diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 030a297..3970565 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ Note: Breaking changes between versions are indicated by "💥".
 
 - [Bugfix] Fix insecure static asset loading when web proxy is enabled
 - [Improvement] Rename ``SECRET_KEY`` configuration parameter to ``OPENEDX_SECRET_KEY``
-- [Improvement] Add support for TLS in external SMTP server (#231)
+- [Improvement] Add support for SSL and TLS in external SMTP server (#231)
 - [Bugfix] Fix missing video transcripts in LMS (#229)
 - [Improvement] Make it possible to enable/disable multiple plugins at once
 - [Improvement] Add 'local-docker-compose-nginx-volumes' patch
diff --git a/docs/configuration.rst b/docs/configuration.rst
index 51e95a2..3fe3ddc 100644
--- a/docs/configuration.rst
+++ b/docs/configuration.rst
@@ -141,8 +141,9 @@ SMTP
 - ``SMTP_USERNAME`` (default: ``""``)
 - ``SMTP_PASSWORD`` (default: ``""``)
 - ``SMTP_USE_TLS`` (default: ``false``)
+- ``SMTP_USE_SSL`` (default: ``false``)
 
-Note that the SMTP server shipped with Tutor by default does not implement TLS.
+Note that the SMTP server shipped with Tutor by default does not implement TLS. With external servers, only one of SSL or TLS should be enabled, at most.
 
 SSL/TLS certificates for HTTPS access
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
diff --git a/tutor/templates/apps/openedx/settings/cms/common.py b/tutor/templates/apps/openedx/settings/cms/common.py
index 71629db..7eaba20 100644
--- a/tutor/templates/apps/openedx/settings/cms/common.py
+++ b/tutor/templates/apps/openedx/settings/cms/common.py
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@ LOGGING["handlers"]["tracking"] = {
 }
 LOGGING["loggers"]["tracking"]["handlers"] = ["console", "local", "tracking"]
 
+EMAIL_USE_SSL = {{ SMTP_USE_SSL }}
+
 LOCALE_PATHS.append("/openedx/locale")
 
 # Create folders if necessary
diff --git a/tutor/templates/apps/openedx/settings/lms/common.py b/tutor/templates/apps/openedx/settings/lms/common.py
index cb0ba24..22a71b4 100644
--- a/tutor/templates/apps/openedx/settings/lms/common.py
+++ b/tutor/templates/apps/openedx/settings/lms/common.py
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ LOGGING["handlers"]["tracking"] = {
 }
 LOGGING["loggers"]["tracking"]["handlers"] = ["console", "local", "tracking"]
 
+EMAIL_USE_SSL = {{ SMTP_USE_SSL }}
+
 # Fix media files paths
 VIDEO_IMAGE_SETTINGS["STORAGE_KWARGS"]["location"] = MEDIA_ROOT
 VIDEO_TRANSCRIPTS_SETTINGS["STORAGE_KWARGS"]["location"] = MEDIA_ROOT
diff --git a/tutor/templates/config.yml b/tutor/templates/config.yml
index ac7f697..254c347 100644
--- a/tutor/templates/config.yml
+++ b/tutor/templates/config.yml
@@ -67,4 +67,5 @@ SMTP_PORT: 25
 SMTP_USERNAME: ""
 SMTP_PASSWORD: ""
 SMTP_USE_TLS: false
+SMTP_USE_SSL: false
 WEB_PROXY: false