diff --git a/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/peer_manager/mod.rs b/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/peer_manager/mod.rs
index 7247425f500..31ff8bdfc23 100644
--- a/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/peer_manager/mod.rs
+++ b/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/peer_manager/mod.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 //! Implementation of Lighthouse's peer management system.
 
 use crate::discovery::enr_ext::EnrExt;
+use crate::discovery::peer_id_to_node_id;
 use crate::rpc::{GoodbyeReason, MetaData, Protocol, RPCError, RPCResponseErrorCode};
 use crate::service::TARGET_SUBNET_PEERS;
 use crate::{error, metrics, Gossipsub};
@@ -716,7 +717,8 @@ impl<E: EthSpec> PeerManager<E> {
                 debug!(self.log, "Obtained peer's metadata";
                     "peer_id" => %peer_id, "new_seq_no" => meta_data.seq_number());
             }
-            peer_info.set_meta_data(meta_data);
+            let node_id_opt = peer_id_to_node_id(peer_id).ok();
+            peer_info.set_meta_data(meta_data, node_id_opt, &self.network_globals.spec);
         } else {
             error!(self.log, "Received METADATA from an unknown peer";
                 "peer_id" => %peer_id);
@@ -1678,7 +1680,11 @@ mod tests {
             .write()
             .peer_info_mut(&peer0)
             .unwrap()
-            .set_meta_data(MetaData::V2(metadata));
+            .set_meta_data(
+                MetaData::V2(metadata),
+                None,
+                &peer_manager.network_globals.spec,
+            );
         peer_manager
             .network_globals
             .peers
@@ -1698,7 +1704,11 @@ mod tests {
             .write()
             .peer_info_mut(&peer2)
             .unwrap()
-            .set_meta_data(MetaData::V2(metadata));
+            .set_meta_data(
+                MetaData::V2(metadata),
+                None,
+                &peer_manager.network_globals.spec,
+            );
         peer_manager
             .network_globals
             .peers
@@ -1718,7 +1728,11 @@ mod tests {
             .write()
             .peer_info_mut(&peer4)
             .unwrap()
-            .set_meta_data(MetaData::V2(metadata));
+            .set_meta_data(
+                MetaData::V2(metadata),
+                None,
+                &peer_manager.network_globals.spec,
+            );
         peer_manager
             .network_globals
             .peers
@@ -1792,7 +1806,11 @@ mod tests {
                 .write()
                 .peer_info_mut(&peer)
                 .unwrap()
-                .set_meta_data(MetaData::V2(metadata));
+                .set_meta_data(
+                    MetaData::V2(metadata),
+                    None,
+                    &peer_manager.network_globals.spec,
+                );
             peer_manager
                 .network_globals
                 .peers
@@ -1916,7 +1934,11 @@ mod tests {
                 .write()
                 .peer_info_mut(&peer)
                 .unwrap()
-                .set_meta_data(MetaData::V2(metadata));
+                .set_meta_data(
+                    MetaData::V2(metadata),
+                    None,
+                    &peer_manager.network_globals.spec,
+                );
             let long_lived_subnets = peer_manager
                 .network_globals
                 .peers
@@ -2025,7 +2047,11 @@ mod tests {
                 .write()
                 .peer_info_mut(&peer)
                 .unwrap()
-                .set_meta_data(MetaData::V2(metadata));
+                .set_meta_data(
+                    MetaData::V2(metadata),
+                    None,
+                    &peer_manager.network_globals.spec,
+                );
             let long_lived_subnets = peer_manager
                 .network_globals
                 .peers
@@ -2191,7 +2217,11 @@ mod tests {
                 .write()
                 .peer_info_mut(&peer)
                 .unwrap()
-                .set_meta_data(MetaData::V2(metadata));
+                .set_meta_data(
+                    MetaData::V2(metadata),
+                    None,
+                    &peer_manager.network_globals.spec,
+                );
             let long_lived_subnets = peer_manager
                 .network_globals
                 .peers
@@ -2348,7 +2378,11 @@ mod tests {
 
