diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index 2163b254..fb20185f 100644
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -61,6 +61,8 @@ ver. 0.10.3-dev-1 (20??/??/??) - development edition
   e. g. date-pattern `^\[{LEPOCH}\]\s+:` will match and cut out `[1516469849551000] :` from begin of the log-line.
 * badips.py now uses https instead of plain http when requesting badips.com (gh-2057);
 * add support for "any" badips.py bancategory, to be able to retrieve IPs from all categories with a desired score (gh-2056);
+* Introduced new parameter `padding` for logging within fail2ban-server (default on, excepting SYSLOG):
+  Usage `logtarget = target[padding=on|off]`
 
 
 ver. 0.10.2 (2018/01/18) - nothing-burns-like-the-cold
diff --git a/fail2ban/helpers.py b/fail2ban/helpers.py
index 6a3ed2fd..7d6b5ce2 100644
--- a/fail2ban/helpers.py
+++ b/fail2ban/helpers.py
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ def str2LogLevel(value):
 		raise ValueError("Invalid log level %r" % value)
 	return ll
 
-def getVerbosityFormat(verbosity, fmt=' %(message)s', addtime=True):
+def getVerbosityFormat(verbosity, fmt=' %(message)s', addtime=True, padding=True):
 	"""Custom log format for the verbose runs
 	"""
 	if verbosity > 1: # pragma: no cover
@@ -155,6 +155,13 @@ def getVerbosityFormat(verbosity, fmt=' %(message)s', addtime=True):
 			fmt = ' %(thread)X %(levelname)-5.5s' + fmt
 			if addtime:
 				fmt = ' %(asctime)-15s' + fmt
+	else: # default (not verbose):
+		fmt = "%(name)-23.23s [%(process)d]: %(levelname)-7s" + fmt
+		if addtime:
+			fmt = "%(asctime)s " + fmt
+	# remove padding if not needed:
+	if not padding:
+		fmt = re.sub(r'(?<=\))-?\d+(?:\.\d+)?s', lambda m: 's', fmt)
 	return fmt
 
 
diff --git a/fail2ban/server/server.py b/fail2ban/server/server.py
index 039dd879..17cfe016 100644
--- a/fail2ban/server/server.py
+++ b/fail2ban/server/server.py
@@ -565,10 +565,12 @@ class Server:
 			if systarget == "INHERITED":
 				self.__logTarget = target
 				return True
+			padding = logOptions.get('padding')
 			# set a format which is simpler for console use
-			fmt = "%(name)-23.23s [%(process)d]: %(levelname)-7s %(message)s"
 			if systarget == "SYSLOG":
 				facility = logOptions.get('facility', 'DAEMON').upper()
+				# backwards compatibility - default no padding for syslog handler:
+				if padding is None: padding = '0'
 				try:
 					facility = getattr(logging.handlers.SysLogHandler, 'LOG_' + facility)
 				except AttributeError: # pragma: no cover
@@ -629,15 +631,19 @@ class Server:
 				addtime = addtime in ('1', 'on', 'true', 'yes')
 			else:
 				addtime = systarget not in ("SYSLOG", "SYSOUT")
+			if padding is not None:
+				padding = padding in ('1', 'on', 'true', 'yes') 
+			else:
+				padding = True
 			# If log-format is redefined in options:
 			if logOptions.get('format', '') != '':
 				fmt = logOptions.get('format')
-			# verbose log-format:
-			elif self.__verbose is not None and self.__verbose > 2: # pragma: no cover
-				fmt = getVerbosityFormat(self.__verbose-1,
-					addtime=addtime)
-			elif addtime:
-				fmt = "%(asctime)s " + fmt
+			else:
+				# verbose log-format:
+				verbose = 0
+				if self.__verbose is not None and self.__verbose > 2: # pragma: no cover
+					verbose = self.__verbose-1
+				fmt = getVerbosityFormat(verbose, addtime=addtime, padding=padding)
 			# tell the handler to use this format
 			hdlr.setFormatter(logging.Formatter(fmt))
 			logger.addHandler(hdlr)
diff --git a/fail2ban/tests/servertestcase.py b/fail2ban/tests/servertestcase.py
index d18b660c..c207311d 100644
--- a/fail2ban/tests/servertestcase.py
+++ b/fail2ban/tests/servertestcase.py
@@ -832,7 +832,7 @@ class TransmitterLogging(TransmitterBase):
 			os.remove(logTarget)
 
 		self.setGetTest("logtarget", 'STDOUT[format="%(message)s"]', 'STDOUT')
-		self.setGetTest("logtarget", 'STDERR[datetime=off]', 'STDERR')
+		self.setGetTest("logtarget", 'STDERR[datetime=off, padding=off]', 'STDERR')
 
 	def testLogTargetSYSLOG(self):
 		if not os.path.exists("/dev/log"):