diff --git a/eth/handler.go b/eth/handler.go
index c2426544f6..3fae0cd00d 100644
--- a/eth/handler.go
+++ b/eth/handler.go
@@ -249,7 +249,8 @@ func (pm *ProtocolManager) newPeer(pv int, p *p2p.Peer, rw p2p.MsgReadWriter) *p
 // handle is the callback invoked to manage the life cycle of an eth peer. When
 // this function terminates, the peer is disconnected.
 func (pm *ProtocolManager) handle(p *peer) error {
-	if pm.peers.Len() >= pm.maxPeers {
+	// Ignore maxPeers if this is a trusted peer
+	if pm.peers.Len() >= pm.maxPeers && !p.Peer.Info().Network.Trusted {
 		return p2p.DiscTooManyPeers
 	}
 	p.Log().Debug("Ethereum peer connected", "name", p.Name())
diff --git a/les/handler.go b/les/handler.go
index 864abe605a..9627f392be 100644
--- a/les/handler.go
+++ b/les/handler.go
@@ -260,7 +260,8 @@ func (pm *ProtocolManager) newPeer(pv int, nv uint64, p *p2p.Peer, rw p2p.MsgRea
 // handle is the callback invoked to manage the life cycle of a les peer. When
 // this function terminates, the peer is disconnected.
 func (pm *ProtocolManager) handle(p *peer) error {
-	if pm.peers.Len() >= pm.maxPeers {
+	// Ignore maxPeers if this is a trusted peer
+	if pm.peers.Len() >= pm.maxPeers && !p.Peer.Info().Network.Trusted {
 		return p2p.DiscTooManyPeers
 	}