                     let mut peer_db = peer_manager.network_globals.peers.write();
                     let peer_info = peer_db.peer_info_mut(&condition.peer_id).unwrap();
-                    peer_info.set_meta_data(MetaData::V2(metadata));
+                    peer_info.set_meta_data(
+                        MetaData::V2(metadata),
+                        None,
+                        &peer_manager.network_globals.spec,
+                    );
                     peer_info.set_gossipsub_score(condition.gossipsub_score);
                     peer_info.add_to_score(condition.score);
 
diff --git a/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/peer_manager/peerdb.rs b/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/peer_manager/peerdb.rs
index fdde57b4a57..fbde8f9bc87 100644
--- a/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/peer_manager/peerdb.rs
+++ b/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/peer_manager/peerdb.rs
@@ -256,6 +256,8 @@ impl<E: EthSpec> PeerDB<E> {
             .map(|(peer_id, _)| peer_id)
     }
 
+    /// Returns an iterator of all good gossipsub peers that are supposed to be custodying
+    /// the given subnet id.
     pub fn good_custody_subnet_peer(
         &self,
         subnet: DataColumnSubnetId,
@@ -263,15 +265,8 @@ impl<E: EthSpec> PeerDB<E> {
         self.peers
             .iter()
             .filter(move |(_, info)| {
-                // TODO(das): we currently consider peer to be a subnet peer if the peer is *either*
-                // subscribed to the subnet or assigned to the subnet.
-                // The first condition is currently required as we don't have custody count in
-                // metadata implemented yet, and therefore unable to reliably determine custody
-                // subnet count (ENR is not always available).
-                // This condition can be removed later so that we can identify peers that are not
-                // serving custody columns and penalise accordingly.
-                let is_custody_subnet_peer = info.on_subnet_gossipsub(&Subnet::DataColumn(subnet))
-                    || info.is_assigned_to_custody_subnet(&subnet);
+                // The custody_subnets hashset can be populated via enr or metadata
+                let is_custody_subnet_peer = info.is_assigned_to_custody_subnet(&subnet);
                 info.is_connected() && info.is_good_gossipsub_peer() && is_custody_subnet_peer
             })
             .map(|(peer_id, _)| peer_id)
diff --git a/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/peer_manager/peerdb/peer_info.rs b/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/peer_manager/peerdb/peer_info.rs
index 8a04d450ba4..5ff8f74dd46 100644
--- a/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/peer_manager/peerdb/peer_info.rs
+++ b/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/peer_manager/peerdb/peer_info.rs
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ use super::score::{PeerAction, Score, ScoreState};
 use super::sync_status::SyncStatus;
 use crate::discovery::Eth2Enr;
 use crate::{rpc::MetaData, types::Subnet};
+use discv5::enr::NodeId;
 use discv5::Enr;
 use libp2p::core::multiaddr::{Multiaddr, Protocol};
 use serde::{
@@ -13,7 +14,7 @@ use std::collections::HashSet;
 use std::net::IpAddr;
 use std::time::Instant;
 use strum::AsRefStr;
-use types::{DataColumnSubnetId, EthSpec};
+use types::{ChainSpec, DataColumnSubnetId, EthSpec};
 use PeerConnectionStatus::*;
 
 /// Information about a given connected peer.
@@ -89,6 +90,7 @@ impl<E: EthSpec> PeerInfo<E> {
     }
 
