diff --git a/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/eql/EqlSearchResponseTests.java b/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/eql/EqlSearchResponseTests.java
index f25da7d4f91..2cc82656f20 100644
--- a/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/eql/EqlSearchResponseTests.java
+++ b/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/eql/EqlSearchResponseTests.java
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ public class EqlSearchResponseTests extends AbstractResponseTestCase<org.elastic
         if (randomBoolean()) {
             hits = new ArrayList<>();
             for (int i = 0; i < size; i++) {
-                hits.add(new SearchHit(i, randomAlphaOfLength(10), null, new HashMap<>()));
+                hits.add(new SearchHit(i, randomAlphaOfLength(10), null, new HashMap<>(), new HashMap<>()));
             }
         }
         if (randomBoolean()) {
diff --git a/modules/lang-mustache/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/script/mustache/SearchTemplateResponseTests.java b/modules/lang-mustache/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/script/mustache/SearchTemplateResponseTests.java
index c02c3115501..e1244c7aa37 100644
--- a/modules/lang-mustache/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/script/mustache/SearchTemplateResponseTests.java
+++ b/modules/lang-mustache/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/script/mustache/SearchTemplateResponseTests.java
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ public class SearchTemplateResponseTests extends AbstractXContentTestCase<Search
     }
 
     public void testSearchResponseToXContent() throws IOException {
-        SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(1, "id", new Text("type"), Collections.emptyMap());
+        SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(1, "id", new Text("type"), Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap());
         hit.score(2.0f);
         SearchHit[] hits = new SearchHit[] { hit };
 
diff --git a/modules/percolator/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/percolator/PercolatorHighlightSubFetchPhase.java b/modules/percolator/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/percolator/PercolatorHighlightSubFetchPhase.java
index c85018b99e9..7c3d867db43 100644
--- a/modules/percolator/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/percolator/PercolatorHighlightSubFetchPhase.java
+++ b/modules/percolator/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/percolator/PercolatorHighlightSubFetchPhase.java
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ final class PercolatorHighlightSubFetchPhase implements FetchSubPhase {
                         shardContext.lookup().source().setSegmentAndDocument(percolatorLeafReaderContext, slot);
                         shardContext.lookup().source().setSource(document);
                         hitContext.reset(
-                            new SearchHit(slot, "unknown", new Text(hit.getType()), Collections.emptyMap()),
+                            new SearchHit(slot, "unknown", new Text(hit.getType()), Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap()),
                             percolatorLeafReaderContext, slot, percolatorIndexSearcher
                         );
                         hitContext.cache().clear();
diff --git a/modules/percolator/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/percolator/PercolatorMatchedSlotSubFetchPhase.java b/modules/percolator/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/percolator/PercolatorMatchedSlotSubFetchPhase.java
index fdcc9156b41..bebaf856d1f 100644
--- a/modules/percolator/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/percolator/PercolatorMatchedSlotSubFetchPhase.java
+++ b/modules/percolator/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/percolator/PercolatorMatchedSlotSubFetchPhase.java
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ final class PercolatorMatchedSlotSubFetchPhase implements FetchSubPhase {
                     hit.fields(fields);
                 }
                 IntStream slots = convertTopDocsToSlots(topDocs, rootDocsBySlot);
-                fields.put(fieldName, new DocumentField(fieldName, slots.boxed().collect(Collectors.toList())));
+                hit.setField(fieldName, new DocumentField(fieldName, slots.boxed().collect(Collectors.toList())));
             }
         }
     }
diff --git a/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/DiscountedCumulativeGainTests.java b/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/DiscountedCumulativeGainTests.java
index 30c4f037b2a..a8efea05b01 100644
--- a/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/DiscountedCumulativeGainTests.java
+++ b/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/DiscountedCumulativeGainTests.java
@@ -74,7 +74,8 @@ public class DiscountedCumulativeGainTests extends ESTestCase {
         SearchHit[] hits = new SearchHit[6];
         for (int i = 0; i < 6; i++) {
             rated.add(new RatedDocument("index", Integer.toString(i), relevanceRatings[i]));
-            hits[i] = new SearchHit(i, Integer.toString(i), new Text(MapperService.SINGLE_MAPPING_NAME), Collections.emptyMap());
+            hits[i] = new SearchHit(i, Integer.toString(i), new Text(MapperService.SINGLE_MAPPING_NAME),
+                Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap());
             hits[i].shard(new SearchShardTarget("testnode", new ShardId("index", "uuid", 0), null, OriginalIndices.NONE));
         }
         DiscountedCumulativeGain dcg = new DiscountedCumulativeGain();
@@ -124,7 +125,8 @@ public class DiscountedCumulativeGainTests extends ESTestCase {
                     rated.add(new RatedDocument("index", Integer.toString(i), relevanceRatings[i]));
                 }
             }
-            hits[i] = new SearchHit(i, Integer.toString(i), new Text(MapperService.SINGLE_MAPPING_NAME), Collections.emptyMap());
+            hits[i] = new SearchHit(i, Integer.toString(i), new Text(MapperService.SINGLE_MAPPING_NAME),
+                Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap());
             hits[i].shard(new SearchShardTarget("testnode", new ShardId("index", "uuid", 0), null, OriginalIndices.NONE));
         }
         DiscountedCumulativeGain dcg = new DiscountedCumulativeGain();
@@ -181,7 +183,8 @@ public class DiscountedCumulativeGainTests extends ESTestCase {
         // only create four hits
         SearchHit[] hits = new SearchHit[4];
         for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
-            hits[i] = new SearchHit(i, Integer.toString(i), new Text(MapperService.SINGLE_MAPPING_NAME), Collections.emptyMap());
+            hits[i] = new SearchHit(i, Integer.toString(i), new Text(MapperService.SINGLE_MAPPING_NAME),
+                Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap());
             hits[i].shard(new SearchShardTarget("testnode", new ShardId("index", "uuid", 0), null, OriginalIndices.NONE));
         }
         DiscountedCumulativeGain dcg = new DiscountedCumulativeGain();
diff --git a/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/ExpectedReciprocalRankTests.java b/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/ExpectedReciprocalRankTests.java
index 7a3b9e3061a..8fcbb2a2f2f 100644
--- a/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/ExpectedReciprocalRankTests.java
+++ b/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/ExpectedReciprocalRankTests.java
@@ -117,7 +117,8 @@ public class ExpectedReciprocalRankTests extends ESTestCase {
             if (relevanceRatings[i] != null) {
                 rated.add(new RatedDocument("index", Integer.toString(i), relevanceRatings[i]));
             }
-            hits[i] = new SearchHit(i, Integer.toString(i), new Text(MapperService.SINGLE_MAPPING_NAME), Collections.emptyMap());
+            hits[i] = new SearchHit(i, Integer.toString(i), new Text(MapperService.SINGLE_MAPPING_NAME),
+                Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap());
             hits[i].shard(new SearchShardTarget("testnode", new ShardId("index", "uuid", 0), null, OriginalIndices.NONE));
         }
         return hits;
diff --git a/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/MeanReciprocalRankTests.java b/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/MeanReciprocalRankTests.java
index 6b37fee3c5e..51112ede57d 100644
--- a/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/MeanReciprocalRankTests.java
+++ b/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/MeanReciprocalRankTests.java
@@ -204,7 +204,7 @@ public class MeanReciprocalRankTests extends ESTestCase {
     private static SearchHit[] createSearchHits(int from, int to, String index) {
         SearchHit[] hits = new SearchHit[to + 1 - from];
         for (int i = from; i <= to; i++) {
-            hits[i] = new SearchHit(i, i + "", new Text(""), Collections.emptyMap());
+            hits[i] = new SearchHit(i, i + "", new Text(""), Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap());
             hits[i].shard(new SearchShardTarget("testnode", new ShardId(index, "uuid", 0), null, OriginalIndices.NONE));
         }
         return hits;
diff --git a/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/PrecisionAtKTests.java b/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/PrecisionAtKTests.java
index cbc60c231cb..a00f5047d0e 100644
--- a/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/PrecisionAtKTests.java
+++ b/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/PrecisionAtKTests.java
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ public class PrecisionAtKTests extends ESTestCase {
         rated.add(createRatedDoc("test", "1", RELEVANT_RATING));
         // add an unlabeled search hit
         SearchHit[] searchHits = Arrays.copyOf(toSearchHits(rated, "test"), 3);
-        searchHits[2] = new SearchHit(2, "2", new Text(MapperService.SINGLE_MAPPING_NAME), Collections.emptyMap());
+        searchHits[2] = new SearchHit(2, "2", new Text(MapperService.SINGLE_MAPPING_NAME), Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap());
         searchHits[2].shard(new SearchShardTarget("testnode", new ShardId("index", "uuid", 0), null, OriginalIndices.NONE));
 
