diff --git a/orderer/common/bootstrap/static/static.go b/orderer/common/bootstrap/static/static.go
index 25f3ca459e3..c251960d128 100644
--- a/orderer/common/bootstrap/static/static.go
+++ b/orderer/common/bootstrap/static/static.go
@@ -47,6 +47,14 @@ const (
 
 	// DefaultConsensusType is the default value of ConsensusTypeKey
 	DefaultConsensusType = "solo"
+
+	// AcceptAllPolicyKey is the key of the AcceptAllPolicy
+	AcceptAllPolicyKey = "AcceptAllPolicy"
+)
+
+var (
+	// DefaultChainCreators is the default value of ChainCreatorsKey
+	DefaultChainCreators = []string{AcceptAllPolicyKey}
 )
 
 // New returns a new static bootstrap helper.
@@ -78,6 +86,26 @@ func (b *bootstrapper) encodeBatchSize() *cb.SignedConfigurationItem {
 	return &cb.SignedConfigurationItem{ConfigurationItem: utils.MarshalOrPanic(configItem), Signatures: nil}
 }
 
+func (b *bootstrapper) encodeChainCreators() *cb.SignedConfigurationItem {
+	configItemKey := sharedconfig.ChainCreatorsKey
+	configItemValue := utils.MarshalOrPanic(&ab.ChainCreators{Policies: DefaultChainCreators})
+	modPolicy := configtx.DefaultModificationPolicyID
+
+	configItemChainHeader := utils.MakeChainHeader(cb.HeaderType_CONFIGURATION_ITEM, msgVersion, b.chainID, b.epoch)
+	configItem := utils.MakeConfigurationItem(configItemChainHeader, cb.ConfigurationItem_Orderer, b.lastModified, modPolicy, configItemKey, configItemValue)
+	return &cb.SignedConfigurationItem{ConfigurationItem: utils.MarshalOrPanic(configItem), Signatures: nil}
+}
+
+func (b *bootstrapper) encodeAcceptAllPolicy() *cb.SignedConfigurationItem {
+	configItemKey := AcceptAllPolicyKey
+	configItemValue := utils.MarshalOrPanic(utils.MakePolicyOrPanic(cauthdsl.AcceptAllPolicy))
+	modPolicy := configtx.DefaultModificationPolicyID
+
+	configItemChainHeader := utils.MakeChainHeader(cb.HeaderType_CONFIGURATION_ITEM, msgVersion, b.chainID, b.epoch)
+	configItem := utils.MakeConfigurationItem(configItemChainHeader, cb.ConfigurationItem_Policy, b.lastModified, modPolicy, configItemKey, configItemValue)
+	return &cb.SignedConfigurationItem{ConfigurationItem: utils.MarshalOrPanic(configItem), Signatures: nil}
+}
+
 func (b *bootstrapper) lockDefaultModificationPolicy() *cb.SignedConfigurationItem {
 	// Lock down the default modification policy to prevent any further policy modifications
 	configItemKey := configtx.DefaultModificationPolicyID
@@ -96,6 +124,8 @@ func (b *bootstrapper) GenesisBlock() (*cb.Block, error) {
 	configEnvelope := utils.MakeConfigurationEnvelope(
 		b.encodeConsensusType(),
 		b.encodeBatchSize(),
+		b.encodeChainCreators(),
+		b.encodeAcceptAllPolicy(),
 		b.lockDefaultModificationPolicy(),
 	)
 	payloadChainHeader := utils.MakeChainHeader(cb.HeaderType_CONFIGURATION_TRANSACTION, configItemChainHeader.Version, b.chainID, b.epoch)
diff --git a/orderer/common/bootstrap/static/static_test.go b/orderer/common/bootstrap/static/static_test.go
index 4a59954abdc..17acdc7d06b 100644
--- a/orderer/common/bootstrap/static/static_test.go
+++ b/orderer/common/bootstrap/static/static_test.go
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ func TestGenesisBlockData(t *testing.T) {
 	expectedPayloadChainHeaderType := int32(cb.HeaderType_CONFIGURATION_TRANSACTION)
 	expectedChainHeaderVersion := msgVersion
 	expectedChainHeaderEpoch := uint64(0)
-	expectedConfigEnvelopeItemsLength := 3
+	expectedConfigEnvelopeItemsLength := 5
 	expectedConfigurationItemChainHeaderType := int32(cb.HeaderType_CONFIGURATION_ITEM)
 	expectedConfigurationItemChainHeaderVersion := msgVersion
 	expectedConfigurationItemType := cb.ConfigurationItem_Policy
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ func TestGenesisBlockData(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("Expected configuration envelope to have %d configuration item(s), got %d", expectedConfigEnvelopeItemsLength, len(configurationEnvelope.Items))
 	}
 
