diff --git a/desktop/notification/fdo.go b/desktop/notification/fdo.go
index f5fdf6df128..99f2e8b9803 100644
--- a/desktop/notification/fdo.go
+++ b/desktop/notification/fdo.go
@@ -79,7 +79,8 @@ func (srv *Server) ServerCapabilities() ([]ServerCapability, error) {
 func (srv *Server) SendNotification(msg *Message) (ID, error) {
 	call := srv.obj.Call(dBusInterfaceName+".Notify", 0,
 		msg.AppName, msg.ReplacesID, msg.Icon, msg.Summary, msg.Body,
-		flattenActions(msg.Actions), mapHints(msg.Hints), msg.ExpireTimeout)
+		flattenActions(msg.Actions), mapHints(msg.Hints),
+		int32(msg.ExpireTimeout.Milliseconds()))
 	var id ID
 	if err := call.Store(&id); err != nil {
 		return 0, err
diff --git a/desktop/notification/fdo_test.go b/desktop/notification/fdo_test.go
index a88d4124ba4..8be708224fd 100644
--- a/desktop/notification/fdo_test.go
+++ b/desktop/notification/fdo_test.go
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"sync"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/godbus/dbus"
 	. "gopkg.in/check.v1"
@@ -231,7 +232,7 @@ func (s *fdoSuite) TestSendNotificationSuccess(c *C) {
 		Icon:          "icon",
 		Summary:       "summary",
 		Body:          "body",
-		ExpireTimeout: 1000,
+		ExpireTimeout: time.Second * 1,
 		ReplacesID:    notification.ID(42),
 		Actions: []notification.Action{
 			{ActionKey: "key-1", LocalizedText: "text-1"},
@@ -246,6 +247,34 @@ func (s *fdoSuite) TestSendNotificationSuccess(c *C) {
 	c.Check(id, Equals, notification.ID(7))
 }
 
+func (s *fdoSuite) TestSendNotificationWithServerDecitedExpireTimeout(c *C) {
+	srv := s.connectWithHandler(c, func(msg *dbus.Message, n int) ([]*dbus.Message, error) {
+		switch n {
+		case 0:
+			s.checkNotifyRequest(c, msg)
+			c.Check(msg.Body[7], Equals, int32(-1))
+			responseSig := dbus.SignatureOf(uint32(0))
+			response := &dbus.Message{
+				Type: dbus.TypeMethodReply,
+				Headers: map[dbus.HeaderField]dbus.Variant{
+					dbus.FieldReplySerial: dbus.MakeVariant(msg.Serial()),
+					dbus.FieldSender:      dbus.MakeVariant(":1"), // This does not matter.
+					// dbus.FieldDestination is provided automatically by DBus test helper.
+					dbus.FieldSignature: dbus.MakeVariant(responseSig),
+				},
+				Body: []interface{}{uint32(7)},
+			}
+			return []*dbus.Message{response}, nil
+		}
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unexpected message #%d: %s", n, msg)
+	})
+	id, err := srv.SendNotification(&notification.Message{
+		ExpireTimeout: notification.ServerSelectedExpireTimeout,
+	})
+	c.Assert(err, IsNil)
+	c.Check(id, Equals, notification.ID(7))
+}
+
 func (s *fdoSuite) TestSendNotificationError(c *C) {
 	srv := s.connectWithHandler(c, func(msg *dbus.Message, n int) ([]*dbus.Message, error) {
 		switch n {
diff --git a/desktop/notification/notify.go b/desktop/notification/notify.go
index d89cb5a3320..8043d6df66a 100644
--- a/desktop/notification/notify.go
+++ b/desktop/notification/notify.go
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ package notification
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"time"
 )
 
 // Message describes a single notification message.
@@ -38,7 +39,10 @@ import (
 // A notification can automatically expire after the given number of
 // milliseconds. This is separate from the notification being visible or
 // invisible on-screen. Expired notifications are removed from persistent
-// message roster, if one is supported.
+// message roster, if one is supported. Two special values are recognized. When
+// the expiration timeout is zero a message never expires. When the expiration
+// timeout is -1 a message expires after a server-defined duration which may
+// vary for the type of the notification message sent.
 //
 // A notification may replace an existing notification by setting the ReplacesID
 // to a non-zero value. This only works if the notification server was not
@@ -63,12 +67,16 @@ type Message struct {
 	Icon          string
 	Summary       string
 	Body          string
-	ExpireTimeout int32 // XXX: consider using time.Duration instead?
+	ExpireTimeout time.Duration // Effective resolution in milliseconds with 31-bit range.
 	ReplacesID    ID
 	Actions       []Action
 	Hints         []Hint
 }
 
+// ServerSelectedExpireTimeout requests the server to pick an expiration timeout
+// appropriate for the message type.
+const ServerSelectedExpireTimeout = time.Millisecond * -1
+
 // ID is the opaque identifier of a notification assigned by the server.
 //
 // Notifications with known identifiers can be closed or updated. The identifier