         EvalQueryQuality evaluated = (new PrecisionAtK()).evaluate("id", searchHits, rated);
@@ -133,7 +133,8 @@ public class PrecisionAtKTests extends ESTestCase {
     public void testNoRatedDocs() throws Exception {
         SearchHit[] hits = new SearchHit[5];
         for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
-            hits[i] = new SearchHit(i, i + "", new Text(MapperService.SINGLE_MAPPING_NAME), Collections.emptyMap());
+            hits[i] = new SearchHit(i, i + "", new Text(MapperService.SINGLE_MAPPING_NAME),
+                Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap());
             hits[i].shard(new SearchShardTarget("testnode", new ShardId("index", "uuid", 0), null, OriginalIndices.NONE));
         }
         EvalQueryQuality evaluated = (new PrecisionAtK()).evaluate("id", hits, Collections.emptyList());
@@ -255,7 +256,7 @@ public class PrecisionAtKTests extends ESTestCase {
     private static SearchHit[] toSearchHits(List<RatedDocument> rated, String index) {
         SearchHit[] hits = new SearchHit[rated.size()];
         for (int i = 0; i < rated.size(); i++) {
-            hits[i] = new SearchHit(i, i + "", new Text(""), Collections.emptyMap());
+            hits[i] = new SearchHit(i, i + "", new Text(""), Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap());
             hits[i].shard(new SearchShardTarget("testnode", new ShardId(index, "uuid", 0), null, OriginalIndices.NONE));
         }
         return hits;
diff --git a/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/RankEvalResponseTests.java b/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/RankEvalResponseTests.java
index 1939b5e19c1..a723b4690b9 100644
--- a/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/RankEvalResponseTests.java
+++ b/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/RankEvalResponseTests.java
@@ -181,7 +181,8 @@ public class RankEvalResponseTests extends ESTestCase {
     }
 
     private static RatedSearchHit searchHit(String index, int docId, Integer rating) {
-        SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(docId, docId + "", new Text(MapperService.SINGLE_MAPPING_NAME), Collections.emptyMap());
+        SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(docId, docId + "", new Text(MapperService.SINGLE_MAPPING_NAME),
+            Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap());
         hit.shard(new SearchShardTarget("testnode", new ShardId(index, "uuid", 0), null, OriginalIndices.NONE));
         hit.score(1.0f);
         return new RatedSearchHit(hit, rating != null ? OptionalInt.of(rating) : OptionalInt.empty());
diff --git a/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/RatedSearchHitTests.java b/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/RatedSearchHitTests.java
index 384503a2801..7d8121c0ee5 100644
--- a/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/RatedSearchHitTests.java
+++ b/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/RatedSearchHitTests.java
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ public class RatedSearchHitTests extends ESTestCase {
         OptionalInt rating = randomBoolean() ? OptionalInt.empty()
                 : OptionalInt.of(randomIntBetween(0, 5));
         SearchHit searchHit = new SearchHit(randomIntBetween(0, 10), randomAlphaOfLength(10),
-                new Text(MapperService.SINGLE_MAPPING_NAME), Collections.emptyMap());
+                new Text(MapperService.SINGLE_MAPPING_NAME), Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap());
         RatedSearchHit ratedSearchHit = new RatedSearchHit(searchHit, rating);
         return ratedSearchHit;
     }
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ public class RatedSearchHitTests extends ESTestCase {
             break;
         case 1:
             hit = new SearchHit(hit.docId(), hit.getId() + randomAlphaOfLength(10),
-                    new Text(MapperService.SINGLE_MAPPING_NAME), Collections.emptyMap());
+                    new Text(MapperService.SINGLE_MAPPING_NAME), Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap());
             break;
         default:
             throw new IllegalStateException("The test should only allow two parameters mutated");
diff --git a/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/RecallAtKTests.java b/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/RecallAtKTests.java
index f49d2ff9db7..5f2f27ffc8f 100644
--- a/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/RecallAtKTests.java
+++ b/modules/rank-eval/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/rankeval/RecallAtKTests.java
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ public class RecallAtKTests extends ESTestCase {
         int k = 5;
         SearchHit[] hits = new SearchHit[k];
         for (int i = 0; i < k; i++) {
-            hits[i] = new SearchHit(i, i + "", new Text(""), Collections.emptyMap());
+            hits[i] = new SearchHit(i, i + "", new Text(""), Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap());
             hits[i].shard(new SearchShardTarget("testnode", new ShardId("index", "uuid", 0), null, OriginalIndices.NONE));
         }
 
@@ -237,7 +237,7 @@ public class RecallAtKTests extends ESTestCase {
     private static SearchHit[] toSearchHits(List<RatedDocument> rated, String index) {
         SearchHit[] hits = new SearchHit[rated.size()];
         for (int i = 0; i < rated.size(); i++) {
-            hits[i] = new SearchHit(i, i + "", new Text(""), Collections.emptyMap());
+            hits[i] = new SearchHit(i, i + "", new Text(""), Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap());
             hits[i].shard(new SearchShardTarget("testnode", new ShardId(index, "uuid", 0), null, OriginalIndices.NONE));
         }
         return hits;
diff --git a/modules/reindex/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/reindex/AsyncBulkByScrollActionTests.java b/modules/reindex/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/reindex/AsyncBulkByScrollActionTests.java
index ae451364a28..d4ea484cadd 100644
--- a/modules/reindex/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/reindex/AsyncBulkByScrollActionTests.java
+++ b/modules/reindex/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/reindex/AsyncBulkByScrollActionTests.java
@@ -504,7 +504,7 @@ public class AsyncBulkByScrollActionTests extends ESTestCase {
         action.start();
 
         // create a simulated response.
-        SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(0, "id", new Text("type"), emptyMap()).sourceRef(new BytesArray("{}"));
+        SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(0, "id", new Text("type"), emptyMap(), emptyMap()).sourceRef(new BytesArray("{}"));
         SearchHits hits = new SearchHits(IntStream.range(0, 100).mapToObj(i -> hit).toArray(SearchHit[]::new),
             new TotalHits(0, TotalHits.Relation.EQUAL_TO),0);
         InternalSearchResponse internalResponse = new InternalSearchResponse(hits, null, null, null, false, false, 1);
diff --git a/modules/reindex/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/reindex/ClientScrollableHitSourceTests.java b/modules/reindex/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/reindex/ClientScrollableHitSourceTests.java
index 6526f608109..29b4b810699 100644
--- a/modules/reindex/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/reindex/ClientScrollableHitSourceTests.java
+++ b/modules/reindex/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/reindex/ClientScrollableHitSourceTests.java
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ public class ClientScrollableHitSourceTests extends ESTestCase {
 
     private SearchResponse createSearchResponse() {
         // create a simulated response.
-        SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(0, "id", new Text("type"), emptyMap()).sourceRef(new BytesArray("{}"));
+        SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(0, "id", new Text("type"), emptyMap(), emptyMap()).sourceRef(new BytesArray("{}"));
         SearchHits hits = new SearchHits(IntStream.range(0, randomIntBetween(0, 20)).mapToObj(i -> hit).toArray(SearchHit[]::new),
             new TotalHits(0, TotalHits.Relation.EQUAL_TO),0);
         InternalSearchResponse internalResponse = new InternalSearchResponse(hits, null, null, null, false, false, 1);
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/SearchHit.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/SearchHit.java
index 8da9df7a504..6063d192ace 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/SearchHit.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/SearchHit.java
@@ -96,7 +96,8 @@ public final class SearchHit implements Writeable, ToXContentObject, Iterable<Do
 
     private BytesReference source;
 