-	signedConfigurationItem := configurationEnvelope.Items[2]
+	signedConfigurationItem := configurationEnvelope.Items[4]
 	marshaledConfigurationItem := signedConfigurationItem.ConfigurationItem
 	configurationItem := &cb.ConfigurationItem{}
 	if err := proto.Unmarshal(marshaledConfigurationItem, configurationItem); err != nil {
diff --git a/orderer/common/sharedconfig/sharedconfig.go b/orderer/common/sharedconfig/sharedconfig.go
index 6cf9b7ccd18..630f7e642d1 100644
--- a/orderer/common/sharedconfig/sharedconfig.go
+++ b/orderer/common/sharedconfig/sharedconfig.go
@@ -32,6 +32,9 @@ const ConsensusTypeKey = "ConsensusType"
 // BatchSizeKey is the cb.ConfigurationItem type key name for the BatchSize message
 const BatchSizeKey = "BatchSize"
 
+// ChainCreatorsKey is the cb.ConfigurationItem type key name for the ChainCreators message
+const ChainCreatorsKey = "ChainCreators"
+
 var logger = logging.MustGetLogger("orderer/common/sharedconfig")
 
 func init() {
@@ -48,11 +51,16 @@ type Manager interface {
 
 	// BatchSize returns the maximum number of messages to include in a block
 	BatchSize() int
+
+	// ChainCreators returns the policy names which are allowed for chain creation
+	// This field is only set for the system ordering chain
+	ChainCreators() []string
 }
 
 type ordererConfig struct {
 	consensusType string
 	batchSize     int
+	chainCreators []string
 }
 
 // ManagerImpl is an implementation of Manager and configtx.ConfigHandler
@@ -79,6 +87,12 @@ func (pm *ManagerImpl) BatchSize() int {
 	return pm.config.batchSize
 }
 
+// ChainCreators returns the policy names which are allowed for chain creation
+// This field is only set for the system ordering chain
+func (pm *ManagerImpl) ChainCreators() []string {
+	return pm.config.chainCreators
+}
+
 // BeginConfig is used to start a new configuration proposal
 func (pm *ManagerImpl) BeginConfig() {
 	if pm.pendingConfig != nil {
@@ -135,6 +149,14 @@ func (pm *ManagerImpl) ProposeConfig(configItem *cb.ConfigurationItem) error {
 		}
 
 		pm.pendingConfig.batchSize = int(batchSize.Messages)
+	case ChainCreatorsKey:
+		chainCreators := &ab.ChainCreators{}
+		err := proto.Unmarshal(configItem.Value, chainCreators)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("Unmarshaling error for ChainCreator: %s", err)
+		}
+
+		pm.pendingConfig.chainCreators = chainCreators.Policies
 	}
 
 	return nil
diff --git a/protos/common/common.pb.go b/protos/common/common.pb.go
index 72806e613c2..2a4ae29873e 100644
--- a/protos/common/common.pb.go
+++ b/protos/common/common.pb.go
@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@ const (
 	HeaderType_CONFIGURATION_TRANSACTION HeaderType = 1
 	HeaderType_CONFIGURATION_ITEM        HeaderType = 2
 	HeaderType_ENDORSER_TRANSACTION      HeaderType = 3
+	HeaderType_ORDERER_TRANSACTION       HeaderType = 4
 )
 
 var HeaderType_name = map[int32]string{
@@ -99,12 +100,14 @@ var HeaderType_name = map[int32]string{
 	1: "CONFIGURATION_TRANSACTION",
 	2: "CONFIGURATION_ITEM",
 	3: "ENDORSER_TRANSACTION",
+	4: "ORDERER_TRANSACTION",
 }
 var HeaderType_value = map[string]int32{
 	"MESSAGE":                   0,
 	"CONFIGURATION_TRANSACTION": 1,
 	"CONFIGURATION_ITEM":        2,
 	"ENDORSER_TRANSACTION":      3,
+	"ORDERER_TRANSACTION":       4,
 }
 
 func (x HeaderType) String() string {
@@ -330,53 +333,54 @@ func init() {
 func init() { proto.RegisterFile("common/common.proto", fileDescriptor0) }
 
 var fileDescriptor0 = []byte{
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+	0x48, 0x05, 0xa5, 0x67, 0x98, 0x3e, 0xc5, 0xdf, 0x79, 0xd8, 0x71, 0xd5, 0xdf, 0x64, 0x74, 0x0e,
+	0xb5, 0x81, 0x4d, 0x7b, 0x96, 0x69, 0x62, 0xa2, 0xfe, 0x2e, 0x30, 0xb1, 0x5d, 0x7f, 0x60, 0x7b,
+	0xc4, 0x54, 0xff, 0x90, 0xd1, 0x15, 0x68, 0x59, 0xb6, 0x8f, 0x89, 0x6b, 0xb9, 0x3f, 0xf8, 0xae,
+	0x6d, 0xfb, 0x23, 0x83, 0x0e, 0xb1, 0xfa, 0xa7, 0x8c, 0x9a, 0xf0, 0xc1, 0x22, 0x2e, 0xa6, 0xc4,
+	0x18, 0xf9, 0x0e, 0xa6, 0x4f, 0x98, 0xfa, 0x98, 0x52, 0x9b, 0xaa, 0xff, 0xca, 0x48, 0x83, 0x06,
+	0x0f, 0x59, 0x7d, 0xec, 0x7b, 0xc4, 0x78, 0x32, 0xac, 0x91, 0xd1, 0x1b, 0x61, 0xf5, 0x3f, 0xf9,
+	0xe6, 0x17, 0x09, 0x20, 0xdd, 0xae, 0xcb, 0xff, 0x85, 0x0a, 0x54, 0x1f, 0xb0, 0xe3, 0x18, 0x43,
+	0xac, 0x9e, 0xa0, 0x2b, 0xf8, 0xa4, 0x6f, 0x93, 0x81, 0x35, 0xf4, 0xa8, 0xe1, 0x5a, 0x36, 0xf1,
+	0x5d, 0x6a, 0x10, 0xc7, 0xe8, 0xf3, 0xb3, 0x2a, 0xa1, 0x0b, 0x40, 0x45, 0xda, 0x72, 0xf1, 0x83,
+	0x7a, 0x8a, 0x34, 0x78, 0x8f, 0x89, 0x69, 0x53, 0x07, 0xd3, 0x42, 0x85, 0x8c, 0x2e, 0xa1, 0x61,
+	0x53, 0x13, 0xd3, 0x23, 0xa2, 0x74, 0xe3, 0x01, 0x2a, 0xec, 0xd7, 0x0a, 0xa7, 0xec, 0x15, 0x9d,
+	0x03, 0x38, 0xd6, 0x90, 0x18, 0xae, 0x47, 0xb1, 0xa3, 0x9e, 0xf0, 0x81, 0x23, 0xc3, 0x71, 0xfd,
+	0xc2, 0x54, 0x55, 0xe2, 0x6d, 0x0f, 0xda, 0x39, 0xfe, 0xc0, 0x1a, 0xb9, 0x98, 0xaa, 0xa7, 0xbd,
+	0x2f, 0x7e, 0xbc, 0x9d, 0x2d, 0x92, 0xf9, 0x76, 0xcc, 0xdf, 0x59, 0x77, 0xfe, 0xb6, 0x66, 0xf1,
+	0x92, 0x4d, 0x67, 0x2c, 0xee, 0x3e, 0x07, 0xe3, 0x78, 0x31, 0x49, 0x3f, 0x9b, 0x9b, 0xec, 0xd3,
+	0x3a, 0xae, 0x08, 0xf8, 0xd5, 0xff, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0xff, 0x8a, 0x69, 0x37, 0x92, 0x72,
+	0x05, 0x00, 0x00,
 }
diff --git a/protos/common/common.proto b/protos/common/common.proto
index 975c9ecd6bb..2e913e3ece4 100644
--- a/protos/common/common.proto
+++ b/protos/common/common.proto
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ enum HeaderType {
         CONFIGURATION_TRANSACTION = 1; // Used for messages which reconfigure the chain
         CONFIGURATION_ITEM = 2;        // Used inside of the the reconfiguration message for signing over ConfigurationItems
         ENDORSER_TRANSACTION = 3;      // Used by the SDK to submit endorser based transactions
+        ORDERER_TRANSACTION = 4;       // Used internally by the orderer for management
 }
 
