diff --git a/cmd/porter/installations.go b/cmd/porter/installations.go
index 30e6586d8..cab97934e 100644
--- a/cmd/porter/installations.go
+++ b/cmd/porter/installations.go
@@ -304,6 +304,8 @@ The docker driver runs the bundle container using the local Docker host. To use
 		"Namespace of the specified installation. Defaults to the global namespace.")
 	f.StringVar(&opts.Version, "version", "",
 		"Version to which the installation should be upgraded. This represents the version of the bundle, which assumes the convention of setting the bundle tag to its version.")
+	f.BoolVar(&opts.ForceUpgrade, "force-upgrade", false,
+		"Force the upgrade to run even if the current installation is marked as failed.")
 	addBundleActionFlags(f, opts)
 
 	// Allow configuring the --driver flag with runtime-driver, to avoid conflicts with other commands
diff --git a/docs/content/docs/references/cli/installations_upgrade.md b/docs/content/docs/references/cli/installations_upgrade.md
index 3ffe83f57..eb7d3d8e3 100644
--- a/docs/content/docs/references/cli/installations_upgrade.md
+++ b/docs/content/docs/references/cli/installations_upgrade.md
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ porter installations upgrade [INSTALLATION] [flags]
   -d, --driver string                   Specify a driver to use. Allowed values: docker, debug (default "docker")
   -f, --file porter.yaml                Path to the Porter manifest. Defaults to porter.yaml in the current directory.
       --force                           Force a fresh pull of the bundle
+      --force-upgrade                   Force the upgrade to run even if the current installation is marked as failed.
   -h, --help                            help for upgrade
       --insecure-registry               Don't require TLS for the registry
       --mount-host-volume stringArray   Mount a host volume into the bundle. Format is <host path>:<container path>[:<option>]. May be specified multiple times. Option can be ro (read-only), rw (read-write), default is ro.
diff --git a/docs/content/docs/references/cli/upgrade.md b/docs/content/docs/references/cli/upgrade.md
index 1ee4cc7a3..01c9f6cbb 100644
--- a/docs/content/docs/references/cli/upgrade.md
+++ b/docs/content/docs/references/cli/upgrade.md
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ porter upgrade [INSTALLATION] [flags]
   -d, --driver string                   Specify a driver to use. Allowed values: docker, debug (default "docker")
   -f, --file porter.yaml                Path to the Porter manifest. Defaults to porter.yaml in the current directory.
       --force                           Force a fresh pull of the bundle
+      --force-upgrade                   Force the upgrade to run even if the current installation is marked as failed.
   -h, --help                            help for upgrade
       --insecure-registry               Don't require TLS for the registry
       --mount-host-volume stringArray   Mount a host volume into the bundle. Format is <host path>:<container path>[:<option>]. May be specified multiple times. Option can be ro (read-only), rw (read-write), default is ro.
diff --git a/pkg/porter/upgrade.go b/pkg/porter/upgrade.go
index 3fed12d48..826e44012 100644
--- a/pkg/porter/upgrade.go
+++ b/pkg/porter/upgrade.go
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@ type UpgradeOptions struct {
 
 	// Version of the bundle to upgrade to
 	Version string
+
+	// ForceUpgrade allows the upgrade to run even if the current installation is marked as failed.
+	ForceUpgrade bool
 }
 
 func NewUpgradeOptions() *UpgradeOptions {
@@ -64,7 +67,7 @@ func (p *Porter) UpgradeBundle(ctx context.Context, opts *UpgradeOptions) error
 		return span.Errorf("could not find installation %s/%s: %w", opts.Namespace, opts.Name, err)
 	}
 
-	if !i.IsInstalled() {
+	if !i.IsInstalled() && !opts.ForceUpgrade {
 		return span.Errorf("The installation cannot be upgraded, because it is not installed. Verify the installation name and namespace, and if correct, use porter install.")
 	}
 
diff --git a/tests/integration/upgrade_test.go b/tests/integration/upgrade_test.go
index dd0e215a4..c768bef98 100644
--- a/tests/integration/upgrade_test.go
+++ b/tests/integration/upgrade_test.go
@@ -31,6 +31,29 @@ func TestUpgrade_failedInstallation(t *testing.T) {
 	require.Error(t, err, "Upgrade should fail, because the installation failed")
 }
 
+func TestUpgrade_failedInstallation_withForceUpgrade(t *testing.T) {
+	p := porter.NewTestPorter(t)
+	defer p.Close()
+	ctx := p.SetupIntegrationTest()
+
+	p.AddTestBundleDir("testdata/bundles/bundle-with-failing-install", false)
+
+	installOpts := porter.NewInstallOptions()
+	err := installOpts.Validate(ctx, []string{}, p.Porter)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	err = p.InstallBundle(ctx, installOpts)
+	require.Error(t, err, "Installation should fail")
+
+	upgradeOpts := porter.NewUpgradeOptions()
+	upgradeOpts.ForceUpgrade = true
+	err = upgradeOpts.Validate(ctx, []string{}, p.Porter)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	err = p.UpgradeBundle(ctx, upgradeOpts)
+	require.NoError(t, err, "Upgrade should succeed, because force-upgrade is true")
+}
+
 func TestUpgrade_DebugModeAppliesToSingleInvocation(t *testing.T) {
 	p := porter.NewTestPorter(t)
 	defer p.Close()