diff --git a/libs/x-content/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/xcontent/AbstractObjectParser.java b/libs/x-content/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/xcontent/AbstractObjectParser.java
index fcf1446e53c..b5b4dcd00ca 100644
--- a/libs/x-content/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/xcontent/AbstractObjectParser.java
+++ b/libs/x-content/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/xcontent/AbstractObjectParser.java
@@ -37,6 +37,8 @@ import java.util.function.Consumer;
 public abstract class AbstractObjectParser<Value, Context>
         implements BiFunction<XContentParser, Context, Value>, ContextParser<Context, Value> {
 
+    final List<String[]> requiredFieldSets = new ArrayList<>();
+
     /**
      * Declare some field. Usually it is easier to use {@link #declareString(BiConsumer, ParseField)} or
      * {@link #declareObject(BiConsumer, ContextParser, ParseField)} rather than call this directly.
@@ -211,6 +213,61 @@ public abstract class AbstractObjectParser<Value, Context>
         declareField(consumer, (p, c) -> parseArray(p, () -> itemParser.parse(p, c)), field, type);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Declares a set of fields that are required for parsing to succeed. Only one of the values
+     * provided per String[] must be matched.
+     *
+     * E.g. <code>declareRequiredFieldSet("foo", "bar");</code> means at least one of "foo" or
+     * "bar" fields must be present.  If neither of those fields are present, an exception will be thrown.
+     *
+     * Multiple required sets can be configured:
+     *
+     * <pre><code>
+     *   parser.declareRequiredFieldSet("foo", "bar");
+     *   parser.declareRequiredFieldSet("bizz", "buzz");
+     * </code></pre>
+     *
+     * requires that one of "foo" or "bar" fields are present, and also that one of "bizz" or
+     * "buzz" fields are present.
+     *
+     * In JSON, it means any of these combinations are acceptable:
+     *
+     * <ul>
+     *   <li><code>{"foo":"...", "bizz": "..."}</code></li>
+     *   <li><code>{"bar":"...", "bizz": "..."}</code></li>
+     *   <li><code>{"foo":"...", "buzz": "..."}</code></li>
+     *   <li><code>{"bar":"...", "buzz": "..."}</code></li>
+     *   <li><code>{"foo":"...", "bar":"...", "bizz": "..."}</code></li>
+     *   <li><code>{"foo":"...", "bar":"...", "buzz": "..."}</code></li>
+     *   <li><code>{"foo":"...", "bizz":"...", "buzz": "..."}</code></li>
+     *   <li><code>{"bar":"...", "bizz":"...", "buzz": "..."}</code></li>
+     *   <li><code>{"foo":"...", "bar":"...", "bizz": "...", "buzz": "..."}</code></li>
+     * </ul>
+     *
+     * The following would however be rejected:
+     *
+     * <table>
+     *   <caption>failure cases</caption>
+     *   <tr><th>Provided JSON</th><th>Reason for failure</th></tr>
+     *   <tr><td><code>{"foo":"..."}</code></td><td>Missing "bizz" or "buzz" field</td></tr>
+     *   <tr><td><code>{"bar":"..."}</code></td><td>Missing "bizz" or "buzz" field</td></tr>
+     *   <tr><td><code>{"bizz": "..."}</code></td><td>Missing "foo" or "bar" field</td></tr>
+     *   <tr><td><code>{"buzz": "..."}</code></td><td>Missing "foo" or "bar" field</td></tr>
+     *   <tr><td><code>{"foo":"...", "bar": "..."}</code></td><td>Missing "bizz" or "buzz" field</td></tr>
+     *   <tr><td><code>{"bizz":"...", "buzz": "..."}</code></td><td>Missing "foo" or "bar" field</td></tr>
+     *   <tr><td><code>{"unrelated":"..."}</code></td>  <td>Missing "foo" or "bar" field, and missing "bizz" or "buzz" field</td></tr>
+     * </table>
+     *
+     * @param requiredSet
+     *          A set of required fields, where at least one of the fields in the array _must_ be present
+     */
+    public void declareRequiredFieldSet(String... requiredSet) {
+        if (requiredSet.length == 0) {
+            return;
+        }
+        this.requiredFieldSets.add(requiredSet);
+    }
+
     private interface IOSupplier<T> {
         T get() throws IOException;
     }
diff --git a/libs/x-content/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/xcontent/ObjectParser.java b/libs/x-content/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/xcontent/ObjectParser.java
index 30810637044..f173223eed7 100644
--- a/libs/x-content/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/xcontent/ObjectParser.java
+++ b/libs/x-content/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/xcontent/ObjectParser.java
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.EnumSet;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.HashSet;
+import java.util.Iterator;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Set;
@@ -272,6 +273,8 @@ public final class ObjectParser<Value, Context> extends AbstractObjectParser<Val
         FieldParser fieldParser = null;
         String currentFieldName = null;
         XContentLocation currentPosition = null;
+        List<String[]> requiredFields = new ArrayList<>(this.requiredFieldSets);
+
         while ((token = parser.nextToken()) != XContentParser.Token.END_OBJECT) {
             if (token == XContentParser.Token.FIELD_NAME) {
                 currentFieldName = parser.currentName();
@@ -285,11 +288,32 @@ public final class ObjectParser<Value, Context> extends AbstractObjectParser<Val
                     unknownFieldParser.acceptUnknownField(this, currentFieldName, currentPosition, parser, value, context);
                 } else {
                     fieldParser.assertSupports(name, parser, currentFieldName);
+
+                    // Check to see if this field is a required field, if it is we can
+                    // remove the entry as the requirement is satisfied
+                    Iterator<String[]> iter = requiredFields.iterator();
+                    while (iter.hasNext()) {
+                        String[] requriedFields = iter.next();
+                        for (String field : requriedFields) {
+                            if (field.equals(currentFieldName)) {
+                                iter.remove();
+                                break;
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+
                     parseSub(parser, fieldParser, currentFieldName, value, context);
                 }
                 fieldParser = null;
             }
         }
+        if (requiredFields.isEmpty() == false) {
+            StringBuilder message = new StringBuilder();
+            for (String[] fields : requiredFields) {
+                message.append("Required one of fields ").append(Arrays.toString(fields)).append(", but none were specified. ");
+            }
+            throw new IllegalArgumentException(message.toString());
+        }
         return value;
     }
 
