diff --git a/lib/options.js b/lib/options.js
index ad53b8ef89..ce090e9089 100644
--- a/lib/options.js
+++ b/lib/options.js
@@ -28,7 +28,10 @@ function defaultOptions() {
             host: process.env.DATABASE_HOST,
             port: process.env.DATABASE_PORT || 5432,
             database: process.env.DATABASE_NAME || 'unleash',
-            ssl: process.env.DATABASE_SSL,
+            ssl:
+                process.env.DATABASE_SSL != null
+                    ? JSON.parse(process.env.DATABASE_SSL)
+                    : false,
             driver: 'postgres',
         },
         port: process.env.HTTP_PORT || process.env.PORT || 4242,