-    private Map<String, DocumentField> fields;
+    private Map<String, DocumentField> documentFields;
+    private Map<String, DocumentField> metaFields;
 
     private Map<String, HighlightField> highlightFields = null;
 
@@ -121,14 +122,15 @@ public final class SearchHit implements Writeable, ToXContentObject, Iterable<Do
 
     //used only in tests
     public SearchHit(int docId) {
-        this(docId, null, null, null);
+        this(docId, null, null, null, null);
     }
 
-    public SearchHit(int docId, String id, Text type, Map<String, DocumentField> fields) {
-        this(docId, id, type, null, fields);
+    public SearchHit(int docId, String id, Text type, Map<String, DocumentField> documentFields, Map<String, DocumentField> metaFields) {
+        this(docId, id, type, null, documentFields, metaFields);
     }
 
-    public SearchHit(int nestedTopDocId, String id, Text type, NestedIdentity nestedIdentity, Map<String, DocumentField> fields) {
+    public SearchHit(int nestedTopDocId, String id, Text type, NestedIdentity nestedIdentity,
+            Map<String, DocumentField> documentFields, Map<String, DocumentField> metaFields) {
         this.docId = nestedTopDocId;
         if (id != null) {
             this.id = new Text(id);
@@ -137,7 +139,15 @@ public final class SearchHit implements Writeable, ToXContentObject, Iterable<Do
         }
         this.type = type;
         this.nestedIdentity = nestedIdentity;
-        this.fields = fields;
+        this.documentFields = documentFields;
+        if (this.documentFields == null) {
+            this.documentFields = new HashMap<>();
+        }
+
+        this.metaFields = metaFields;
+        if (this.metaFields == null) {
+            this.metaFields = new HashMap<>();
+        }
     }
 
     public SearchHit(StreamInput in) throws IOException {
@@ -158,22 +168,17 @@ public final class SearchHit implements Writeable, ToXContentObject, Iterable<Do
         if (in.readBoolean()) {
             explanation = readExplanation(in);
         }
-        int size = in.readVInt();
-        if (size == 0) {
-            fields = emptyMap();
-        } else if (size == 1) {
-            DocumentField hitField = new DocumentField(in);
-            fields = singletonMap(hitField.getName(), hitField);
+        if (in.getVersion().onOrAfter(Version.V_7_8_0)) {
+            documentFields = in.readMap(StreamInput::readString, DocumentField::new);
+            metaFields = in.readMap(StreamInput::readString, DocumentField::new);
         } else {
-            Map<String, DocumentField> fields = new HashMap<>();
-            for (int i = 0; i < size; i++) {
-                DocumentField hitField = new DocumentField(in);
-                fields.put(hitField.getName(), hitField);
-            }
-            this.fields = unmodifiableMap(fields);
+            Map<String, DocumentField> fields = readFields(in);
+            documentFields = new HashMap<>();
+            metaFields = new HashMap<>();
+            SearchHit.splitFieldsByMetadata(fields, documentFields, metaFields);
         }
 
-        size = in.readVInt();
+        int size = in.readVInt();
         if (size == 0) {
             highlightFields = emptyMap();
         } else if (size == 1) {
@@ -212,6 +217,36 @@ public final class SearchHit implements Writeable, ToXContentObject, Iterable<Do
         }
     }
 
+    private Map<String, DocumentField> readFields(StreamInput in) throws IOException {
+        Map<String, DocumentField> fields;
+        int size = in.readVInt();
+        if (size == 0) {
+            fields = emptyMap();
+        } else if (size == 1) {
+            DocumentField hitField = new DocumentField(in);
+            fields = singletonMap(hitField.getName(), hitField);
+        }  else {
+            fields = new HashMap<>(size);
+            for (int i = 0; i < size; i++) {
+                DocumentField field = new DocumentField(in);
+                fields.put(field.getName(), field);
+            }
+            fields = unmodifiableMap(fields);
+        }
+        return fields;
+    }
+
+    private void writeFields(StreamOutput out,  Map<String, DocumentField> fields) throws IOException {
+        if (fields == null) {
+            out.writeVInt(0);
+        } else {
+            out.writeVInt(fields.size());
+            for (DocumentField field : fields.values()) {
+                field.writeTo(out);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     @Override
     public void writeTo(StreamOutput out) throws IOException {
         out.writeFloat(score);
@@ -230,13 +265,11 @@ public final class SearchHit implements Writeable, ToXContentObject, Iterable<Do
             out.writeBoolean(true);
             writeExplanation(out, explanation);
         }
-        if (fields == null) {
-            out.writeVInt(0);
+        if (out.getVersion().onOrAfter(Version.V_7_8_0)) {
+            out.writeMap(documentFields, StreamOutput::writeString, (stream, documentField) -> documentField.writeTo(stream));
+            out.writeMap(metaFields, StreamOutput::writeString, (stream, documentField) -> documentField.writeTo(stream));
         } else {
-            out.writeVInt(fields.size());
-            for (DocumentField hitField : getFields().values()) {
-                hitField.writeTo(out);
-            }
+            writeFields(out, this.getFields());
         }
         if (highlightFields == null) {
             out.writeVInt(0);
@@ -415,7 +448,9 @@ public final class SearchHit implements Writeable, ToXContentObject, Iterable<Do
 
     @Override
     public Iterator<DocumentField> iterator() {
-        return fields.values().iterator();
+        // need to join the fields and metadata fields
+        Map<String, DocumentField> allFields = this.getFields();
+        return allFields.values().iterator();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -425,21 +460,45 @@ public final class SearchHit implements Writeable, ToXContentObject, Iterable<Do
         return getFields().get(fieldName);
     }
 
+    /*
+    * Adds a new DocumentField to the map in case both parameters are not null.
+    * */
+    public void setField(String fieldName, DocumentField field) {
+        if (fieldName == null || field == null) return;
+        if (field.isMetadataField()) {
+            this.metaFields.put(fieldName, field);
+        } else {
+            this.documentFields.put(fieldName, field);
+        }
+    }
+
     /**
      * A map of hit fields (from field name to hit fields) if additional fields
      * were required to be loaded.
      */
     public Map<String, DocumentField> getFields() {
-        return fields == null ? emptyMap() : fields;
+        Map<String, DocumentField> fields = new HashMap<>();
+        fields.putAll(metaFields);
+        fields.putAll(documentFields);
+        return fields;
     }
 
     // returns the fields without handling null cases
     public Map<String, DocumentField> fieldsOrNull() {
-        return fields;
+        return getFields();
     }
 
     public void fields(Map<String, DocumentField> fields) {
-        this.fields = fields;
+        Objects.requireNonNull(fields);
+        this.metaFields = new HashMap<>();
+        this.documentFields = new HashMap<>();
+        for (Map.Entry<String, DocumentField> fieldEntry: fields.entrySet()) {
+            if (fieldEntry.getValue().isMetadataField()) {
+                this.metaFields.put(fieldEntry.getKey(), fieldEntry.getValue());
+            } else {
+                this.documentFields.put(fieldEntry.getKey(), fieldEntry.getValue());
+            }
+        }
     }
 
     /**
@@ -538,6 +597,22 @@ public final class SearchHit implements Writeable, ToXContentObject, Iterable<Do
         this.innerHits = innerHits;
     }
 
