diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 7fc40d6279a..d70224b917a 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 ## dbt 0.20.0 (Release TBD)
 
+### Features
+- Support optional `updated_at` config parameter with `check` strategy snapshots. If not supplied, will use current timestamp (default). ([#1844](https://github.com/fishtown-analytics/dbt/issues/1844), [#3376](https://github.com/fishtown-analytics/dbt/pull/3376))
+
 ### Fixes
 - Fix compiled sql for ephemeral models ([#3317](https://github.com/fishtown-analytics/dbt/issues/3317), [#3318](https://github.com/fishtown-analytics/dbt/pull/3318))
 - Now generating `run_results.json` even when no nodes are selected ([#3313](https://github.com/fishtown-analytics/dbt/issues/3313), [#3315](https://github.com/fishtown-analytics/dbt/pull/3315))
@@ -23,6 +26,7 @@ Contributors:
 - [@elikastelein](https://github.com/elikastelein) ([#3149](https://github.com/fishtown-analytics/dbt/pull/3149))
 - [@majidaldo](https://github.com/majidaldo) ([#3134](https://github.com/fishtown-analytics/dbt/issues/3134))
 - [@jaypeedevlin](https://github.com/jaypeedevlin) ([#2999](https://github.com/fishtown-analytics/dbt/issues/2999))
+- [@PJGaetan](https://github.com/PJGaetan) ([#3315](https://github.com/fishtown-analytics/dbt/pull/3376))
 
 ## dbt 0.20.0b1 (May 03, 2021)
 
diff --git a/core/dbt/include/global_project/macros/materializations/snapshot/strategies.sql b/core/dbt/include/global_project/macros/materializations/snapshot/strategies.sql
index 569e213e227..1d35c71290c 100644
--- a/core/dbt/include/global_project/macros/materializations/snapshot/strategies.sql
+++ b/core/dbt/include/global_project/macros/materializations/snapshot/strategies.sql
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@
     {% if now is none or now is undefined -%}
         {%- do exceptions.raise_compiler_error('Could not get a snapshot start time from the database') -%}
     {%- endif %}
-    {% set updated_at = snapshot_string_as_time(now) %}
+    {% set updated_at = config.get('updated_at', snapshot_string_as_time(now)) %}
 
     {% set column_added = false %}
 
diff --git a/test/integration/004_simple_snapshot_test/test_simple_snapshot.py b/test/integration/004_simple_snapshot_test/test_simple_snapshot.py
index a2130f742bd..ffd8dbf2028 100644
--- a/test/integration/004_simple_snapshot_test/test_simple_snapshot.py
+++ b/test/integration/004_simple_snapshot_test/test_simple_snapshot.py
@@ -577,6 +577,53 @@ def project_config(self):
         }
 
 
+class TestUpdatedAtCheckCols(TestCheckCols):
+     def _assertTablesEqualSql(self, relation_a, relation_b, columns=None):
+         revived_records = self.run_sql(
+             '''
+             select
+                 id,
+                 updated_at,
+                 dbt_valid_from
+             from {}
+             '''.format(relation_b),
+             fetch='all'
+         )
+
+         for result in revived_records:
+             # result is a tuple, the updated_at is second and dbt_valid_from is latest
+             self.assertIsInstance(result[1], datetime)
+             self.assertIsInstance(result[2], datetime)
+             self.assertEqual(result[1].replace(tzinfo=pytz.UTC), result[2].replace(tzinfo=pytz.UTC))
+
+         if columns is None:
+             columns = [c for c in self.get_relation_columns(relation_a) if not c[0].lower().startswith('dbt_')]
+         return super()._assertTablesEqualSql(relation_a, relation_b, columns=columns)
+
+     def assert_expected(self):
+         super().assert_expected()
+         self.assertTablesEqual('snapshot_checkall', 'snapshot_expected')
+
+
+     @property
+     def project_config(self):
+         return {
+             'config-version': 2,
+             "data-paths": ['data'],
+             "snapshot-paths": ['test-check-col-snapshots-noconfig'],
+             "snapshots": {
+                 "test": {
+                     "target_schema": self.unique_schema(),
+                     "unique_key": "id || '-' || first_name",
+                     "strategy": "check",
+                     "check_cols" : "all",
+                     "updated_at": "updated_at",
+                 },
+             },
+             'macro-paths': ['macros'],
+         }
+
+
 class TestCheckColsBigquery(TestSimpleSnapshotFilesBigquery):
     def _assertTablesEqualSql(self, relation_a, relation_b, columns=None):
         # When building the equality tests, only test columns that don't start