diff --git a/lib/shoulda/active_record_helpers.rb b/lib/shoulda/active_record_helpers.rb
index a95ec725..381a33fc 100644
--- a/lib/shoulda/active_record_helpers.rb
+++ b/lib/shoulda/active_record_helpers.rb
@@ -129,6 +129,28 @@ module ThoughtBot # :nodoc:
         end
       end
   
+      # Ensures that the attribute cannot be changed once the record has been created.
+      # Requires an existing record.
+      #
+      #   should_have_readonly_attributes :password, :admin_flag
+      #
+      def should_have_readonly_attributes(*attributes)
+        get_options!(attributes)
+        klass = model_class
+
+        attributes.each do |attribute|
+          attribute = attribute.to_sym
+          should "make #{attribute} read-only" do
+            readonly = klass.readonly_attributes || []
+
+            assert readonly.include?(attribute.to_s),
+                   (readonly.empty? ?
+                     "#{klass} attribute #{attribute} is not read-only" :
+                     "#{klass} is making #{readonly.to_a.to_sentence} read-only, but not #{attribute}.")
+          end
+        end
+      end
+
       # Ensures that the attribute cannot be set to the given values
       # Requires an existing record
       #
diff --git a/test/rails_root/app/models/user.rb b/test/rails_root/app/models/user.rb
index 310ea766..577c0c03 100644
--- a/test/rails_root/app/models/user.rb
+++ b/test/rails_root/app/models/user.rb
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ class User < ActiveRecord::Base
   has_one :address, :as => :addressable
   
   attr_protected :password
+  attr_readonly :name
 
   validates_format_of :email, :with => /\w*@\w*.com/
   validates_length_of :email, :in => 1..100
diff --git a/test/unit/user_test.rb b/test/unit/user_test.rb
index 9de19431..37a36c8b 100644
--- a/test/unit/user_test.rb
+++ b/test/unit/user_test.rb
@@ -27,4 +27,6 @@ class UserTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
   
   should_ensure_length_is :ssn, 9, :message => "Social Security Number is not the right length"
   should_only_allow_numeric_values_for :ssn
+
+  should_have_readonly_attributes :name
 end