diff --git a/cmd/grpcurl/grpcurl.go b/cmd/grpcurl/grpcurl.go
index e1fd37b..d7bb65f 100644
--- a/cmd/grpcurl/grpcurl.go
+++ b/cmd/grpcurl/grpcurl.go
@@ -95,8 +95,8 @@ var (
 	connectTimeout = flags.Float64("connect-timeout", 0, prettify(`
 		The maximum time, in seconds, to wait for connection to be established.
 		Defaults to 10 seconds.`))
-	jsonError = flags.Bool("json-error", false, prettify(`
-		Emit error response as JSON.`))
+	errorFormat = flags.String("error-format", "text", prettify(`
+		The format of request data. The allowed values are 'json' or 'text'.`))
 	keepaliveTime = flags.Float64("keepalive-time", 0, prettify(`
 		If present, the maximum idle time in seconds, after which a keepalive
 		probe is sent. If the connection remains idle and no keepalive response
@@ -272,7 +272,10 @@ func main() {
 		fail(nil, "The -cert and -key arguments must be used together and both be present.")
 	}
 	if *format != "json" && *format != "text" {
-		fail(nil, "The -format option must be 'json' or 'text.")
+		fail(nil, "The -format option must be 'json' or 'text'.")
+	}
+	if *errorFormat != "json" && *errorFormat != "text" {
+		fail(nil, "The -error-format option must be 'json' or 'text'.")
 	}
 	if *emitDefaults && *format != "json" {
 		warn("The -emit-defaults is only used when using json format.")
@@ -654,11 +657,7 @@ func main() {
 			fmt.Printf("Sent %d request%s and received %d response%s\n", reqCount, reqSuffix, h.NumResponses, respSuffix)
 		}
 		if h.Status.Code() != codes.OK {
-			if *jsonError {
-				grpcurl.PrintJSONStatus(os.Stderr, h.Status)
-			} else {
-				grpcurl.PrintStatus(os.Stderr, h.Status, formatter)
-			}
+			grpcurl.HandleFormatAndPrintStatus(grpcurl.Format(*errorFormat), os.Stderr, h.Status, formatter)
 			exit(1)
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/format.go b/format.go
index bc40b69..9d61ed9 100644
--- a/format.go
+++ b/format.go
@@ -429,6 +429,21 @@ func (h *DefaultEventHandler) OnReceiveTrailers(stat *status.Status, md metadata
 	}
 }
 
+// HandleFormatAndPrintStatus passes the writer, status object, and formatter (if applicable)
+// to the appropriate status printing function
+func HandleFormatAndPrintStatus(format Format, w io.Writer, stat *status.Status, formatter Formatter) {
+
+	switch format {
+	case FormatJSON:
+		marshaler := jsonpb.Marshaler{Indent: "  "}
+		PrintFormattedStatus(w, stat, marshaler.MarshalToString)
+	case FormatText:
+		PrintStatus(w, stat, formatter)
+	default:
+		fmt.Errorf("unknown format: %s", format)
+	}
+}
+
 // PrintStatus prints details about the given status to the given writer. The given
 // formatter is used to print any detail messages that may be included in the status.
 // If the given status has a code of OK, "OK" is printed and that is all. Otherwise,
@@ -468,9 +483,10 @@ func PrintStatus(w io.Writer, stat *status.Status, formatter Formatter) {
 	}
 }
 
-// PrintJSONStatus returns the grpc status response as a JSON object
-func PrintJSONStatus(w io.Writer, stat *status.Status) {
-	jsonStatus, err := (&jsonpb.Marshaler{}).MarshalToString(stat.Proto())
+// PrintFormattedStatus writes the gRPC status response in its entirety given the
+// provided Formatter
+func PrintFormattedStatus(w io.Writer, stat *status.Status, formatter Formatter) {
+	jsonStatus, err := formatter(stat.Proto())
 	if err != nil {
 		fmt.Fprintf(w, "ERROR: %v", err.Error())
 	}
diff --git a/format_test.go b/format_test.go
index f767ef3..459392c 100644
--- a/format_test.go
+++ b/format_test.go
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@ func TestHandler(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestPrintJSONStatus(t *testing.T) {
+func TestPrintFormattedStatus(t *testing.T) {
 	testCases := []struct {
 		input          *status.Status
 		expectedOutput string
@@ -186,7 +186,7 @@ func TestPrintJSONStatus(t *testing.T) {
 
 	for _, tc := range testCases {
 		var b bytes.Buffer
-		PrintJSONStatus(&b, tc.input)
+		HandleFormatAndPrintStatus(FormatJSON, &b, tc.input, nil)
 		got := b.String()
 		if !compare(tc.expectedOutput, got) {
 			t.Errorf("Incorrect output. Expected:\n%s\nGot:\n%s", tc.expectedOutput, got)
@@ -265,7 +265,10 @@ Response contents:
   "null": null
 }
 `
-	statusAsJSON  = `{"code":3,"message":"Missing Argument"} `
+	statusAsJSON = `{
+  "code": 3,
+  "message": "Missing Argument"
+}`
 	messageAsText = `struct_value: <
   fields: <
     key: "bar"