+    public static void splitFieldsByMetadata(Map<String, DocumentField> fields,
+                                             Map<String, DocumentField> documentFields,
+                                             Map<String, DocumentField> metaFields) {
+        // documentFields and metaFields must be non-empty maps
+        if (fields == null) {
+            return;
+        }
+        for (Map.Entry<String, DocumentField> fieldEntry: fields.entrySet()) {
+            if (fieldEntry.getValue().isMetadataField()) {
+                metaFields.put(fieldEntry.getKey(), fieldEntry.getValue());
+            } else {
+                documentFields.put(fieldEntry.getKey(), fieldEntry.getValue());
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     public static class Fields {
         static final String _INDEX = "_index";
         static final String _TYPE = "_type";
@@ -559,6 +634,12 @@ public final class SearchHit implements Writeable, ToXContentObject, Iterable<Do
         static final String _NODE = "_node";
     }
 
+    // Following are the keys for storing the metadata fields and regular fields in the aggregation map.
+    // These do not influence the structure of json serialization: document fields are still stored
+    // under FIELDS and metadata are still scattered at the root level.
+    static final String DOCUMENT_FIELDS = "document_fields";
+    static final String METADATA_FIELDS = "metadata_fields";
+
     @Override
     public XContentBuilder toXContent(XContentBuilder builder, Params params) throws IOException {
         builder.startObject();
@@ -569,21 +650,6 @@ public final class SearchHit implements Writeable, ToXContentObject, Iterable<Do
 
     // public because we render hit as part of completion suggestion option
     public XContentBuilder toInnerXContent(XContentBuilder builder, Params params) throws IOException {
-        List<DocumentField> metaFields = new ArrayList<>();
-        List<DocumentField> otherFields = new ArrayList<>();
-        if (fields != null && !fields.isEmpty()) {
-            for (DocumentField field : fields.values()) {
-                if (field.getValues().isEmpty()) {
-                    continue;
-                }
-                if (field.isMetadataField()) {
-                    metaFields.add(field);
-                } else {
-                    otherFields.add(field);
-                }
-            }
-        }
-
         // For inner_hit hits shard is null and that is ok, because the parent search hit has all this information.
         // Even if this was included in the inner_hit hits this would be the same, so better leave it out.
         if (getExplanation() != null && shard != null) {
@@ -616,7 +682,7 @@ public final class SearchHit implements Writeable, ToXContentObject, Iterable<Do
         } else {
             builder.field(Fields._SCORE, score);
         }
-        for (DocumentField field : metaFields) {
+        for (DocumentField field : metaFields.values()) {
             // _ignored is the only multi-valued meta field
             // TODO: can we avoid having an exception here?
             if (field.getName().equals(IgnoredFieldMapper.NAME)) {
@@ -628,9 +694,9 @@ public final class SearchHit implements Writeable, ToXContentObject, Iterable<Do
         if (source != null) {
             XContentHelper.writeRawField(SourceFieldMapper.NAME, source, builder, params);
         }
-        if (!otherFields.isEmpty()) {
+        if (!documentFields.isEmpty()) {
             builder.startObject(Fields.FIELDS);
-            for (DocumentField field : otherFields) {
+            for (DocumentField field : documentFields.values()) {
                 field.toXContent(builder, params);
             }
             builder.endObject();
@@ -706,7 +772,7 @@ public final class SearchHit implements Writeable, ToXContentObject, Iterable<Do
         parser.declareObject((map, value) -> {
             Map<String, DocumentField> fieldMap = get(Fields.FIELDS, map, new HashMap<String, DocumentField>());
             fieldMap.putAll(value);
-            map.put(Fields.FIELDS, fieldMap);
+            map.put(DOCUMENT_FIELDS, fieldMap);
         }, (p, c) -> parseFields(p), new ParseField(Fields.FIELDS));
         parser.declareObject((map, value) -> map.put(Fields._EXPLANATION, value), (p, c) -> parseExplanation(p),
                 new ParseField(Fields._EXPLANATION));
@@ -723,9 +789,10 @@ public final class SearchHit implements Writeable, ToXContentObject, Iterable<Do
         String id = get(Fields._ID, values, null);
         Text type = get(Fields._TYPE, values, null);
         NestedIdentity nestedIdentity = get(NestedIdentity._NESTED, values, null);
-        Map<String, DocumentField> fields = get(Fields.FIELDS, values, Collections.emptyMap());
+        Map<String, DocumentField> metaFields = get(METADATA_FIELDS, values, Collections.emptyMap());
+        Map<String, DocumentField> documentFields = get(DOCUMENT_FIELDS, values, Collections.emptyMap());
 
-        SearchHit searchHit = new SearchHit(-1, id, type, nestedIdentity, fields);
+        SearchHit searchHit = new SearchHit(-1, id, type, nestedIdentity, documentFields, metaFields);
         String index = get(Fields._INDEX, values, null);
         String clusterAlias = null;
         if (index != null) {
@@ -790,13 +857,17 @@ public final class SearchHit implements Writeable, ToXContentObject, Iterable<Do
      * handled individually. All other fields are parsed to an entry in the fields map
      */
     private static void declareMetadataFields(ObjectParser<Map<String, Object>, Void> parser) {
+        /* TODO: This method and its usage in declareInnerHitsParseFields() must be replaced by
+            calling an UnknownFieldConsumer. All fields on the root level of the parsed SearhHit
+            should be interpreted as metadata fields.
+         */
         for (String metadatafield : MapperService.getAllMetaFields()) {
             if (metadatafield.equals(Fields._ID) == false && metadatafield.equals(Fields._INDEX) == false
                     && metadatafield.equals(Fields._TYPE) == false) {
                 if (metadatafield.equals(IgnoredFieldMapper.NAME)) {
                     parser.declareObjectArray((map, list) -> {
                             @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
-                            Map<String, DocumentField> fieldMap = (Map<String, DocumentField>) map.computeIfAbsent(Fields.FIELDS,
+                            Map<String, DocumentField> fieldMap = (Map<String, DocumentField>) map.computeIfAbsent(METADATA_FIELDS,
                                 v -> new HashMap<String, DocumentField>());
                             DocumentField field = new DocumentField(metadatafield, list);
                             fieldMap.put(field.getName(), field);
@@ -805,7 +876,7 @@ public final class SearchHit implements Writeable, ToXContentObject, Iterable<Do
                 } else {
                     parser.declareField((map, field) -> {
                             @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
-                            Map<String, DocumentField> fieldMap = (Map<String, DocumentField>) map.computeIfAbsent(Fields.FIELDS,
+                            Map<String, DocumentField> fieldMap = (Map<String, DocumentField>) map.computeIfAbsent(METADATA_FIELDS,
                                 v -> new HashMap<String, DocumentField>());
                             fieldMap.put(field.getName(), field);
                         }, (p, c) -> new DocumentField(metadatafield, Collections.singletonList(parseFieldsValue(p))),
@@ -906,7 +977,8 @@ public final class SearchHit implements Writeable, ToXContentObject, Iterable<Do
                 && Objects.equals(seqNo, other.seqNo)
                 && Objects.equals(primaryTerm, other.primaryTerm)
                 && Objects.equals(source, other.source)
-                && Objects.equals(getFields(), other.getFields())
+                && Objects.equals(documentFields, other.documentFields)
+                && Objects.equals(metaFields, other.metaFields)
                 && Objects.equals(getHighlightFields(), other.getHighlightFields())
                 && Arrays.equals(matchedQueries, other.matchedQueries)
                 && Objects.equals(explanation, other.explanation)
@@ -918,7 +990,7 @@ public final class SearchHit implements Writeable, ToXContentObject, Iterable<Do
 
     @Override
     public int hashCode() {
-        return Objects.hash(id, type, nestedIdentity, version, seqNo, primaryTerm, source, fields, getHighlightFields(),
+        return Objects.hash(id, nestedIdentity, version, seqNo, primaryTerm, source, documentFields, metaFields, getHighlightFields(),
             Arrays.hashCode(matchedQueries), explanation, shard, innerHits, index, clusterAlias);
     }
 