diff --git a/libs/x-content/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/common/xcontent/ObjectParserTests.java b/libs/x-content/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/common/xcontent/ObjectParserTests.java
index 8d9503ce2a7..25094d257ba 100644
--- a/libs/x-content/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/common/xcontent/ObjectParserTests.java
+++ b/libs/x-content/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/common/xcontent/ObjectParserTests.java
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.containsString;
 import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.equalTo;
 import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.hasSize;
 import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.instanceOf;
+import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.nullValue;
 
 public class ObjectParserTests extends ESTestCase {
 
@@ -757,6 +758,89 @@ public class ObjectParserTests extends ESTestCase {
         assertThat(o.fields.get("test_nested"), instanceOf(Map.class));
     }
 
+    public void testRequiredFieldSet() throws IOException {
+        class TestStruct {
+            private Long a;
+            private Long b;
+
+            private void setA(long value) {
+                this.a = value;
+            }
+
+            private void setB(long value) {
+                this.b = value;
+            }
+        }
+
+        XContentParser parser = createParser(JsonXContent.jsonXContent, "{\"a\": \"123\"}");
+        ObjectParser<TestStruct, Void> objectParser = new ObjectParser<>("foo", true, TestStruct::new);
+        objectParser.declareLong(TestStruct::setA, new ParseField("a"));
+        objectParser.declareLong(TestStruct::setB, new ParseField("b"));
+        objectParser.declareRequiredFieldSet(new String[]{"a", "b"});
+
+        TestStruct obj = objectParser.apply(parser, null);
+        assertThat(obj.a, equalTo(123L));
+        assertThat(obj.b, nullValue());
+
+        parser = createParser(JsonXContent.jsonXContent, "{\"b\": \"123\"}");
+        objectParser = new ObjectParser<>("foo", true, TestStruct::new);
+        objectParser.declareLong(TestStruct::setA, new ParseField("a"));
+        objectParser.declareLong(TestStruct::setB, new ParseField("b"));
+        objectParser.declareRequiredFieldSet(new String[]{"a", "b"});
+
+        obj = objectParser.apply(parser, null);
+        assertThat(obj.a, nullValue());
+        assertThat(obj.b, equalTo(123L));
+
+        parser = createParser(JsonXContent.jsonXContent, "{\"a\": \"123\", \"b\": \"456\"}");
+        objectParser = new ObjectParser<>("foo", true, TestStruct::new);
+        objectParser.declareLong(TestStruct::setA, new ParseField("a"));
+        objectParser.declareLong(TestStruct::setB, new ParseField("b"));
+        objectParser.declareRequiredFieldSet(new String[]{"a", "b"});
+
+        obj = objectParser.apply(parser, null);
+        assertThat(obj.a, equalTo(123L));
+        assertThat(obj.b, equalTo(456L));
+    }
+
+    public void testMultipleRequiredFieldSet() throws IOException {
+        class TestStruct {
+            private Long a;
+            private Long b;
+            private Long c;
+            private Long d;
+
+            private void setA(long value) {
+                this.a = value;
+            }
+
+            private void setB(long value) {
+                this.b = value;
+            }
+
+            private void setC(long value) {
+                this.c = value;
+            }
+
+            private void setD(long value) {
+                this.d = value;
+            }
+        }
+
+        XContentParser parser = createParser(JsonXContent.jsonXContent, "{\"unrelated\": \"123\"}");
+        ObjectParser<TestStruct, Void> objectParser = new ObjectParser<>("foo", true, TestStruct::new);
+        objectParser.declareLong(TestStruct::setA, new ParseField("a"));
+        objectParser.declareLong(TestStruct::setB, new ParseField("b"));
+        objectParser.declareLong(TestStruct::setC, new ParseField("c"));
+        objectParser.declareLong(TestStruct::setD, new ParseField("d"));
+        objectParser.declareRequiredFieldSet(new String[]{"a", "b"});
+        objectParser.declareRequiredFieldSet(new String[]{"c", "d"});
+
+        IllegalArgumentException e = expectThrows(IllegalArgumentException.class, () -> objectParser.apply(parser, null));
+        assertThat(e.getMessage(), equalTo("Required one of fields [a, b], but none were specified. " +
+            "Required one of fields [c, d], but none were specified. "));
+    }
+
     @Override
     protected NamedXContentRegistry xContentRegistry() {
         return new NamedXContentRegistry(Arrays.asList(