     /// Returns if the peer is subscribed to a given `Subnet` from the metadata attnets/syncnets field.
+    /// Also returns true if the peer is assigned to custody a given data column `Subnet` computed from the metadata `custody_column_count` field or ENR `csc` field.
     pub fn on_subnet_metadata(&self, subnet: &Subnet) -> bool {
         if let Some(meta_data) = &self.meta_data {
             match subnet {
@@ -100,15 +102,7 @@ impl<E: EthSpec> PeerInfo<E> {
                         .syncnets()
                         .map_or(false, |s| s.get(**id as usize).unwrap_or(false))
                 }
-                Subnet::DataColumn(_) => {
-                    // TODO(das): Pending spec PR https://github.com/ethereum/consensus-specs/pull/3821
-                    // We should use MetaDataV3 for peer selection rather than
-                    // looking at subscribed peers (current behavior). Until MetaDataV3 is
-                    // implemented, this is the perhaps the only viable option on the current devnet
-                    // as the peer count is low and it's important to identify supernodes to get a
-                    // good distribution of peers across subnets.
-                    return true;
-                }
+                Subnet::DataColumn(column) => return self.custody_subnets.contains(column),
             }
         }
         false
@@ -364,8 +358,32 @@ impl<E: EthSpec> PeerInfo<E> {
 
     /// Sets an explicit value for the meta data.
     // VISIBILITY: The peer manager is able to adjust the meta_data
-    pub(in crate::peer_manager) fn set_meta_data(&mut self, meta_data: MetaData<E>) {
-        self.meta_data = Some(meta_data)
+    pub(in crate::peer_manager) fn set_meta_data(
+        &mut self,
+        meta_data: MetaData<E>,
+        node_id_opt: Option<NodeId>,
+        spec: &ChainSpec,
+    ) {
+        // If we don't have a node id, we cannot compute the custody duties anyway
+        let Some(node_id) = node_id_opt else {
+            self.meta_data = Some(meta_data);
+            return;
+        };
+
+        // Already set by enr if custody_subnets is non empty
+        if self.custody_subnets.is_empty() {
+            if let Ok(custody_subnet_count) = meta_data.custody_subnet_count() {
+                let custody_subnets = DataColumnSubnetId::compute_custody_subnets::<E>(
+                    node_id.raw().into(),
+                    std::cmp::min(*custody_subnet_count, spec.data_column_sidecar_subnet_count),
+                    spec,
+                )
+                .collect::<HashSet<_>>();
+                self.set_custody_subnets(custody_subnets);
+            }
+        }
+
+        self.meta_data = Some(meta_data);
     }
 
     /// Sets the connection status of the peer.
diff --git a/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/rpc/codec/ssz_snappy.rs b/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/rpc/codec/ssz_snappy.rs
index 9012954391c..c573e3af694 100644
--- a/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/rpc/codec/ssz_snappy.rs
+++ b/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/rpc/codec/ssz_snappy.rs
@@ -82,9 +82,10 @@ impl<E: EthSpec> Encoder<RPCCodedResponse<E>> for SSZSnappyInboundCodec<E> {
                 {
                     match self.protocol.versioned_protocol {
                         SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV1 => res.metadata_v1().as_ssz_bytes(),
-                        // We always send V2 metadata responses from the behaviour
-                        // No change required.
                         SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV2 => res.metadata_v2().as_ssz_bytes(),
+                        SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV3 => {
+                            res.metadata_v3(&self.fork_context.spec).as_ssz_bytes()
+                        }
                         _ => unreachable!(
                             "We only send metadata responses on negotiating metadata requests"
                         ),
@@ -136,6 +137,9 @@ impl<E: EthSpec> Decoder for SSZSnappyInboundCodec<E> {
         if self.protocol.versioned_protocol == SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV2 {
             return Ok(Some(InboundRequest::MetaData(MetadataRequest::new_v2())));
         }
+        if self.protocol.versioned_protocol == SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV3 {
+            return Ok(Some(InboundRequest::MetaData(MetadataRequest::new_v3())));
+        }
         let Some(length) = handle_length(&mut self.inner, &mut self.len, src)? else {
             return Ok(None);
         };
@@ -549,6 +553,15 @@ fn handle_rpc_request<E: EthSpec>(
         }
         // MetaData requests return early from InboundUpgrade and do not reach the decoder.
         // Handle this case just for completeness.
+        SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV3 => {
+            if !decoded_buffer.is_empty() {
+                Err(RPCError::InternalError(
+                    "Metadata requests shouldn't reach decoder",
+                ))
+            } else {
+                Ok(Some(InboundRequest::MetaData(MetadataRequest::new_v3())))
+            }
+        }
         SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV2 => {
             if !decoded_buffer.is_empty() {
                 Err(RPCError::InternalError(
@@ -712,7 +725,10 @@ fn handle_rpc_response<E: EthSpec>(
                 ),
             )),
         },
-        // MetaData V2 responses have no context bytes, so behave similarly to V1 responses
+        // MetaData V2/V3 responses have no context bytes, so behave similarly to V1 responses
+        SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV3 => Ok(Some(RPCResponse::MetaData(MetaData::V3(
+            MetaDataV3::from_ssz_bytes(decoded_buffer)?,
+        )))),
         SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV2 => Ok(Some(RPCResponse::MetaData(MetaData::V2(
             MetaDataV2::from_ssz_bytes(decoded_buffer)?,
         )))),
@@ -984,6 +1000,15 @@ mod tests {
         })
     }
 
+    fn metadata_v3() -> MetaData<Spec> {
+        MetaData::V3(MetaDataV3 {
+            seq_number: 1,
+            attnets: EnrAttestationBitfield::<Spec>::default(),
+            syncnets: EnrSyncCommitteeBitfield::<Spec>::default(),
+            custody_subnet_count: 1,
+        })
+    }
+
     /// Encodes the given protocol response as bytes.
     fn encode_response(
         protocol: SupportedProtocol,
@@ -1217,6 +1242,17 @@ mod tests {
             Ok(Some(RPCResponse::MetaData(metadata()))),
         );
 
+        // A MetaDataV3 still encodes as a MetaDataV2 since version is Version::V2
+        assert_eq!(
+            encode_then_decode_response(
+                SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV2,
+                RPCCodedResponse::Success(RPCResponse::MetaData(metadata_v3())),
+                ForkName::Base,
+                &chain_spec,
+            ),
+            Ok(Some(RPCResponse::MetaData(metadata_v2()))),
+        );
+
         assert_eq!(
             encode_then_decode_response(
                 SupportedProtocol::BlobsByRangeV1,
diff --git a/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/rpc/methods.rs b/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/rpc/methods.rs
index 12565dee5ee..a96b9d1b166 100644
--- a/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/rpc/methods.rs
+++ b/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/rpc/methods.rs
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ pub struct Ping {
 
 /// The METADATA request structure.
 #[superstruct(
-    variants(V1, V2),
+    variants(V1, V2, V3),
     variant_attributes(derive(Clone, Debug, PartialEq, Serialize),)
 )]
 #[derive(Clone, Debug, PartialEq)]
@@ -109,11 +109,17 @@ impl<E: EthSpec> MetadataRequest<E> {
             _phantom_data: PhantomData,
         })
     }
+
+    pub fn new_v3() -> Self {
+        Self::V3(MetadataRequestV3 {
+            _phantom_data: PhantomData,
+        })
+    }
 }
 
 /// The METADATA response structure.
 #[superstruct(
-    variants(V1, V2),
+    variants(V1, V2, V3),
     variant_attributes(
         derive(Encode, Decode, Clone, Debug, PartialEq, Serialize),
         serde(bound = "E: EthSpec", deny_unknown_fields),
@@ -127,8 +133,10 @@ pub struct MetaData<E: EthSpec> {
     /// The persistent attestation subnet bitfield.
     pub attnets: EnrAttestationBitfield<E>,
     /// The persistent sync committee bitfield.
-    #[superstruct(only(V2))]
+    #[superstruct(only(V2, V3))]
     pub syncnets: EnrSyncCommitteeBitfield<E>,
+    #[superstruct(only(V3))]
+    pub custody_subnet_count: u64,
 }
 
 impl<E: EthSpec> MetaData<E> {
@@ -140,6 +148,10 @@ impl<E: EthSpec> MetaData<E> {
                 seq_number: metadata.seq_number,
                 attnets: metadata.attnets.clone(),
             }),
+            MetaData::V3(metadata) => MetaData::V1(MetaDataV1 {
+                seq_number: metadata.seq_number,
+                attnets: metadata.attnets.clone(),
+            }),
         }
     }
 