 // This enum enlist indexes of the block metadata array
diff --git a/protos/orderer/ab.pb.go b/protos/orderer/ab.pb.go
index 8c43bb1234a..aa9381a61f4 100644
--- a/protos/orderer/ab.pb.go
+++ b/protos/orderer/ab.pb.go
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@ It has these top-level messages:
 	DeliverResponse
 	ConsensusType
 	BatchSize
+	CreationPolicy
+	ChainCreators
 */
 package orderer
 
diff --git a/protos/orderer/configuration.pb.go b/protos/orderer/configuration.pb.go
index fb96c8d5f40..1fe04e05fa6 100644
--- a/protos/orderer/configuration.pb.go
+++ b/protos/orderer/configuration.pb.go
@@ -33,25 +33,56 @@ func (m *BatchSize) String() string            { return proto.CompactTextString(
 func (*BatchSize) ProtoMessage()               {}
 func (*BatchSize) Descriptor() ([]byte, []int) { return fileDescriptor1, []int{1} }
 
+// When submitting a new chain configuration transaction to create a new chain, the first configuration item must of of type
+// Orderer with Key CreationPolicy and contents of a Marshaled CreationPolicy.  The policy should be set to the policy which
+// was supplied by the ordering service for the client's chain creation.  The digest should be the hash of the concatenation
+// of the remaining ConfigurationItem bytes.  The signatures of the configuration item should satisfy the policy for chain creation
+type CreationPolicy struct {
+	// The name of the policy which should be used to validate the creation of this chain
+	Policy string `protobuf:"bytes,1,opt,name=policy" json:"policy,omitempty"`
+	// The hash of the concatenation of remaining configuration item bytes
+	Digest []byte `protobuf:"bytes,2,opt,name=digest,proto3" json:"digest,omitempty"`
+}
+
+func (m *CreationPolicy) Reset()                    { *m = CreationPolicy{} }
+func (m *CreationPolicy) String() string            { return proto.CompactTextString(m) }
+func (*CreationPolicy) ProtoMessage()               {}
+func (*CreationPolicy) Descriptor() ([]byte, []int) { return fileDescriptor1, []int{2} }
+
+type ChainCreators struct {
+	// A list of policies, any of which may be specified as the chain creation policy in a chain creation request
+	Policies []string `protobuf:"bytes,1,rep,name=policies" json:"policies,omitempty"`
+}
+
+func (m *ChainCreators) Reset()                    { *m = ChainCreators{} }
+func (m *ChainCreators) String() string            { return proto.CompactTextString(m) }
+func (*ChainCreators) ProtoMessage()               {}
+func (*ChainCreators) Descriptor() ([]byte, []int) { return fileDescriptor1, []int{3} }
+
 func init() {
 	proto.RegisterType((*ConsensusType)(nil), "orderer.ConsensusType")
 	proto.RegisterType((*BatchSize)(nil), "orderer.BatchSize")
+	proto.RegisterType((*CreationPolicy)(nil), "orderer.CreationPolicy")
+	proto.RegisterType((*ChainCreators)(nil), "orderer.ChainCreators")
 }
 
