diff --git a/logstash/handler_tcp.py b/logstash/handler_tcp.py
index cc687bd..09fa55e 100644
--- a/logstash/handler_tcp.py
+++ b/logstash/handler_tcp.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-from logging.handlers import DatagramHandler, SocketHandler
+import ssl
+from logging.handlers import SocketHandler
 from logstash import formatter
 
 
@@ -12,10 +13,22 @@ class TCPLogstashHandler(SocketHandler, object):
     :param fqdn; Indicates whether to show fully qualified domain name or not (default False).
     :param version: version of logstash event schema (default is 0).
     :param tags: list of tags for a logger (default is None).
+    :param ssl: Should SSL be enabled for the connection? Default is True.
+    :param ssl_verify: Should the server's SSL certificate be verified?
+    :param keyfile: The path to client side SSL key file (default is None).
+    :param certfile: The path to client side SSL certificate file (default is None).
+    :param ca_certs: The path to the file containing recognised CA certificates.
     """
 
-    def __init__(self, host, port=5959, message_type='logstash', tags=None, fqdn=False, version=0):
+    def __init__(self, host, port=5959, message_type='logstash', tags=None, fqdn=False, version=0, ssl=True, ssl_verify=True, keyfile=None, certfile=None, ca_certs=None):
         super(TCPLogstashHandler, self).__init__(host, port)
+
+        self.ssl = ssl
+        self.ssl_verify = ssl_verify
+        self.keyfile = keyfile
+        self.certfile = certfile
+        self.ca_certs = ca_certs
+
         if version == 1:
             self.formatter = formatter.LogstashFormatterVersion1(message_type, tags, fqdn)
         else:
@@ -23,3 +36,16 @@ def __init__(self, host, port=5959, message_type='logstash', tags=None, fqdn=Fal
 
     def makePickle(self, record):
         return self.formatter.format(record) + b'\n'
+
+    def makeSocket(self, timeout=1):
+        s = super(TCPLogstashHandler, self).makeSocket(timeout)
+        cert_reqs = ssl.CERT_REQUIRED
+        if not self.ssl_verify:
+            if self.ca_certs:
+                cert_reqs = ssl.CERT_OPTIONAL
+            else:
+                cert_reqs = ssl.CERT_NONE
+
+        if self.ssl:
+            return ssl.wrap_socket(s, keyfile=self.keyfile, certfile=self.certfile, ca_certs=self.ca_certs, cert_reqs=cert_reqs)
+        return s