@@ -152,6 +164,30 @@ impl<E: EthSpec> MetaData<E> {
                 syncnets: Default::default(),
             }),
             md @ MetaData::V2(_) => md.clone(),
+            MetaData::V3(metadata) => MetaData::V2(MetaDataV2 {
+                seq_number: metadata.seq_number,
+                attnets: metadata.attnets.clone(),
+                syncnets: metadata.syncnets.clone(),
+            }),
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Returns a V3 MetaData response from self by filling unavailable fields with default.
+    pub fn metadata_v3(&self, spec: &ChainSpec) -> Self {
+        match self {
+            MetaData::V1(metadata) => MetaData::V3(MetaDataV3 {
+                seq_number: metadata.seq_number,
+                attnets: metadata.attnets.clone(),
+                syncnets: Default::default(),
+                custody_subnet_count: spec.custody_requirement,
+            }),
+            MetaData::V2(metadata) => MetaData::V3(MetaDataV3 {
+                seq_number: metadata.seq_number,
+                attnets: metadata.attnets.clone(),
+                syncnets: metadata.syncnets.clone(),
+                custody_subnet_count: spec.custody_requirement,
+            }),
+            md @ MetaData::V3(_) => md.clone(),
         }
     }
 
@@ -159,6 +195,7 @@ impl<E: EthSpec> MetaData<E> {
         match self {
             MetaData::V1(md) => md.as_ssz_bytes(),
             MetaData::V2(md) => md.as_ssz_bytes(),
+            MetaData::V3(md) => md.as_ssz_bytes(),
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/rpc/mod.rs b/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/rpc/mod.rs
index c40f976e7a1..4fe3778f0a4 100644
--- a/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/rpc/mod.rs
+++ b/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/rpc/mod.rs
@@ -21,7 +21,9 @@ use std::time::Duration;
 use types::{EthSpec, ForkContext};
 
 pub(crate) use handler::{HandlerErr, HandlerEvent};
-pub(crate) use methods::{MetaData, MetaDataV1, MetaDataV2, Ping, RPCCodedResponse, RPCResponse};
+pub(crate) use methods::{
+    MetaData, MetaDataV1, MetaDataV2, MetaDataV3, Ping, RPCCodedResponse, RPCResponse,
+};
 pub(crate) use protocol::InboundRequest;
 
 pub use handler::SubstreamId;
diff --git a/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/rpc/outbound.rs b/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/rpc/outbound.rs
index 7752d27e759..c67c7865ea3 100644
--- a/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/rpc/outbound.rs
+++ b/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/rpc/outbound.rs
@@ -94,6 +94,7 @@ impl<E: EthSpec> OutboundRequest<E> {
                 Encoding::SSZSnappy,
             )],
             OutboundRequest::MetaData(_) => vec![
+                ProtocolId::new(SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV3, Encoding::SSZSnappy),
                 ProtocolId::new(SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV2, Encoding::SSZSnappy),
                 ProtocolId::new(SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV1, Encoding::SSZSnappy),
             ],
@@ -153,6 +154,7 @@ impl<E: EthSpec> OutboundRequest<E> {
             OutboundRequest::MetaData(req) => match req {
                 MetadataRequest::V1(_) => SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV1,
                 MetadataRequest::V2(_) => SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV2,
+                MetadataRequest::V3(_) => SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV3,
             },
         }
     }
diff --git a/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/rpc/protocol.rs b/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/rpc/protocol.rs
index 6f7f0348345..f4bdf6450b8 100644
--- a/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/rpc/protocol.rs
+++ b/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/rpc/protocol.rs
@@ -332,6 +332,7 @@ pub enum SupportedProtocol {
     PingV1,
     MetaDataV1,
     MetaDataV2,
+    MetaDataV3,
     LightClientBootstrapV1,
     LightClientOptimisticUpdateV1,
     LightClientFinalityUpdateV1,
@@ -353,6 +354,7 @@ impl SupportedProtocol {
             SupportedProtocol::PingV1 => "1",
             SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV1 => "1",
             SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV2 => "2",
+            SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV3 => "3",
             SupportedProtocol::LightClientBootstrapV1 => "1",
             SupportedProtocol::LightClientOptimisticUpdateV1 => "1",
             SupportedProtocol::LightClientFinalityUpdateV1 => "1",
@@ -374,6 +376,7 @@ impl SupportedProtocol {
             SupportedProtocol::PingV1 => Protocol::Ping,
             SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV1 => Protocol::MetaData,
             SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV2 => Protocol::MetaData,
+            SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV3 => Protocol::MetaData,
             SupportedProtocol::LightClientBootstrapV1 => Protocol::LightClientBootstrap,
             SupportedProtocol::LightClientOptimisticUpdateV1 => {
                 Protocol::LightClientOptimisticUpdate
@@ -392,9 +395,20 @@ impl SupportedProtocol {
             ProtocolId::new(Self::BlocksByRootV2, Encoding::SSZSnappy),
             ProtocolId::new(Self::BlocksByRootV1, Encoding::SSZSnappy),
             ProtocolId::new(Self::PingV1, Encoding::SSZSnappy),
-            ProtocolId::new(Self::MetaDataV2, Encoding::SSZSnappy),
-            ProtocolId::new(Self::MetaDataV1, Encoding::SSZSnappy),
         ];
+        if fork_context.spec.is_peer_das_scheduled() {
+            supported.extend_from_slice(&[
+                // V3 variants have higher preference for protocol negotation
+                ProtocolId::new(Self::MetaDataV3, Encoding::SSZSnappy),
+                ProtocolId::new(Self::MetaDataV2, Encoding::SSZSnappy),
+                ProtocolId::new(Self::MetaDataV1, Encoding::SSZSnappy),
+            ]);
+        } else {
+            supported.extend_from_slice(&[
+                ProtocolId::new(Self::MetaDataV2, Encoding::SSZSnappy),
+                ProtocolId::new(Self::MetaDataV1, Encoding::SSZSnappy),
+            ]);
+        }
         if fork_context.fork_exists(ForkName::Deneb) {
             supported.extend_from_slice(&[
                 ProtocolId::new(SupportedProtocol::BlobsByRootV1, Encoding::SSZSnappy),
@@ -554,7 +568,7 @@ impl ProtocolId {
             ),
             Protocol::MetaData => RpcLimits::new(
                 <MetaDataV1<E> as Encode>::ssz_fixed_len(),
-                <MetaDataV2<E> as Encode>::ssz_fixed_len(),
+                <MetaDataV3<E> as Encode>::ssz_fixed_len(),
             ),
             Protocol::LightClientBootstrap => {
                 rpc_light_client_bootstrap_limits_by_fork(fork_context.current_fork())
@@ -587,6 +601,7 @@ impl ProtocolId {
             | SupportedProtocol::PingV1
             | SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV1
             | SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV2
+            | SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV3
             | SupportedProtocol::GoodbyeV1 => false,
         }
     }
@@ -671,6 +686,9 @@ where
                 SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV2 => {
                     Ok((InboundRequest::MetaData(MetadataRequest::new_v2()), socket))
                 }
+                SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV3 => {
+                    Ok((InboundRequest::MetaData(MetadataRequest::new_v3()), socket))
+                }
                 SupportedProtocol::LightClientOptimisticUpdateV1 => {
                     Ok((InboundRequest::LightClientOptimisticUpdate, socket))
                 }
@@ -757,6 +775,7 @@ impl<E: EthSpec> InboundRequest<E> {
             InboundRequest::MetaData(req) => match req {
                 MetadataRequest::V1(_) => SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV1,
                 MetadataRequest::V2(_) => SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV2,
+                MetadataRequest::V3(_) => SupportedProtocol::MetaDataV3,
             },
             InboundRequest::LightClientBootstrap(_) => SupportedProtocol::LightClientBootstrapV1,
             InboundRequest::LightClientOptimisticUpdate => {
diff --git a/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/service/mod.rs b/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/service/mod.rs
index 50bce0217af..35758f1688c 100644
--- a/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/service/mod.rs
+++ b/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/service/mod.rs
@@ -165,7 +165,17 @@ impl<E: EthSpec> Network<E> {
                 ctx.chain_spec,
             )?;
             // Construct the metadata
-            let meta_data = utils::load_or_build_metadata(&config.network_dir, &log);
+            let custody_subnet_count = if ctx.chain_spec.is_peer_das_scheduled() {
+                if config.subscribe_all_data_column_subnets {
+                    Some(ctx.chain_spec.data_column_sidecar_subnet_count)
+                } else {
+                    Some(ctx.chain_spec.custody_requirement)
+                }
+            } else {
+                None
+            };
+            let meta_data =
+                utils::load_or_build_metadata(&config.network_dir, custody_subnet_count, &log);
             let globals = NetworkGlobals::new(
                 enr,
                 meta_data,
@@ -1130,8 +1140,14 @@ impl<E: EthSpec> Network<E> {
 