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/fetch/FetchPhase.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/fetch/FetchPhase.java
index 93501678e43..a4a32b3a7c5 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/fetch/FetchPhase.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/fetch/FetchPhase.java
@@ -209,13 +209,17 @@ public class FetchPhase implements SearchPhase {
         DocumentMapper documentMapper = context.mapperService().documentMapper();
         Text typeText = documentMapper.typeText();
         if (fieldsVisitor == null) {
-            return new SearchHit(docId, null, typeText, null);
+            return new SearchHit(docId, null, typeText, null, null);
         }
 
         Map<String, DocumentField> searchFields = getSearchFields(context, fieldsVisitor, subDocId,
             storedToRequestedFields, subReaderContext);
 
-        SearchHit searchHit = new SearchHit(docId, fieldsVisitor.uid().id(), typeText, searchFields);
+        Map<String, DocumentField> metaFields = new HashMap<>();
+        Map<String, DocumentField> documentFields = new HashMap<>();
+        SearchHit.splitFieldsByMetadata(searchFields, documentFields, metaFields);
+
+        SearchHit searchHit = new SearchHit(docId, fieldsVisitor.uid().id(), typeText, documentFields, metaFields);
         // Set _source if requested.
         SourceLookup sourceLookup = context.lookup().source();
         sourceLookup.setSegmentAndDocument(subReaderContext, subDocId);
@@ -341,7 +345,10 @@ public class FetchPhase implements SearchPhase {
             XContentType contentType = tuple.v1();
             context.lookup().source().setSourceContentType(contentType);
         }
-        return new SearchHit(nestedTopDocId, uid.id(), documentMapper.typeText(), nestedIdentity, searchFields);
+        Map<String, DocumentField> metaFields = new HashMap<>();
+        Map<String, DocumentField> documentFields = new HashMap<>();
+        SearchHit.splitFieldsByMetadata(searchFields, documentFields, metaFields);
+        return new SearchHit(nestedTopDocId, uid.id(), documentMapper.typeText(), nestedIdentity, documentFields, metaFields);
     }
 
     private SearchHit.NestedIdentity getInternalNestedIdentity(SearchContext context, int nestedSubDocId,
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/fetch/subphase/FetchDocValuesPhase.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/fetch/subphase/FetchDocValuesPhase.java
index d03e5cde7fa..f0b26a468db 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/fetch/subphase/FetchDocValuesPhase.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/fetch/subphase/FetchDocValuesPhase.java
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ public final class FetchDocValuesPhase implements FetchSubPhase {
                     DocumentField hitField = hit.getFields().get(field);
                     if (hitField == null) {
                         hitField = new DocumentField(field, new ArrayList<>(2));
-                        hit.getFields().put(field, hitField);
+                        hit.setField(field, hitField);
                     }
                     final List<Object> values = hitField.getValues();
 
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/fetch/subphase/ScriptFieldsPhase.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/fetch/subphase/ScriptFieldsPhase.java
index 7a015811bd1..affe1920f48 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/fetch/subphase/ScriptFieldsPhase.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/fetch/subphase/ScriptFieldsPhase.java
@@ -85,7 +85,8 @@ public final class ScriptFieldsPhase implements FetchSubPhase {
                         values = Collections.singletonList(value);
                     }
                     hitField = new DocumentField(scriptFieldName, values);
-                    hit.getFields().put(scriptFieldName, hitField);
+                    hit.setField(scriptFieldName, hitField);
+
                 }
             }
         }
diff --git a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/ExpandSearchPhaseTests.java b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/ExpandSearchPhaseTests.java
index 783bf7e10fe..e7254799f3b 100644
--- a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/ExpandSearchPhaseTests.java
+++ b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/ExpandSearchPhaseTests.java
@@ -52,8 +52,8 @@ public class ExpandSearchPhaseTests extends ESTestCase {
             List<SearchHits> collapsedHits = new ArrayList<>(numInnerHits);
             for (int innerHitNum = 0; innerHitNum < numInnerHits; innerHitNum++) {
                 SearchHits hits = new SearchHits(new SearchHit[]{new SearchHit(innerHitNum, "ID", new Text("type"),
-                    Collections.emptyMap()), new SearchHit(innerHitNum + 1, "ID", new Text("type"),
-                    Collections.emptyMap())}, new TotalHits(2, TotalHits.Relation.EQUAL_TO), 1.0F);
+                    Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap()), new SearchHit(innerHitNum + 1, "ID", new Text("type"),
+                    Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap())}, new TotalHits(2, TotalHits.Relation.EQUAL_TO), 1.0F);
                 collapsedHits.add(hits);
             }
 
@@ -103,8 +103,8 @@ public class ExpandSearchPhaseTests extends ESTestCase {
             };
 
             SearchHits hits = new SearchHits(new SearchHit[]{new SearchHit(1, "ID", new Text("type"),
-                Collections.singletonMap("someField", new DocumentField("someField", Collections.singletonList(collapseValue))))},
-                new TotalHits(1, TotalHits.Relation.EQUAL_TO), 1.0F);
+                Collections.singletonMap("someField", new DocumentField("someField", Collections.singletonList(collapseValue))),
+                Collections.emptyMap())}, new TotalHits(1, TotalHits.Relation.EQUAL_TO), 1.0F);
             InternalSearchResponse internalSearchResponse = new InternalSearchResponse(hits, null, null, null, false, null, 1);
             ExpandSearchPhase phase = new ExpandSearchPhase(mockSearchPhaseContext, internalSearchResponse, null);
 
@@ -126,8 +126,8 @@ public class ExpandSearchPhaseTests extends ESTestCase {
         AtomicBoolean executedMultiSearch = new AtomicBoolean(false);
 
         SearchHits collapsedHits = new SearchHits(new SearchHit[]{new SearchHit(2, "ID", new Text("type"),
-            Collections.emptyMap()), new SearchHit(3, "ID", new Text("type"),
-            Collections.emptyMap())}, new TotalHits(1, TotalHits.Relation.EQUAL_TO), 1.0F);
+            Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap()), new SearchHit(3, "ID", new Text("type"),
+            Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap())}, new TotalHits(1, TotalHits.Relation.EQUAL_TO), 1.0F);
         MockSearchPhaseContext mockSearchPhaseContext = new MockSearchPhaseContext(1);
         String collapseValue = randomBoolean() ? null : "boom";
         mockSearchPhaseContext.getRequest().source(new SearchSourceBuilder()
@@ -149,9 +149,9 @@ public class ExpandSearchPhaseTests extends ESTestCase {
         };
 
         SearchHits hits = new SearchHits(new SearchHit[]{new SearchHit(1, "ID", new Text("type"),
-            Collections.singletonMap("someField", new DocumentField("someField", Collections.singletonList(collapseValue)))),
-            new SearchHit(2, "ID2", new Text("type"),
-                Collections.singletonMap("someField", new DocumentField("someField", Collections.singletonList(collapseValue))))},
+            Collections.singletonMap("someField", new DocumentField("someField", Collections.singletonList(collapseValue))),
+            Collections.emptyMap()), new SearchHit(2, "ID2", new Text("type"), Collections.singletonMap("someField",
+            new DocumentField("someField", Collections.singletonList(collapseValue))), Collections.emptyMap())},
             new TotalHits(1, TotalHits.Relation.EQUAL_TO), 1.0F);
         InternalSearchResponse internalSearchResponse = new InternalSearchResponse(hits, null, null, null, false, null, 1);
         ExpandSearchPhase phase = new ExpandSearchPhase(mockSearchPhaseContext, internalSearchResponse, null);
@@ -172,9 +172,9 @@ public class ExpandSearchPhaseTests extends ESTestCase {
         };
 
         SearchHits hits = new SearchHits(new SearchHit[]{new SearchHit(1, "ID", new Text("type"),
-            Collections.singletonMap("someField", new DocumentField("someField", Collections.singletonList(null)))),
-            new SearchHit(2, "ID2", new Text("type"),
-                Collections.singletonMap("someField", new DocumentField("someField", Collections.singletonList(null))))},
+            Collections.singletonMap("someField", new DocumentField("someField", Collections.singletonList(null))),
+            Collections.emptyMap()), new SearchHit(2, "ID2", new Text("type"), Collections.singletonMap("someField",
+            new DocumentField("someField", Collections.singletonList(null))), Collections.emptyMap())},
             new TotalHits(1, TotalHits.Relation.EQUAL_TO), 1.0F);
         InternalSearchResponse internalSearchResponse = new InternalSearchResponse(hits, null, null, null, false, null, 1);
         ExpandSearchPhase phase = new ExpandSearchPhase(mockSearchPhaseContext, internalSearchResponse, null);
diff --git a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/SearchPhaseControllerTests.java b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/SearchPhaseControllerTests.java
index 158ad0ff2f3..42231a99567 100644
--- a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/SearchPhaseControllerTests.java
+++ b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/SearchPhaseControllerTests.java
@@ -321,7 +321,7 @@ public class SearchPhaseControllerTests extends ESTestCase {
             List<SearchHit> searchHits = new ArrayList<>();
             for (ScoreDoc scoreDoc : mergedSearchDocs) {
                 if (scoreDoc.shardIndex == shardIndex) {
-                    searchHits.add(new SearchHit(scoreDoc.doc, "", new Text(""), Collections.emptyMap()));
+                    searchHits.add(new SearchHit(scoreDoc.doc, "", new Text(""), Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap()));
                     if (scoreDoc.score > maxScore) {
                         maxScore = scoreDoc.score;
                     }
@@ -332,7 +332,7 @@ public class SearchPhaseControllerTests extends ESTestCase {
                     for (CompletionSuggestion.Entry.Option option : ((CompletionSuggestion) suggestion).getOptions()) {
                         ScoreDoc doc = option.getDoc();
                         if (doc.shardIndex == shardIndex) {
-                            searchHits.add(new SearchHit(doc.doc, "", new Text(""), Collections.emptyMap()));
+                            searchHits.add(new SearchHit(doc.doc, "", new Text(""), Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap()));
                             if (doc.score > maxScore) {
                                 maxScore = doc.score;
                             }
diff --git a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/SearchResponseTests.java b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/SearchResponseTests.java
index 362fb6e6e40..e9a85ac0d88 100644
--- a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/SearchResponseTests.java
+++ b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/SearchResponseTests.java
@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ public class SearchResponseTests extends ESTestCase {
     }
 
     public void testToXContent() {
-        SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(1, "id1", new Text("type"), Collections.emptyMap());
+        SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(1, "id1", new Text("type"), Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap());
         hit.score(2.0f);
         SearchHit[] hits = new SearchHit[] { hit };
         {
diff --git a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/SearchHitTests.java b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/SearchHitTests.java
index 6234340061b..ba33bf3cd0c 100644
--- a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/SearchHitTests.java
+++ b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/SearchHitTests.java
@@ -73,14 +73,24 @@ public class SearchHitTests extends AbstractWireSerializingTestCase<SearchHit> {
         if (randomBoolean()) {
             nestedIdentity = NestedIdentityTests.createTestItem(randomIntBetween(0, 2));
         }
-        Map<String, DocumentField> fields = null;
+        Map<String, DocumentField> fields = new HashMap<>();
         if (frequently()) {
             fields = new HashMap<>();
             if (randomBoolean()) {
                 fields = GetResultTests.randomDocumentFields(xContentType).v2();
             }
         }
-        SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(internalId, uid, type, nestedIdentity, fields);
+        HashMap<String, DocumentField> metaFields = new HashMap<>();
+        HashMap<String, DocumentField> documentFields = new HashMap<>();
+        for (Map.Entry<String, DocumentField> fieldEntry: fields.entrySet()) {
+            if (fieldEntry.getValue().isMetadataField()) {
+                metaFields.put(fieldEntry.getKey(), fieldEntry.getValue());
+            } else {
+                documentFields.put(fieldEntry.getKey(), fieldEntry.getValue());
+            }
+        }
+
+        SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(internalId, uid, type, nestedIdentity, documentFields, metaFields);
         if (frequently()) {
             if (rarely()) {
                 hit.score(Float.NaN);
@@ -213,7 +223,7 @@ public class SearchHitTests extends AbstractWireSerializingTestCase<SearchHit> {
     }
 
     public void testToXContent() throws IOException {
-        SearchHit searchHit = new SearchHit(1, "id1", new Text("type"), Collections.emptyMap());
+        SearchHit searchHit = new SearchHit(1, "id1", new Text("type"), Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap());
         searchHit.score(1.5f);
         XContentBuilder builder = JsonXContent.contentBuilder();
         searchHit.toXContent(builder, ToXContent.EMPTY_PARAMS);
@@ -226,25 +236,25 @@ public class SearchHitTests extends AbstractWireSerializingTestCase<SearchHit> {
             clusterAlias, OriginalIndices.NONE);
 
         Map<String, SearchHits> innerHits = new HashMap<>();
-        SearchHit innerHit1 = new SearchHit(0, "_id", new Text("_type"), null);
+        SearchHit innerHit1 = new SearchHit(0, "_id", new Text("_type"), null, null);
         innerHit1.shard(target);
-        SearchHit innerInnerHit2 = new SearchHit(0, "_id", new Text("_type"), null);
+        SearchHit innerInnerHit2 = new SearchHit(0, "_id", new Text("_type"), null, null);
         innerInnerHit2.shard(target);
         innerHits.put("1", new SearchHits(new SearchHit[]{innerInnerHit2}, new TotalHits(1, TotalHits.Relation.EQUAL_TO), 1f));
         innerHit1.setInnerHits(innerHits);
-        SearchHit innerHit2 = new SearchHit(0, "_id", new Text("_type"), null);
+        SearchHit innerHit2 = new SearchHit(0, "_id", new Text("_type"), null, null);
         innerHit2.shard(target);
-        SearchHit innerHit3 = new SearchHit(0, "_id", new Text("_type"), null);
+        SearchHit innerHit3 = new SearchHit(0, "_id", new Text("_type"), null, null);
         innerHit3.shard(target);
 
         innerHits = new HashMap<>();
-        SearchHit hit1 = new SearchHit(0, "_id", new Text("_type"), null);
+        SearchHit hit1 = new SearchHit(0, "_id", new Text("_type"), null, null);
         innerHits.put("1", new SearchHits(new SearchHit[]{innerHit1, innerHit2}, new TotalHits(1, TotalHits.Relation.EQUAL_TO), 1f));
         innerHits.put("2", new SearchHits(new SearchHit[]{innerHit3}, new TotalHits(1, TotalHits.Relation.EQUAL_TO), 1f));
         hit1.shard(target);
         hit1.setInnerHits(innerHits);
 
-        SearchHit hit2 = new SearchHit(0, "_id", new Text("_type"), null);
+        SearchHit hit2 = new SearchHit(0, "_id", new Text("_type"), null, null);
         hit2.shard(target);
 
         SearchHits hits = new SearchHits(new SearchHit[]{hit1, hit2}, new TotalHits(2, TotalHits.Relation.EQUAL_TO), 1f);
@@ -271,7 +281,7 @@ public class SearchHitTests extends AbstractWireSerializingTestCase<SearchHit> {
     }
 
     public void testNullSource() {
-        SearchHit searchHit = new SearchHit(0, "_id", new Text("_type"), null);
+        SearchHit searchHit = new SearchHit(0, "_id", new Text("_type"), null, null);
 
         assertThat(searchHit.getSourceAsMap(), nullValue());
         assertThat(searchHit.getSourceRef(), nullValue());
diff --git a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/SearchHitsTests.java b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/SearchHitsTests.java
index 9e87628d35d..a65c0601531 100644
--- a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/SearchHitsTests.java
+++ b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/SearchHitsTests.java
@@ -208,8 +208,8 @@ public class SearchHitsTests extends AbstractSerializingTestCase<SearchHits> {
 
     public void testToXContent() throws IOException {
         SearchHit[] hits = new SearchHit[] {
-            new SearchHit(1, "id1", new Text("type"), Collections.emptyMap()),
-            new SearchHit(2, "id2", new Text("type"), Collections.emptyMap()) };
+            new SearchHit(1, "id1", new Text("type"), Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap()),
+            new SearchHit(2, "id2", new Text("type"), Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap()) };
 
         long totalHits = 1000;
         float maxScore = 1.5f;
@@ -226,9 +226,9 @@ public class SearchHitsTests extends AbstractSerializingTestCase<SearchHits> {
     public void testFromXContentWithShards() throws IOException {
         for (boolean withExplanation : new boolean[] {true, false}) {
             final SearchHit[] hits = new SearchHit[]{
-                new SearchHit(1, "id1", new Text("type"), Collections.emptyMap()),
-                new SearchHit(2, "id2", new Text("type"), Collections.emptyMap()),
-                new SearchHit(10, "id10", new Text("type"), Collections.emptyMap())
+                new SearchHit(1, "id1", new Text("type"), Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap()),
+                new SearchHit(2, "id2", new Text("type"), Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap()),
+                new SearchHit(10, "id10", new Text("type"), Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap())
             };
 
             for (SearchHit hit : hits) {
diff --git a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/metrics/InternalTopHitsTests.java b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/metrics/InternalTopHitsTests.java
index 291c34dc4b5..25e03dc0e37 100644
--- a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/metrics/InternalTopHitsTests.java
+++ b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/metrics/InternalTopHitsTests.java
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.Comparator;
+import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.List;
@@ -114,7 +115,7 @@ public class InternalTopHitsTests extends InternalAggregationTestCase<InternalTo
             } else {
                 scoreDocs[i] = new ScoreDoc(docId, score);
             }
-            hits[i] = new SearchHit(docId, Integer.toString(i), new Text("test"), searchHitFields);
+            hits[i] = new SearchHit(docId, Integer.toString(i), new Text("test"), searchHitFields, Collections.emptyMap());
             hits[i].score(score);
         }
         int totalHits = between(actualSize, 500000);
diff --git a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/fetch/FetchSubPhasePluginIT.java b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/fetch/FetchSubPhasePluginIT.java
index e6f7ecf6b37..b85aea575fe 100644
--- a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/fetch/FetchSubPhasePluginIT.java
+++ b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/fetch/FetchSubPhasePluginIT.java
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ public class FetchSubPhasePluginIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
             DocumentField hitField = hitContext.hit().getFields().get(NAME);
             if (hitField == null) {
                 hitField = new DocumentField(NAME, new ArrayList<>(1));
-                hitContext.hit().getFields().put(NAME, hitField);
+                hitContext.hit().setField(NAME, hitField);
             }
             TermVectorsRequest termVectorsRequest = new TermVectorsRequest(context.indexShard().shardId().getIndex().getName(),
                     hitContext.hit().getType(), hitContext.hit().getId());
diff --git a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/fetch/subphase/FetchSourcePhaseTests.java b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/fetch/subphase/FetchSourcePhaseTests.java
index d87d21c7d0e..55543127b39 100644
--- a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/fetch/subphase/FetchSourcePhaseTests.java
+++ b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/fetch/subphase/FetchSourcePhaseTests.java
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ public class FetchSourcePhaseTests extends ESTestCase {
         SearchContext searchContext = new FetchSourcePhaseTestSearchContext(fetchSourceContext,
                 source == null ? null : BytesReference.bytes(source));
         FetchSubPhase.HitContext hitContext = new FetchSubPhase.HitContext();
-        final SearchHit searchHit = new SearchHit(1, null, null, nestedIdentity, null);
+        final SearchHit searchHit = new SearchHit(1, null, null, nestedIdentity, null, null);
         hitContext.reset(searchHit, null, 1, null);
         FetchSourcePhase phase = new FetchSourcePhase();
         phase.hitExecute(searchContext, hitContext);
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/enrich/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/enrich/action/EnrichShardMultiSearchAction.java b/x-pack/plugin/enrich/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/enrich/action/EnrichShardMultiSearchAction.java
index dc2426343d1..7264ba923c8 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/enrich/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/enrich/action/EnrichShardMultiSearchAction.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/enrich/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/enrich/action/EnrichShardMultiSearchAction.java
@@ -261,7 +261,13 @@ public class EnrichShardMultiSearchAction extends ActionType<MultiSearchResponse
                         visitor.reset();
                         searcher.doc(scoreDoc.doc, visitor);
                         visitor.postProcess(mapperService);
-                        final SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(scoreDoc.doc, visitor.uid().id(), typeText, Collections.emptyMap());
+                        final SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(
+                            scoreDoc.doc,
+                            visitor.uid().id(),
+                            typeText,
+                            Collections.emptyMap(),
+                            Collections.emptyMap()
+                        );
                         hit.sourceRef(filterSource(fetchSourceContext, visitor.source()));
                         hits[j] = hit;
                     }
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/enrich/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/enrich/GeoMatchProcessorTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/enrich/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/enrich/GeoMatchProcessorTests.java
index d94c94b41f5..863dcf455af 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/enrich/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/enrich/GeoMatchProcessorTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/enrich/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/enrich/GeoMatchProcessorTests.java
@@ -176,6 +176,7 @@ public class GeoMatchProcessorTests extends ESTestCase {
                 randomInt(100),
                 e.getKey(),
                 new Text(MapperService.SINGLE_MAPPING_NAME),
+                Collections.emptyMap(),
                 Collections.emptyMap()
             );
             try (XContentBuilder builder = XContentBuilder.builder(XContentType.SMILE.xContent())) {
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/enrich/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/enrich/MatchProcessorTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/enrich/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/enrich/MatchProcessorTests.java
index c7e26310dea..f3a27938aec 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/enrich/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/enrich/MatchProcessorTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/enrich/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/enrich/MatchProcessorTests.java
@@ -386,6 +386,7 @@ public class MatchProcessorTests extends ESTestCase {
                 randomInt(100),
                 e.getKey().toString(),
                 new Text(MapperService.SINGLE_MAPPING_NAME),
+                Collections.emptyMap(),
                 Collections.emptyMap()
             );
             try (XContentBuilder builder = XContentBuilder.builder(XContentType.SMILE.xContent())) {
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/eql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/eql/action/EqlSearchResponseTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/eql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/eql/action/EqlSearchResponseTests.java
index 608134e87d9..36f5ff0c986 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/eql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/eql/action/EqlSearchResponseTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/eql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/eql/action/EqlSearchResponseTests.java
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ public class EqlSearchResponseTests extends AbstractSerializingTestCase<EqlSearc
         if (randomBoolean()) {
             hits = new ArrayList<>();
             for (int i = 0; i < size; i++) {
-                hits.add(new SearchHit(i, randomAlphaOfLength(10), null, new HashMap<>()));
+                hits.add(new SearchHit(i, randomAlphaOfLength(10), null, new HashMap<>(), new HashMap<>()));
             }
         }
         if (randomBoolean()) {
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/ml/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/dataframe/process/DataFrameRowsJoinerTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/ml/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/dataframe/process/DataFrameRowsJoinerTests.java
index 6f672f41264..6f3e0ff22e0 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/ml/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/dataframe/process/DataFrameRowsJoinerTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/ml/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/dataframe/process/DataFrameRowsJoinerTests.java
@@ -235,7 +235,8 @@ public class DataFrameRowsJoinerTests extends ESTestCase {
     }
 
     private static SearchHit newHit(String json) {
-        SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(randomInt(), randomAlphaOfLength(10), new Text("doc"), Collections.emptyMap());
+        SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(randomInt(), randomAlphaOfLength(10), new Text("doc"),
+            Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap());
         hit.sourceRef(new BytesArray(json));
         return hit;
     }
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/ml/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/job/persistence/JobResultsProviderTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/ml/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/job/persistence/JobResultsProviderTests.java
index 0f18d29979b..d869964c6dd 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/ml/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/job/persistence/JobResultsProviderTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/ml/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/job/persistence/JobResultsProviderTests.java
@@ -908,7 +908,7 @@ public class JobResultsProviderTests extends ESTestCase {
             fields.put("field_1", new DocumentField("field_1", Collections.singletonList("foo")));
             fields.put("field_2", new DocumentField("field_2", Collections.singletonList("foo")));
 
-            SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(123, String.valueOf(map.hashCode()), new Text("foo"), fields)
+            SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(123, String.valueOf(map.hashCode()), new Text("foo"), fields, Collections.emptyMap())
                     .sourceRef(BytesReference.bytes(XContentFactory.jsonBuilder().map(_source)));
 
             list.add(hit);
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/ml/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/job/persistence/MockClientBuilder.java b/x-pack/plugin/ml/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/job/persistence/MockClientBuilder.java
index a2b628df858..28b435610d3 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/ml/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/job/persistence/MockClientBuilder.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/ml/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/job/persistence/MockClientBuilder.java
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ import org.mockito.ArgumentCaptor;
 import org.mockito.invocation.InvocationOnMock;
 import org.mockito.stubbing.Answer;
 
+import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 
@@ -190,7 +191,7 @@ public class MockClientBuilder {
 
         SearchHit hits [] = new SearchHit[fields.size()];
         for (int i=0; i<hits.length; i++) {
-            SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(10, null, null, fields.get(i));
+            SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(10, null, null, fields.get(i), Collections.emptyMap());
             hits[i] = hit;
         }
 
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/security/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/security/action/saml/TransportSamlInvalidateSessionActionTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/security/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/security/action/saml/TransportSamlInvalidateSessionActionTests.java
index f569d1a45c8..9542090c1a8 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/security/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/security/action/saml/TransportSamlInvalidateSessionActionTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/security/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/security/action/saml/TransportSamlInvalidateSessionActionTests.java
@@ -242,7 +242,7 @@ public class TransportSamlInvalidateSessionActionTests extends SamlTestCase {
                     .createParser(NamedXContentRegistry.EMPTY, DeprecationHandler.THROW_UNSUPPORTED_OPERATION, source.streamInput()).map();
             final Map<String, Object> accessToken = (Map<String, Object>) sourceMap.get("access_token");
             final Map<String, Object> userToken = (Map<String, Object>) accessToken.get("user_token");
-            final SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(idx, "token_" + userToken.get("id"), null, null);
+            final SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(idx, "token_" + userToken.get("id"), null, null, null);
             hit.sourceRef(source);
             return hit;
         } catch (IOException e) {
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/security/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/security/authz/store/NativePrivilegeStoreTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/security/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/security/authz/store/NativePrivilegeStoreTests.java
index cdcd44e0957..63e514390ef 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/security/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/security/authz/store/NativePrivilegeStoreTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/security/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/security/authz/store/NativePrivilegeStoreTests.java
@@ -340,7 +340,7 @@ public class NativePrivilegeStoreTests extends ESTestCase {
         final SearchHit[] hits = new SearchHit[sourcePrivileges.size()];
         for (int i = 0; i < hits.length; i++) {
             final ApplicationPrivilegeDescriptor p = sourcePrivileges.get(i);
-            hits[i] = new SearchHit(i, "application-privilege_" + p.getApplication() + ":" + p.getName(), null, null);
+            hits[i] = new SearchHit(i, "application-privilege_" + p.getApplication() + ":" + p.getName(), null, null, null);
             hits[i].sourceRef(new BytesArray(Strings.toString(p)));
         }
         return hits;
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/sql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/sql/execution/search/extractor/TopHitsAggExtractorTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/sql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/sql/execution/search/extractor/TopHitsAggExtractorTests.java
index dd4158080fe..ec598b3a46b 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/sql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/sql/execution/search/extractor/TopHitsAggExtractorTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/sql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/sql/execution/search/extractor/TopHitsAggExtractorTests.java
@@ -95,8 +95,8 @@ public class TopHitsAggExtractorTests extends AbstractSqlWireSerializingTestCase
 
     private SearchHits searchHitsOf(Object value) {
         TotalHits totalHits = new TotalHits(10, TotalHits.Relation.EQUAL_TO);
-        return new SearchHits(new SearchHit[] {new SearchHit(1, "docId", null,
-                Collections.singletonMap("topHitsAgg", new DocumentField("field", Collections.singletonList(value))))},
+        return new SearchHits(new SearchHit[] {new SearchHit(1, "docId", null, Collections.singletonMap("topHitsAgg",
+            new DocumentField("field", Collections.singletonList(value))), Collections.emptyMap())},
             totalHits, 0.0f);
     }
 }
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/watcher/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/watcher/WatcherServiceTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/watcher/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/watcher/WatcherServiceTests.java
index da67900ee18..2e74274e020 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/watcher/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/watcher/WatcherServiceTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/watcher/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/watcher/WatcherServiceTests.java
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ public class WatcherServiceTests extends ESTestCase {
         SearchHit[] hits = new SearchHit[count];
         for (int i = 0; i < count; i++) {
             String id = String.valueOf(i);
-            SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(1, id, new Text("watch"), Collections.emptyMap());
+            SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(1, id, new Text("watch"), Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap());
             hit.version(1L);
             hit.shard(new SearchShardTarget("nodeId", new ShardId(watchIndex, 0), "whatever", OriginalIndices.NONE));
             hits[i] = hit;
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/watcher/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/watcher/condition/CompareConditionSearchTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/watcher/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/watcher/condition/CompareConditionSearchTests.java
index 8824af4a876..23e76a289c0 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/watcher/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/watcher/condition/CompareConditionSearchTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/watcher/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/watcher/condition/CompareConditionSearchTests.java
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ public class CompareConditionSearchTests extends AbstractWatcherIntegrationTestC
     public void testExecuteAccessHits() throws Exception {
         CompareCondition condition = new CompareCondition("ctx.payload.hits.hits.0._score", CompareCondition.Op.EQ, 1,
                 Clock.systemUTC());
-        SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(0, "1", new Text("type"), null);
+        SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(0, "1", new Text("type"), null, null);
         hit.score(1f);
         hit.shard(new SearchShardTarget("a", new ShardId("a", "indexUUID", 0), null, OriginalIndices.NONE));
 
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/watcher/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/watcher/execution/TriggeredWatchStoreTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/watcher/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/watcher/execution/TriggeredWatchStoreTests.java
index dd994573f00..25a0e7e2857 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/watcher/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/watcher/execution/TriggeredWatchStoreTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/watcher/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/watcher/execution/TriggeredWatchStoreTests.java
@@ -216,7 +216,7 @@ public class TriggeredWatchStoreTests extends ESTestCase {
         when(searchResponse1.getSuccessfulShards()).thenReturn(1);
         when(searchResponse1.getTotalShards()).thenReturn(1);
         BytesArray source = new BytesArray("{}");
-        SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(0, "first_foo", new Text(SINGLE_MAPPING_NAME), null);
+        SearchHit hit = new SearchHit(0, "first_foo", new Text(SINGLE_MAPPING_NAME), null, null);
         hit.version(1L);
         hit.shard(new SearchShardTarget("_node_id", new ShardId(index, 0), null, OriginalIndices.NONE));
         hit.sourceRef(source);
@@ -230,7 +230,7 @@ public class TriggeredWatchStoreTests extends ESTestCase {
         }).when(client).execute(eq(SearchAction.INSTANCE), any(), any());
 
         // First return a scroll response with a single hit and then with no hits
-        hit = new SearchHit(0, "second_foo", new Text(SINGLE_MAPPING_NAME), null);
+        hit = new SearchHit(0, "second_foo", new Text(SINGLE_MAPPING_NAME), null, null);
         hit.version(1L);
         hit.shard(new SearchShardTarget("_node_id", new ShardId(index, 0), null, OriginalIndices.NONE));
         hit.sourceRef(source);