diff --git a/docs/appendices/0.29.0-migration-guide.md b/docs/appendices/0.29.0-migration-guide.md
index e262032ac..ee8cb8578 100644
--- a/docs/appendices/0.29.0-migration-guide.md
+++ b/docs/appendices/0.29.0-migration-guide.md
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 - The ID of `cron` tasks is now base36-encoded instead of base64-encoded.
 - The `nginx.conf.sigil` is now extracted when source code is extracted for a build and not from the built image. Users can specify alternative paths via the `nginx-conf-sigil-path` property of the `nginx` plugin. See the [nginx documentation](/docs/networking/proxies/nginx.md#customizing-the-nginx-configuration) for more information on how to configure the `nginx.conf.sigil` path for your application.
 - The existing `pre-restore` hook has been renamed to `scheduler-pre-restore`. There is a new `pre-restore` hook that is triggered within the `ps:restore` command prior to restoring any apps.
+- Nginx init commands are now performed via systemctl on Ubuntu systems when `/usr/bin/systemctl` is available.
 
 ## Removals
 
diff --git a/plugins/nginx-vhosts/install b/plugins/nginx-vhosts/install
index e104494af..e5f0e7af4 100755
--- a/plugins/nginx-vhosts/install
+++ b/plugins/nginx-vhosts/install
@@ -75,6 +75,8 @@ trigger-nginx-vhosts-install() {
     ubuntu)
       if [[ -x /usr/bin/sv ]]; then
         echo "%dokku ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:/usr/bin/sv enable $NGINX_INIT_NAME, /usr/bin/sv disable $NGINX_INIT_NAME, /usr/bin/sv reload $NGINX_INIT_NAME, /usr/bin/sv start $NGINX_INIT_NAME, /usr/bin/sv stop $NGINX_INIT_NAME, $NGINX_BIN -t, $NGINX_BIN -t -c *" >"$NGINX_SUDOERS_FILE"
+      elif [[ -x /usr/bin/systemctl ]]; then
+        echo "%dokku ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:/usr/bin/systemctl enable $NGINX_INIT_NAME, /usr/bin/systemctl disable $NGINX_INIT_NAME, /usr/bin/systemctl reload $NGINX_INIT_NAME, /usr/bin/systemctl start $NGINX_INIT_NAME, /usr/bin/systemctl stop $NGINX_INIT_NAME, $NGINX_BIN -t, $NGINX_BIN -t -c *" >"$NGINX_SUDOERS_FILE"
       else
         echo "%dokku ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:/etc/init.d/$NGINX_INIT_NAME enable, /etc/init.d/$NGINX_INIT_NAME disable, /etc/init.d/$NGINX_INIT_NAME reload, /etc/init.d/$NGINX_INIT_NAME start, /etc/init.d/$NGINX_INIT_NAME stop, $NGINX_BIN -t, $NGINX_BIN -t -c *" >"$NGINX_SUDOERS_FILE"
       fi
diff --git a/plugins/nginx-vhosts/internal-functions b/plugins/nginx-vhosts/internal-functions
index e8eba5f71..ff00477b7 100755
--- a/plugins/nginx-vhosts/internal-functions
+++ b/plugins/nginx-vhosts/internal-functions
@@ -132,6 +132,8 @@ fn-nginx-vhosts-nginx-init-cmd() {
       # support docker-based installations
       if [[ -x /usr/bin/sv ]]; then
         sudo /usr/bin/sv "$CMD" "$NGINX_INIT_NAME"
+      elif [[ -x /usr/bin/systemctl ]]; then
+        sudo /usr/bin/systemctl "$CMD" "$NGINX_INIT_NAME"
       else
         sudo "/etc/init.d/$NGINX_INIT_NAME" "$CMD"
       fi