diff --git a/go/flags/endtoend/vtorc.txt b/go/flags/endtoend/vtorc.txt
index 18b5e236f74..7c7e4502587 100644
--- a/go/flags/endtoend/vtorc.txt
+++ b/go/flags/endtoend/vtorc.txt
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ vtorc \
 
 Flags:
       --allow-emergency-reparent                                    Whether VTOrc should be allowed to run emergency reparent operation when it detects a dead primary (default true)
+      --allow-recovery                                              Whether VTOrc should be allowed to run recovery actions (default true)
       --alsologtostderr                                             log to standard error as well as files
       --audit-file-location string                                  File location where the audit logs are to be stored
       --audit-purge-duration duration                               Duration for which audit logs are held before being purged. Should be in multiples of days (default 168h0m0s)
diff --git a/go/test/endtoend/vtorc/readtopologyinstance/main_test.go b/go/test/endtoend/vtorc/readtopologyinstance/main_test.go
index e3b55d64c6b..f79caeae08a 100644
--- a/go/test/endtoend/vtorc/readtopologyinstance/main_test.go
+++ b/go/test/endtoend/vtorc/readtopologyinstance/main_test.go
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ func TestReadTopologyInstanceBufferable(t *testing.T) {
 		"--topo_global_root", clusterInfo.ClusterInstance.VtctlProcess.TopoGlobalRoot,
 	}
 	servenv.ParseFlags("vtorc")
+	config.Config.AllowRecovery = true
 	config.Config.RecoveryPeriodBlockSeconds = 1
 	config.Config.InstancePollSeconds = 1
 	config.MarkConfigurationLoaded()
diff --git a/go/vt/vtorc/config/config.go b/go/vt/vtorc/config/config.go
index 5c020631748..8175bcb0d8b 100644
--- a/go/vt/vtorc/config/config.go
+++ b/go/vt/vtorc/config/config.go
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ var (
 	tolerableReplicationLag        = 0 * time.Second
 	topoInformationRefreshDuration = 15 * time.Second
 	recoveryPollDuration           = 1 * time.Second
+	allowRecovery                  = true
 	ersEnabled                     = true
 	convertTabletsWithErrantGTIDs  = false
 )
@@ -83,6 +84,7 @@ func RegisterFlags(fs *pflag.FlagSet) {
 	fs.DurationVar(&tolerableReplicationLag, "tolerable-replication-lag", tolerableReplicationLag, "Amount of replication lag that is considered acceptable for a tablet to be eligible for promotion when Vitess makes the choice of a new primary in PRS")
 	fs.DurationVar(&topoInformationRefreshDuration, "topo-information-refresh-duration", topoInformationRefreshDuration, "Timer duration on which VTOrc refreshes the keyspace and vttablet records from the topology server")
 	fs.DurationVar(&recoveryPollDuration, "recovery-poll-duration", recoveryPollDuration, "Timer duration on which VTOrc polls its database to run a recovery")
+	fs.BoolVar(&allowRecovery, "allow-recovery", allowRecovery, "Whether VTOrc should be allowed to run recovery actions")
 	fs.BoolVar(&ersEnabled, "allow-emergency-reparent", ersEnabled, "Whether VTOrc should be allowed to run emergency reparent operation when it detects a dead primary")
 	fs.BoolVar(&convertTabletsWithErrantGTIDs, "change-tablets-with-errant-gtid-to-drained", convertTabletsWithErrantGTIDs, "Whether VTOrc should be changing the type of tablets with errant GTIDs to DRAINED")
 }
@@ -106,6 +108,7 @@ type Configuration struct {
 	WaitReplicasTimeoutSeconds            int    // Timeout on amount of time to wait for the replicas in case of ERS. Should be a small value because we should fail-fast. Should not be larger than LockTimeout since that is the total time we use for an ERS.
 	TolerableReplicationLagSeconds        int    // Amount of replication lag that is considered acceptable for a tablet to be eligible for promotion when Vitess makes the choice of a new primary in PRS.
 	TopoInformationRefreshSeconds         int    // Timer duration on which VTOrc refreshes the keyspace and vttablet records from the topo-server.
+	AllowRecovery                         bool   // Allow recoveries.
 	RecoveryPollSeconds                   int    // Timer duration on which VTOrc recovery analysis runs
 }
 
@@ -137,6 +140,7 @@ func UpdateConfigValuesFromFlags() {
 	Config.WaitReplicasTimeoutSeconds = int(waitReplicasTimeout / time.Second)
 	Config.TolerableReplicationLagSeconds = int(tolerableReplicationLag / time.Second)
 	Config.TopoInformationRefreshSeconds = int(topoInformationRefreshDuration / time.Second)
+	Config.AllowRecovery = allowRecovery
 	Config.RecoveryPollSeconds = int(recoveryPollDuration / time.Second)
 }
 
@@ -150,6 +154,11 @@ func SetERSEnabled(val bool) {
 	ersEnabled = val
 }
 
+// GetAllowRecovery is a getter function.
+func GetAllowRecovery() bool {
+	return allowRecovery
+}
+
 // ConvertTabletWithErrantGTIDs reports whether VTOrc is allowed to change the tablet type of tablets with errant GTIDs to DRAINED.
 func ConvertTabletWithErrantGTIDs() bool {
 	return convertTabletsWithErrantGTIDs
@@ -181,6 +190,7 @@ func newConfiguration() *Configuration {
 		PreventCrossDataCenterPrimaryFailover: false,
 		WaitReplicasTimeoutSeconds:            30,
 		TopoInformationRefreshSeconds:         15,
+		AllowRecovery:                         true,
 		RecoveryPollSeconds:                   1,
 	}
 }
diff --git a/go/vt/vtorc/logic/vtorc.go b/go/vt/vtorc/logic/vtorc.go
index 6fe06c70e6a..f1f8839c978 100644
--- a/go/vt/vtorc/logic/vtorc.go
+++ b/go/vt/vtorc/logic/vtorc.go
@@ -355,6 +355,14 @@ func ContinuousDiscovery() {
 	checkAndRecoverWaitPeriod := 3 * instancePollSecondsDuration()
 	recentDiscoveryOperationKeys = cache.New(instancePollSecondsDuration(), time.Second)
 
+	if !config.GetAllowRecovery() {
+		log.Info("--allow-recovery is set to 'false', disabling recovery actions")
+		if err := DisableRecovery(); err != nil {
+			log.Errorf("failed to disable recoveries: %+v", err)
+			return
+		}
+	}
+
 	go handleDiscoveryRequests()
 
 	healthTick := time.Tick(config.HealthPollSeconds * time.Second)