
+++ b/cmd/options_test.go
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import (
 	"io"
 	"runtime"
 	"testing"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/cloud-sql-proxy/v2/cloudsql"
 	"github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/cloud-sql-proxy/v2/internal/log"
@@ -146,6 +147,16 @@ func TestCommandOptions(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 			option: WithLazyRefresh(),
 		},
+		{
+			desc: "with failover period",
+			isValid: func(c *Command) error {
+				if c.conf.FailoverPeriod == nil || *c.conf.FailoverPeriod != 10*time.Second {
+					return fmt.Errorf("want = %v, got = %v", 10*time.Second, c.conf.FailoverPeriod)
+				}
+				return nil
+			},
+			option: WithFailoverPeriod(10 * time.Second),
+		},
 	}
 
 	for _, tc := range tcs {
diff --git a/cmd/root.go b/cmd/root.go
index 76eeb8913..9f52bc743 100644
--- a/cmd/root.go
+++ b/cmd/root.go
@@ -94,6 +94,7 @@ type Command struct {
 	dialer           cloudsql.Dialer
 	cleanup          func() error
 	connRefuseNotify func()
+	failoverPeriod   time.Duration
 }
 
 var longHelp = `
@@ -596,6 +597,9 @@ CPU may be throttled and a background refresh cannot run reliably
 	localFlags.DurationVar(&c.conf.ResourceExhaustedCooldownPeriod, "resource-exhausted-cooldown-delay", 0,
 		`Cooldown period after a ResourceExhausted error.`,
 	)
+	localFlags.DurationVar(&c.failoverPeriod, "failover-period", 30*time.Second,
+		`Frequency to check for changes to DNS names. When set to 0, DNS polling is disabled.`,
+	)
 	localFlags.StringVar(&c.conf.SQLDataEndpoint, "sqldata-api-endpoint", "",
 		"Override the SQL Data API endpoint",
 	)
@@ -896,6 +900,10 @@ and re-try with just --auto-iam-authn`)
 		conf.UserAgent = userAgent
 	}
 
+	if userHasSetLocal(cmd, "failover-period") {
+		conf.FailoverPeriod = &cmd.failoverPeriod
+	}
+
 	if userHasSetLocal(cmd, "sqladmin-api-endpoint") && userHasSetLocal(cmd, "universe-domain") {
 		return newBadCommandError("cannot specify --sqladmin-api-endpoint and --universe-domain at the same time")
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/root_test.go b/cmd/root_test.go
index e7d870485..aed275070 100644
--- a/cmd/root_test.go
+++ b/cmd/root_test.go
@@ -506,6 +506,20 @@ func TestNewCommandArguments(t *testing.T) {
 				ResourceExhaustedCooldownPeriod: 10 * time.Second,
 			}),
 		},
+		{
+			desc: "using the failover-period flag",
+			args: []string{"--failover-period", "10s", "proj:region:inst"},
+			want: withDefaults(&proxy.Config{
+				FailoverPeriod: pointer(10 * time.Second),
+			}),
+		},
+		{
+			desc: "using the failover-period flag set to 0",
+			args: []string{"--failover-period", "0s", "proj:region:inst"},
+			want: withDefaults(&proxy.Config{
+				FailoverPeriod: pointer(time.Duration(0)),
+			}),
+		},
 	}
 
 	for _, tc := range tcs {
@@ -885,6 +899,22 @@ func TestNewCommandWithEnvironmentConfig(t *testing.T) {
 				SQLDataEndpoint: "https://test.googleapis.com",
 			}),
 		},
+		{
+			desc:     "using the failover-period envvar",
+			envName:  "CSQL_PROXY_FAILOVER_PERIOD",
+			envValue: "15s",
+			want: withDefaults(&proxy.Config{
+				FailoverPeriod: pointer(15 * time.Second),
+			}),
+		},
+		{
+			desc:     "using the failover-period envvar set to 0",
+			envName:  "CSQL_PROXY_FAILOVER_PERIOD",
+			envValue: "0s",
+			want: withDefaults(&proxy.Config{
+				FailoverPeriod: pointer(time.Duration(0)),
+			}),
+		},
 	}
 	for _, tc := range tcs {
 		t.Run(tc.desc, func(t *testing.T) {
diff --git a/docs/cmd/cloud-sql-proxy.md b/docs/cmd/cloud-sql-proxy.md
index fc619b4d4..d50f9e1a8 100644
--- a/docs/cmd/cloud-sql-proxy.md
+++ b/docs/cmd/cloud-sql-proxy.md
@@ -243,6 +243,7 @@ cloud-sql-proxy INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME... [flags]
       --disable-metrics                              Disable Cloud Monitoring integration (used with --telemetry-project)
       --disable-traces                               Disable Cloud Trace integration (used with --telemetry-project)
       --exit-zero-on-sigterm                         Exit with 0 exit code when Sigterm received (default is 143)
+      --failover-period duration                     Frequency to check for changes to DNS names. When set to 0, DNS polling is disabled. (default 30s)
       --fuse string                                  Mount a directory at the path using FUSE to access Cloud SQL instances.
       --fuse-tmp-dir string                          Temp dir for Unix sockets created with FUSE (default "/tmp/csql-tmp")
   -g, --gcloud-auth                                  Use gclouds user credentials as a source of IAM credentials.
diff --git a/internal/proxy/proxy.go b/internal/proxy/proxy.go
index 5c8732614..a0608eb91 100644
--- a/internal/proxy/proxy.go
+++ b/internal/proxy/proxy.go
@@ -202,6 +202,10 @@ type Config struct {
 	// of a request context, e.g., Cloud Run.
 	LazyRefresh bool
 
+	// FailoverPeriod configures the frequency to check for changes to DNS names.
+	// When set to 0, DNS polling is disabled and checks only occur on new connections.
+	FailoverPeriod *time.Duration
+
 	// ResourceExhaustedCooldownPeriod sets the cooldown period after a ResourceExhausted error.
 	ResourceExhaustedCooldownPeriod time.Duration
 
@@ -482,6 +486,10 @@ func (c *Config) DialerOptions(l cloudsql.Logger) ([]cloudsqlconn.Option, error)
 		opts = append(opts, cloudsqlconn.WithLazyRefresh())
 	}
 
+	if c.FailoverPeriod != nil {
+		opts = append(opts, cloudsqlconn.WithFailoverPeriod(*c.FailoverPeriod))
+	}
+
 	if c.ResourceExhaustedCooldownPeriod != 0 {
 		opts = append(opts, cloudsqlconn.WithResourceExhaustedCooldownPeriod(c.ResourceExhaustedCooldownPeriod))
 	}
diff --git a/internal/proxy/proxy_test.go b/internal/proxy/proxy_test.go
index c529d6a84..0a3365770 100644
--- a/internal/proxy/proxy_test.go
+++ b/internal/proxy/proxy_test.go
@@ -940,3 +940,17 @@ func TestProxyMultiInstances(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+func TestConfigDialerOptionsFailoverPeriod(t *testing.T) {
+	d := 15 * time.Second
+	c := &proxy.Config{
+		FailoverPeriod: &d,
+	}
+	opts, err := c.DialerOptions(testLogger)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("want err = nil, got = %v", err)
+	}
+	if len(opts) == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected options to be returned, got none")
+	}
+}