 func init() { proto.RegisterFile("orderer/configuration.proto", fileDescriptor1) }
 
 var fileDescriptor1 = []byte{
-	// 177 bytes of a gzipped FileDescriptorProto
-	0x1f, 0x8b, 0x08, 0x00, 0x00, 0x09, 0x6e, 0x88, 0x02, 0xff, 0x3c, 0x8e, 0xb1, 0xca, 0xc2, 0x30,
-	0x14, 0x85, 0x29, 0xfc, 0xbf, 0xda, 0x80, 0x4b, 0x5c, 0xa4, 0x2e, 0x52, 0x07, 0x1d, 0xa4, 0x19,
-	0x7c, 0x83, 0xfa, 0x06, 0xd5, 0xc9, 0x2d, 0x4d, 0x6f, 0xd3, 0x80, 0xc9, 0x0d, 0x37, 0xe9, 0x50,
-	0x9f, 0x5e, 0x48, 0x8b, 0xd3, 0xbd, 0x1f, 0xdf, 0x81, 0x73, 0xd8, 0x01, 0xa9, 0x03, 0x02, 0x12,
-	0x0a, 0x5d, 0x6f, 0xf4, 0x48, 0x32, 0x1a, 0x74, 0x95, 0x27, 0x8c, 0xc8, 0xd7, 0x8b, 0x2c, 0x76,
-	0x0a, 0xad, 0x45, 0x27, 0xe6, 0x33, 0xdb, 0xf2, 0xc4, 0xb6, 0x77, 0x74, 0x01, 0x5c, 0x18, 0xc3,
-	0x73, 0xf2, 0xc0, 0x39, 0xfb, 0x8b, 0x93, 0x87, 0x7d, 0x76, 0xcc, 0x2e, 0x79, 0x93, 0xfe, 0xf2,
-	0xcc, 0xf2, 0x5a, 0x46, 0x35, 0x3c, 0xcc, 0x07, 0x78, 0xc1, 0x36, 0x16, 0x42, 0x90, 0x1a, 0x42,
-	0x0a, 0xfd, 0x37, 0x3f, 0xae, 0xab, 0xd7, 0x55, 0x9b, 0x38, 0x8c, 0x6d, 0xa5, 0xd0, 0x8a, 0x61,
-	0xf2, 0x40, 0x6f, 0xe8, 0x34, 0x90, 0xe8, 0x65, 0x4b, 0x46, 0x89, 0x54, 0x1a, 0xc4, 0x32, 0xa9,
-	0x5d, 0x25, 0xbe, 0x7d, 0x03, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0xff, 0xd1, 0x10, 0x57, 0x86, 0xc1, 0x00, 0x00,
-	0x00,
+	// 237 bytes of a gzipped FileDescriptorProto
+	0x1f, 0x8b, 0x08, 0x00, 0x00, 0x09, 0x6e, 0x88, 0x02, 0xff, 0x3c, 0x90, 0xc1, 0x4e, 0xf3, 0x30,
+	0x10, 0x84, 0x95, 0xff, 0x87, 0x42, 0x2c, 0xca, 0xc1, 0x48, 0xa8, 0x2a, 0x97, 0x2a, 0x1c, 0x88,
+	0x04, 0x8a, 0x0f, 0xbc, 0x00, 0x6a, 0x5e, 0x00, 0x05, 0x4e, 0xdc, 0x1c, 0x67, 0xeb, 0x58, 0x6a,
+	0xbc, 0xd6, 0xda, 0x39, 0x84, 0xa7, 0x47, 0xdd, 0x5a, 0x3d, 0x79, 0x3e, 0x8f, 0x3d, 0xa3, 0x5d,
+	0xf1, 0x84, 0x34, 0x00, 0x01, 0x29, 0x83, 0xfe, 0xe0, 0xec, 0x4c, 0x3a, 0x39, 0xf4, 0x4d, 0x20,
+	0x4c, 0x28, 0x6f, 0xb2, 0xb9, 0x7d, 0x30, 0x38, 0x4d, 0xe8, 0xd5, 0xf9, 0x38, 0xbb, 0xd5, 0xb3,
+	0x58, 0xb7, 0xe8, 0x23, 0xf8, 0x38, 0xc7, 0xef, 0x25, 0x80, 0x94, 0xe2, 0x2a, 0x2d, 0x01, 0x36,
+	0xc5, 0xae, 0xa8, 0xcb, 0x8e, 0x75, 0xf5, 0x22, 0xca, 0xbd, 0x4e, 0x66, 0xfc, 0x72, 0xbf, 0x20,