     /// Sends a METADATA request to a peer.
     fn send_meta_data_request(&mut self, peer_id: PeerId) {
-        // We always prefer sending V2 requests
-        let event = OutboundRequest::MetaData(MetadataRequest::new_v2());
+        let event = if self.fork_context.spec.is_peer_das_scheduled() {
+            // Nodes with higher custody will probably start advertising it
+            // before peerdas is activated
+            OutboundRequest::MetaData(MetadataRequest::new_v3())
+        } else {
+            // We always prefer sending V2 requests otherwise
+            OutboundRequest::MetaData(MetadataRequest::new_v2())
+        };
         self.eth2_rpc_mut()
             .send_request(peer_id, RequestId::Internal, event);
     }
@@ -1139,15 +1155,12 @@ impl<E: EthSpec> Network<E> {
     /// Sends a METADATA response to a peer.
     fn send_meta_data_response(
         &mut self,
-        req: MetadataRequest<E>,
+        _req: MetadataRequest<E>,
         id: PeerRequestId,
         peer_id: PeerId,
     ) {
         let metadata = self.network_globals.local_metadata.read().clone();
-        let metadata = match req {
-            MetadataRequest::V1(_) => metadata.metadata_v1(),
-            MetadataRequest::V2(_) => metadata,
-        };
+        // The encoder is responsible for sending the negotiated version of the metadata
         let event = RPCCodedResponse::Success(RPCResponse::MetaData(metadata));
         self.eth2_rpc_mut().send_response(peer_id, id, event);
     }
diff --git a/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/service/utils.rs b/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/service/utils.rs
index cf06b7c1cee..8b6a84ae0cb 100644
--- a/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/service/utils.rs
+++ b/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/service/utils.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 use crate::multiaddr::Protocol;
+use crate::rpc::methods::MetaDataV3;
 use crate::rpc::{MetaData, MetaDataV1, MetaDataV2};
 use crate::types::{
     error, EnrAttestationBitfield, EnrSyncCommitteeBitfield, GossipEncoding, GossipKind,
@@ -12,7 +13,6 @@ use libp2p::{core, noise, yamux, PeerId, Transport};
 use prometheus_client::registry::Registry;
 use slog::{debug, warn};
 use ssz::Decode;
-use ssz::Encode;
 use std::collections::HashSet;
 use std::fs::File;
 use std::io::prelude::*;
@@ -169,6 +169,7 @@ pub fn strip_peer_id(addr: &mut Multiaddr) {
 /// Load metadata from persisted file. Return default metadata if loading fails.
 pub fn load_or_build_metadata<E: EthSpec>(
     network_dir: &std::path::Path,
+    custody_subnet_count: Option<u64>,
     log: &slog::Logger,
 ) -> MetaData<E> {
     // We load a V2 metadata version by default (regardless of current fork)
@@ -219,7 +220,16 @@ pub fn load_or_build_metadata<E: EthSpec>(
     };
 
