diff --git a/linkerd/tracing/src/access_log.rs b/linkerd/tracing/src/access_log.rs
index d79ee63771..6e22fd97b3 100644
--- a/linkerd/tracing/src/access_log.rs
+++ b/linkerd/tracing/src/access_log.rs
@@ -10,8 +10,10 @@ use tracing_subscriber::{
 
 pub const TRACE_TARGET: &str = "_access_log";
 
-pub(super) type AccessLogLayer<S> = Filtered<Writer, FilterFn, S>;
+pub(super) type AccessLogLayer<S> =
+    Filtered<Box<dyn Layer<S> + Send + Sync + 'static>, FilterFn, S>;
 
+#[derive(Default)]
 pub(super) struct Writer<F = ApacheCommon> {
     formatter: F,
 }
@@ -21,16 +23,27 @@ pub(super) struct ApacheCommon {
     _p: (),
 }
 
+#[derive(Copy, Clone, Debug)]
+pub(super) enum Format {
+    Apache,
+    Json,
+}
+
 struct ApacheCommonVisitor<'writer> {
     res: fmt::Result,
     writer: format::Writer<'writer>,
 }
 
-pub(super) fn build<S>() -> (AccessLogLayer<S>, Directive)
+pub(super) fn build<S>(format: Format) -> (AccessLogLayer<S>, Directive)
 where
     S: Subscriber + for<'span> LookupSpan<'span>,
 {
-    let writer = Writer::new().with_filter(
+    let writer: Box<dyn Layer<S> + Send + Sync + 'static> = match format {
+        Format::Apache => Box::new(Writer::<ApacheCommon>::default()),
+        Format::Json => Box::new(Writer::<format::JsonFields>::default()),
+    };
+
+    let writer = writer.with_filter(
         FilterFn::new(
             (|meta| meta.level() == &Level::INFO && meta.target().starts_with(TRACE_TARGET))
                 as fn(&Metadata<'_>) -> bool,
@@ -49,14 +62,6 @@ where
 
 // === impl Writer ===
 
-impl Writer {
-    pub fn new() -> Self {
-        Self {
-            formatter: Default::default(),
-        }
-    }
-}
-
 impl<S, F> Layer<S> for Writer<F>
 where
     S: Subscriber + for<'span> LookupSpan<'span>,
@@ -154,3 +159,16 @@ impl field::Visit for ApacheCommonVisitor<'_> {
         }
     }
 }
+
+// === impl Format ===
+
+impl std::str::FromStr for Format {
+    type Err = &'static str;
+    fn from_str(s: &str) -> Result<Self, Self::Err> {
+        match s {
+            s if s.eq_ignore_ascii_case("json") => Ok(Self::Json),
+            s if s.eq_ignore_ascii_case("apache") => Ok(Self::Apache),
+            _ => Err("expected either 'apache' or 'json'"),
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/linkerd/tracing/src/lib.rs b/linkerd/tracing/src/lib.rs
index 99da69f464..a9f1e72dfb 100644
--- a/linkerd/tracing/src/lib.rs
+++ b/linkerd/tracing/src/lib.rs
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ const DEFAULT_LOG_FORMAT: &str = "PLAIN";
 pub struct Settings {
     filter: Option<String>,
     format: Option<String>,
-    access_log: bool,
+    access_log: Option<access_log::Format>,
     is_test: bool,
 }
 
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ impl Settings {
         Some(Self {
             filter,
             format: std::env::var(ENV_LOG_FORMAT).ok(),
-            access_log: std::env::var(ENV_ACCESS_LOG).is_ok(),
+            access_log: Self::access_log_format(),
             is_test: false,
         })
     }
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ impl Settings {
         Self {
             filter: Some(filter),
             format: Some(format),
-            access_log: false,
+            access_log: Self::access_log_format(),
             is_test: true,
         }
     }
@@ -102,6 +102,17 @@ impl Settings {
             .to_uppercase()
     }
 
+    fn access_log_format() -> Option<access_log::Format> {
+        let env = std::env::var(ENV_ACCESS_LOG).ok()?;
+        match env.parse() {
+            Ok(format) => Some(format),
+            Err(err) => {
+                eprintln!("Invalid {}={:?}: {}", ENV_ACCESS_LOG, env, err);
+                None
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     fn mk_json<S>(&self) -> Box<dyn Layer<S> + Send + Sync + 'static>
     where
         S: Subscriber + for<'span> LookupSpan<'span>,
@@ -154,8 +165,8 @@ impl Settings {
         let mut filter = EnvFilter::new(log_level);
 
         // If access logging is enabled, build the access log layer.
-        let access_log = if self.access_log {
-            let (access_log, directive) = access_log::build();
+        let access_log = if let Some(format) = self.access_log {
+            let (access_log, directive) = access_log::build(format);
             filter = filter.add_directive(directive);
             Some(access_log)
         } else {