+	0xb7, 0xe2, 0x76, 0x82, 0x18, 0xb5, 0x85, 0xc8, 0x8f, 0xae, 0xbb, 0x0b, 0x57, 0x1f, 0xe2, 0xbe,
+	0x25, 0xe0, 0xf6, 0x4f, 0x3c, 0x3a, 0xb3, 0xc8, 0x47, 0xb1, 0x0a, 0xac, 0x72, 0x60, 0xa6, 0xd3,
+	0xfd, 0xe0, 0x2c, 0xc4, 0xb4, 0xf9, 0xb7, 0x2b, 0xea, 0xbb, 0x2e, 0x53, 0xf5, 0x2a, 0xd6, 0xed,
+	0xa8, 0x9d, 0xe7, 0x18, 0xa4, 0x78, 0xaa, 0xe3, 0x2f, 0x8e, 0xeb, 0xfe, 0xd7, 0x65, 0x77, 0xe1,
+	0x7d, 0xf3, 0xf3, 0x66, 0x5d, 0x1a, 0xe7, 0xbe, 0x31, 0x38, 0xa9, 0x71, 0x09, 0x40, 0x47, 0x18,
+	0x2c, 0x90, 0x3a, 0xe8, 0x9e, 0x9c, 0x51, 0x3c, 0x63, 0x54, 0x79, 0x03, 0xfd, 0x8a, 0xf9, 0xfd,
+	0x2f, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0xff, 0xbe, 0x3d, 0xf4, 0x97, 0x30, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00,
 }
diff --git a/protos/orderer/configuration.proto b/protos/orderer/configuration.proto
index 015c7366cd0..1ade0e39e6f 100644
--- a/protos/orderer/configuration.proto
+++ b/protos/orderer/configuration.proto
@@ -37,3 +37,21 @@ message BatchSize {
     // Simply specified as messages for now, in the future we may want to allow this to be specified by size in bytes
     int32 messages = 1;
 }
+
+// When submitting a new chain configuration transaction to create a new chain, the first configuration
+// item must be of type Orderer with Key CreationPolicy and contents of a Marshaled CreationPolicy. The
+// policy should be set to the policy which was supplied by the ordering service for the client's chain
+// creation. The digest should be the hash of the concatenation of the remaining ConfigurationItem bytes.
+// The signatures of the configuration item should satisfy the policy for chain creation.
+message CreationPolicy {
+    // The name of the policy which should be used to validate the creation of this chain
+    string policy = 1;
+
+    // The hash of the concatenation of remaining configuration item bytes
+    bytes digest = 2;
+}
+
+message ChainCreators {
+    // A list of policies, any of which may be specified as the chain creation policy in a chain creation request
+    repeated string policies = 1;
+}