     // Wrap the MetaData
-    let meta_data = MetaData::V2(meta_data);
+    let meta_data = if let Some(custody_count) = custody_subnet_count {
+        MetaData::V3(MetaDataV3 {
+            attnets: meta_data.attnets,
+            seq_number: meta_data.seq_number,
+            syncnets: meta_data.syncnets,
+            custody_subnet_count: custody_count,
+        })
+    } else {
+        MetaData::V2(meta_data)
+    };
 
     debug!(log, "Metadata sequence number"; "seq_num" => meta_data.seq_number());
     save_metadata_to_disk(network_dir, meta_data.clone(), log);
@@ -276,10 +286,11 @@ pub(crate) fn save_metadata_to_disk<E: EthSpec>(
     log: &slog::Logger,
 ) {
     let _ = std::fs::create_dir_all(dir);
-    let metadata_bytes = match metadata {
-        MetaData::V1(md) => md.as_ssz_bytes(),
-        MetaData::V2(md) => md.as_ssz_bytes(),
-    };
+    // We always store the metadata v2 to disk because
+    // custody_subnet_count parameter doesn't need to be persisted across runs.
+    // custody_subnet_count is what the user sets it for the current run.
+    // This is to prevent ugly branching logic when reading the metadata from disk.
+    let metadata_bytes = metadata.metadata_v2().as_ssz_bytes();
     match File::create(dir.join(METADATA_FILENAME)).and_then(|mut f| f.write_all(&metadata_bytes)) {
         Ok(_) => {
             debug!(log, "Metadata written to disk");
diff --git a/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/types/globals.rs b/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/types/globals.rs
index 412a70902df..178ba64641c 100644
--- a/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/types/globals.rs
+++ b/beacon_node/lighthouse_network/src/types/globals.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 //! A collection of variables that are accessible outside of the network thread itself.
 use crate::peer_manager::peerdb::PeerDB;
-use crate::rpc::{MetaData, MetaDataV2};
+use crate::rpc::{MetaData, MetaDataV3};
 use crate::types::{BackFillState, SyncState};
 use crate::EnrExt;
 use crate::{Client, Eth2Enr};
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ pub struct NetworkGlobals<E: EthSpec> {
     pub sync_state: RwLock<SyncState>,
     /// The current state of the backfill sync.
     pub backfill_state: RwLock<BackFillState>,
-    spec: ChainSpec,
+    pub spec: ChainSpec,
 }
 
 impl<E: EthSpec> NetworkGlobals<E> {
@@ -137,10 +137,8 @@ impl<E: EthSpec> NetworkGlobals<E> {
 
     /// Returns a connected peer that:
     /// 1. is connected
-    /// 2. assigned to custody the column based on it's `custody_subnet_count` from ENR or metadata (WIP)
+    /// 2. assigned to custody the column based on it's `custody_subnet_count` from ENR or metadata
     /// 3. has a good score
-    /// 4. subscribed to the specified column - this condition can be removed later, so we can
-    ///    identify and penalise peers that are supposed to custody the column.
     pub fn custody_peers_for_column(&self, column_index: ColumnIndex) -> Vec<PeerId> {
         self.peers
             .read()
@@ -164,10 +162,11 @@ impl<E: EthSpec> NetworkGlobals<E> {
         let enr = discv5::enr::Enr::builder().build(&enr_key).unwrap();
         NetworkGlobals::new(
             enr,
-            MetaData::V2(MetaDataV2 {
+            MetaData::V3(MetaDataV3 {
                 seq_number: 0,
                 attnets: Default::default(),
                 syncnets: Default::default(),
+                custody_subnet_count: spec.data_column_sidecar_subnet_count,
             }),
             trusted_peers,
             false,