diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 89e64655..554b09dc 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -81,10 +81,15 @@ endif
 	# generate the changelog in this case, ensure that the current folder is
 	# a git repository
 	if git rev-parse HEAD && [ -e "/snap/$(SNAP_NAME)/current/usr/share/snappy/dpkg.yaml" ]; then \
+		CHG_PARAMS=; \
+		if [ -e /build/$(SNAP_NAME) ]; then \
+			CHG_PARAMS=--launchpad; \
+		fi; \
 		./tools/generate-changelog.py \
 			"/snap/$(SNAP_NAME)/current" \
 			"$(DESTDIR)" \
-			"$(SNAP_NAME)"; \
+			"$(SNAP_NAME)" \
+			$$CHG_PARAMS; \
 	else \
 		echo "WARNING: changelog will not be generated for this build"; \
 	fi
diff --git a/tools/generate-changelog.py b/tools/generate-changelog.py
index 8d9ff847..724c5221 100755
--- a/tools/generate-changelog.py
+++ b/tools/generate-changelog.py
@@ -74,12 +74,12 @@ def get_changelog_from_file(docs_d, pkg):
     else:
         raise FileNotFoundError("no supported changelog found for package " + pkg)
 
-def get_changelog_from_url(pkg, new_v):
+def get_changelog_from_url(pkg, new_v, on_lp):
     url = 'https://changelogs.ubuntu.com/changelogs/binary/'
     
     print(f"failed to resolve changelog for {pkg} locally, downloading from official repo")
     safe_name = package_name(pkg)
-    if safe_name not in pkg_allowed_list:
+    if not on_lp and safe_name not in pkg_allowed_list:
         raise Exception(f"{pkg} has not been whitelisted for changelog retrieval")
     
     if safe_name.startswith('lib'):
@@ -97,14 +97,14 @@ def get_changelog_from_url(pkg, new_v):
 
 # Gets difference in changelog between old and new versions
 # Returns source package and the differences
-def get_changes_for_version(docs_d, pkg, old_v, new_v, indent):
+def get_changes_for_version(docs_d, pkg, old_v, new_v, indent, on_lp):
     # Try our best to resolve the changelog locally, if it does
     # not exist locally, then the package must be in the whitelisted
     # list of packages, when we try to resolve it from URL as backup.
     try:
         changelog = get_changelog_from_file(docs_d, pkg)
     except Exception:
-        changelog = get_changelog_from_url(pkg, new_v)
+        changelog = get_changelog_from_url(pkg, new_v, on_lp)
 
     source_pkg = changelog[0:changelog.find(' ')]
 
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ def get_changes_for_version(docs_d, pkg, old_v, new_v, indent):
 # old_manifest_p: path to old manifest
 # new_manifest_p: path to newer manifest
 # docs_d: directory with docs from debian packages
-def compare_manifests(old_manifest_p, new_manifest_p, docs_d):
+def compare_manifests(old_manifest_p, new_manifest_p, docs_d, on_lp):
     old_packages = packages_from_manifest(old_manifest_p)
     new_packages = packages_from_manifest(new_manifest_p)
     changes = ''
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ def compare_manifests(old_manifest_p, new_manifest_p, docs_d):
             old_v = old_packages[pkg]
             if old_v != new_v:
                 src, pkg_change = get_changes_for_version(docs_d, pkg, old_v,
-                                                          new_v, '  ')
+                                                          new_v, '  ', on_lp)
                 if src not in src_pkgs:
                     src_pkgs[src] = SrcPkgData(old_v, new_v, pkg_change, [pkg])
                 else:
@@ -214,6 +214,7 @@ def main():
     parser.add_argument('old', metavar='previous-snap-root', help='Path to the root of the previous snap directory')
     parser.add_argument('new', metavar='new-snap-root', help='Path to the root of the new snap directory')
     parser.add_argument('name', help='The name of the snap')
+    parser.add_argument("--launchpad", action="store_true", help='Indicate we are building on LP, ignoring the whitelist')
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
     old_changelog = os.path.join(args.old, "usr", "share", "doc", "ChangeLog")
@@ -242,7 +243,7 @@ def main():
         changes += f'No detected changes for the {args.name} snap\n\n'
 
     changes += '[ Changes in primed packages ]\n\n'
-    pkg_changes = compare_manifests(old_manifest, new_manifest, docs_dir)
+    pkg_changes = compare_manifests(old_manifest, new_manifest, docs_dir, args.launchpad)
     if pkg_changes != '':
         changes += pkg_changes
     else: