diff --git a/lib/bb/fetch2/crate.py b/lib/bb/fetch2/crate.py
index 2d3078899..5b6c715a3 100644
--- a/lib/bb/fetch2/crate.py
+++ b/lib/bb/fetch2/crate.py
@@ -22,10 +22,25 @@ from   bb.fetch2.wget import Wget
 class Crate(Wget):
 
     """Class to fetch crates via wget"""
+    using_crates_io = False
 
     def _cargo_bitbake_path(self, rootdir):
         return os.path.join(rootdir, "cargo_home", "bitbake")
 
+    def identify_as_bitbake(self):
+        """
+        Should wget identify as bitbake?
+        """
+        # In order to comply with the data access policy of crates.io, a
+        # user-agent with application and contact information should be used:
+        #
+        # https://crates.io/data-access
+        if self.using_crates_io:
+            return True
+        else:
+            # Default to whatever Wget think is proper
+            return super(Crate, self).identify_as_bitbake()
+
     def supports(self, ud, d):
         """
         Check to see if a given url is for this fetcher
@@ -65,10 +80,11 @@ class Crate(Wget):
         # host (this is to allow custom crate registries to be specified
         host = '/'.join(parts[2:-2])
 
-        # if using upstream just fix it up nicely
+        # if using upstream fix it up nicely and make sure user-agent is set
         if host == 'crates.io':
             host = 'crates.io/api/v1/crates'
             cdn_host = 'static.crates.io/crates'
+            self.using_crates_io = True
         else:
             cdn_host = host