diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1936ce7..e5d996b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -100,6 +100,28 @@ linters:
       - '**/local-lib/**/*'
 ```
 
+## Severity
+
+You can specify the severity of each linter. The severity can be `info`, `refactor`, `convention`, `warning`, `error` or `fatal`. By default the severity of all linters is `error`.
+
+Linters with severity less than `error` will not be included in the total count of errors and will not cause the command to exit with a non-zero status.
+
+```yaml
+---
+linters:
+  ErbSafety:
+    enabled: true
+    severity: info
+```
+
+You can set a custom severity for the command running `erblint` with the `--fail-level` option, this will set the minimum severity level to consider when exiting with a non-zero status.
+
+```sh
+# will exit with a non-zero status if there are any linters with
+# severity warning or greater
+erblint foo.erb --fail-level W
+```
+
 ## Linters
 
 | Available Linters                                | Default  | Description |
diff --git a/lib/erb_lint/cli.rb b/lib/erb_lint/cli.rb
index ee95c75..87570e7 100644
--- a/lib/erb_lint/cli.rb
+++ b/lib/erb_lint/cli.rb
@@ -362,7 +362,16 @@ def option_parser
           @options[:enabled_linters] = linters
         end
 
-        opts.on("--fail-level SEVERITY", "Minimum severity for exit with error code") do |level|
+        opts.on(
+          "--fail-level SEVERITY",
+          "Minimum severity for exit with error code.",
+          "   [I] info",
+          "   [R] refactor",
+          "   [C] convention",
+          "   [W] warning",
+          "   [E] error",
+          "   [F] fatal",
+        ) do |level|
           parsed_severity = SEVERITY_CODE_TABLE[level.upcase.to_sym] || (SEVERITY_NAMES & [level.downcase]).first
 
           if parsed_severity.nil?
diff --git a/lib/erb_lint/linter_config.rb b/lib/erb_lint/linter_config.rb
index 1e5c3d8..0c91ee1 100644
--- a/lib/erb_lint/linter_config.rb
+++ b/lib/erb_lint/linter_config.rb
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 require "active_support"
 require "smart_properties"
+require "erb_lint/utils/severity_levels"
 
 module ERBLint
   class LinterConfig
@@ -21,6 +22,11 @@ def to_array_of(klass)
 
     property :enabled, accepts: [true, false], default: false, reader: :enabled?
     property :exclude, accepts: array_of?(String), default: -> { [] }
+    property :severity,
+      accepts: ERBLint::Utils::SeverityLevels::SEVERITY_NAMES,
+      default: :error,
+      reader: :severity,
+      converts: lambda { |value| value.to_sym }
 
     def initialize(config = {})
       config = config.dup.deep_stringify_keys
diff --git a/lib/erb_lint/offense.rb b/lib/erb_lint/offense.rb
index 07e73bf..07f7983 100644
--- a/lib/erb_lint/offense.rb
+++ b/lib/erb_lint/offense.rb
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ def initialize(linter, source_range, message, context = nil, severity = nil)
       @source_range = source_range
       @message = message
       @context = context
-      @severity = severity
+      @severity = severity || linter.config.severity
       @disabled = false
     end
 
diff --git a/spec/erb_lint/linter_config_spec.rb b/spec/erb_lint/linter_config_spec.rb
index 52f4c67..c0b0617 100644
--- a/spec/erb_lint/linter_config_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/erb_lint/linter_config_spec.rb
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
         let(:config_hash) { {} }
 
         it "returns default config" do
-          expect(subject).to(eq("enabled" => false, "exclude" => []))
+          expect(subject).to(eq("enabled" => false, "exclude" => [], "severity" => :error))
         end
       end
 
@@ -97,6 +97,40 @@ class CustomConfig < described_class
       end
     end
 
+    describe "#severity" do
+      subject { linter_config.severity }
+
+      context "when no severity is set" do
+        let(:config_hash) { {} }
+        it { expect(subject).to(eq(:error)) }
+      end
+
+      describe "when severity is a valid value" do
+        valid_severities = ERBLint::Utils::SeverityLevels::SEVERITY_NAMES
+
+        valid_severities.each do |severity|
+          context "when severity is #{severity}" do
+            let(:config_hash) { { severity: severity } }
+            it { expect(subject).to(eq(severity)) }
+          end
+        end
+      end
+
+      context "when severity is an invalid value" do
+        let(:config_hash) { { severity: "bogus" } }
+
+        it do
+          expect { subject }.to(
+            raise_error(
+              described_class::Error,
+              "ERBLint::LinterConfig does not accept :bogus as value for the property severity. Only accepts: \
+[:info, :refactor, :convention, :warning, :error, :fatal]",
+            ),
+          )
+        end
+      end
+    end
+
     describe "#excludes_file?" do
       context "when glob matches" do
         let(:config_hash) { { exclude: ["vendor/**/*"] } }
diff --git a/spec/erb_lint/runner_config_spec.rb b/spec/erb_lint/runner_config_spec.rb
index 91bba34..1efc085 100644
--- a/spec/erb_lint/runner_config_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/erb_lint/runner_config_spec.rb
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ class MySchema < ERBLint::LinterConfig
 
         it { expect(subject.class).to(eq(ERBLint::Linters::FinalNewline::ConfigSchema)) }
         it "fills linter config with defaults from schema" do
-          expect(subject.to_hash).to(eq("enabled" => false, "exclude" => [], "present" => true))
+          expect(subject.to_hash).to(eq("enabled" => false, "exclude" => [], "present" => true, "severity" => :error))
         end
         it "is disabled by default" do
           expect(subject.enabled?).to(eq(false))