diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/env_config.rb b/Library/Homebrew/env_config.rb
index 108218aed0..e47f1ab848 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/env_config.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/env_config.rb
@@ -111,6 +111,10 @@ module Homebrew
         description: "Output this many lines of output on formula `system` failures.",
         default:     15,
       },
+      HOMEBREW_FORBIDDEN_LICENSES:        {
+        description: "A space-separated list of licenses. Homebrew will refuse to install a " \
+        "formula if that formula or any of its dependencies has a license on this list.",
+      },
       HOMEBREW_FORCE_BREWED_CURL:         {
         description: "If set, always use a Homebrew-installed `curl`(1) rather than the system version. " \
                      "Automatically set if the system version of `curl` is too old.",
diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/formula_installer.rb b/Library/Homebrew/formula_installer.rb
index f6a251b209..2ce2787f0c 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/formula_installer.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/formula_installer.rb
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ require "linkage_checker"
 require "install"
 require "messages"
 require "cask/cask_loader"
+require "cmd/install"
 require "find"
 
 class FormulaInstaller
@@ -148,6 +149,8 @@ class FormulaInstaller
   def prelude
     Tab.clear_cache
     verify_deps_exist unless ignore_deps?
+    forbidden_license_check
+
     check_install_sanity
   end
 
@@ -1102,4 +1105,27 @@ class FormulaInstaller
 
     $stderr.puts @requirement_messages
   end
+
+  def forbidden_license_check
+    forbidden_licenses = Homebrew::EnvConfig.forbidden_licenses.to_s.split(" ")
+    return if forbidden_licenses.blank?
+
+    compute_dependencies.each do |dep, _|
+      next if @ignore_deps
+
+      dep_f = dep.to_formula
+      next unless forbidden_licenses.include? dep_f.license
+
+      raise CannotInstallFormulaError, <<~EOS
+        The installation of #{formula.name} has a dependency on #{dep.name} with a forbidden license #{dep_f.license}.
+      EOS
+    end
+    return if @only_deps
+
+    return unless forbidden_licenses.include? formula.license
+
+    raise CannotInstallFormulaError, <<~EOS
+      #{formula.name} has a forbidden license #{formula.license}.
+    EOS
+  end
 end
diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/test/support/helper/spec/shared_context/integration_test.rb b/Library/Homebrew/test/support/helper/spec/shared_context/integration_test.rb
index 7ecb936ec8..619eae5c80 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/test/support/helper/spec/shared_context/integration_test.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/test/support/helper/spec/shared_context/integration_test.rb
@@ -161,6 +161,12 @@ RSpec.shared_context "integration test" do
       content = <<~RUBY
         url "https://brew.sh/#{name}-1.0"
       RUBY
+
+    when "package_license"
+      content = <<~RUBY
+        url "https://brew.sh/#patchelf-1.0"
+        license "0BSD"
+      RUBY
     end
 
     Formulary.core_path(name).tap do |formula_path|
diff --git a/docs/Manpage.md b/docs/Manpage.md
index 2aa5bc9ed3..f6651dd689 100644
--- a/docs/Manpage.md
+++ b/docs/Manpage.md
@@ -1394,6 +1394,9 @@ Note that environment variables must have a value set to be detected. For exampl
 
     *Default:* `15`.
 
+  * `HOMEBREW_FORBIDDEN_LICENSES`:
+    A space-separated list of licenses. Homebrew will refuse to install a formula if that formula or any of its dependencies has a license on this list.
+
   * `HOMEBREW_FORCE_BREWED_CURL`:
     If set, always use a Homebrew-installed `curl`(1) rather than the system version. Automatically set if the system version of `curl` is too old.
 
diff --git a/manpages/brew.1 b/manpages/brew.1
index 525eeddfd8..28951194e7 100644
--- a/manpages/brew.1
+++ b/manpages/brew.1
@@ -1799,6 +1799,10 @@ Output this many lines of output on formula \fBsystem\fR failures\.
 \fIDefault:\fR \fB15\fR\.
 .
 .TP
+\fBHOMEBREW_FORBIDDEN_LICENSES\fR
+A space\-separated list of licenses\. Homebrew will refuse to install a formula if that formula or any of its dependencies has a license on this list\.
+.
+.TP
 \fBHOMEBREW_FORCE_BREWED_CURL\fR
 If set, always use a Homebrew\-installed \fBcurl\fR(1) rather than the system version\. Automatically set if the system version of \fBcurl\fR is too old\.
 .