diff --git a/db.go b/db.go
index 0b74621..758c911 100644
--- a/db.go
+++ b/db.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"hash/fnv"
 	"io"
 	"os"
+	"strings"
 	"sync"
 	"syscall"
 	"unsafe"
@@ -47,6 +48,12 @@ var (
 // All data access is performed through transactions which can be obtained through the DB.
 // All the functions on DB will return a ErrDatabaseNotOpen if accessed before Open() is called.
 type DB struct {
+	// When enabled, the database will perform a Check() after every commit.
+	// A panic is issued if the database is in an inconsistent state. This
+	// flag has a large performance impact so it should only be used for
+	// debugging purposes.
+	StrictMode bool
+
 	path     string
 	file     *os.File
 	data     []byte
@@ -533,69 +540,7 @@ func (db *DB) Stats() Stats {
 // An error is returned if any inconsistency is found.
 func (db *DB) Check() error {
 	return db.Update(func(tx *Tx) error {
-		var errors ErrorList
-
-		// Track every reachable page.
-		reachable := make(map[pgid]*page)
-		reachable[0] = db.page(0) // meta0
-		reachable[1] = db.page(1) // meta1
-		for i := uint32(0); i <= db.page(tx.meta.freelist).overflow; i++ {
-			reachable[tx.meta.freelist+pgid(i)] = db.page(tx.meta.freelist)
-		}
-
-		// Recursively check buckets.
-		db.checkBucket(&tx.root, reachable, &errors)
-
-		// Ensure all pages below high water mark are either reachable or freed.
-		for i := pgid(0); i < tx.meta.pgid; i++ {
-			_, isReachable := reachable[i]
-			if !isReachable && !db.freelist.isFree(i) {
-				errors = append(errors, fmt.Errorf("page %d: unreachable unfreed", int(i)))
-			}
-		}
-
-		if len(errors) > 0 {
-			return errors
-		}
-
-		return nil
-	})
-}
-
-func (db *DB) checkBucket(b *Bucket, reachable map[pgid]*page, errors *ErrorList) {
-	// Ignore inline buckets.
-	if b.root == 0 {
-		return
-	}
-
-	// Check every page used by this bucket.
-	b.tx.forEachPage(b.root, 0, func(p *page, _ int) {
-		// Ensure each page is only referenced once.
-		for i := pgid(0); i <= pgid(p.overflow); i++ {
-			var id = p.id + i
-			if _, ok := reachable[id]; ok {
-				*errors = append(*errors, fmt.Errorf("page %d: multiple references", int(id)))
-			}
-			reachable[id] = p
-		}
-
-		// Retrieve page info.
-		info, err := b.tx.Page(int(p.id))
-		if err != nil {
-			*errors = append(*errors, err)
-		} else if info == nil {
-			*errors = append(*errors, fmt.Errorf("page %d: out of bounds: %d", int(p.id), int(b.tx.meta.pgid)))
-		} else if info.Type != "branch" && info.Type != "leaf" {
-			*errors = append(*errors, fmt.Errorf("page %d: invalid type: %s", int(p.id), info.Type))
-		}
-	})
-
-	// Check each bucket within this bucket.
-	_ = b.ForEach(func(k, v []byte) error {
-		if child := b.Bucket(k); child != nil {
-			db.checkBucket(child, reachable, errors)
-		}
-		return nil
+		return tx.Check()
 	})
 }
 
@@ -734,6 +679,15 @@ func (l ErrorList) Error() string {
 	return fmt.Sprintf("%d errors occurred", len(l))
 }
 
+// join returns a error messages joined by a string.
+func (l ErrorList) join(sep string) string {
+	var a []string
+	for _, e := range l {
+		a = append(a, e.Error())
+	}
+	return strings.Join(a, sep)
+}
+
 // _assert will panic with a given formatted message if the given condition is false.
 func _assert(condition bool, msg string, v ...interface{}) {
 	if !condition {
diff --git a/tx.go b/tx.go
index 7cdadae..fd456eb 100644
--- a/tx.go
+++ b/tx.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package bolt
 
 import (
 	"errors"
+	"fmt"
 	"sort"
 	"time"
 	"unsafe"
@@ -175,6 +176,14 @@ func (tx *Tx) Commit() error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	// If strict mode is enabled then perform a consistency check.
+	if tx.db.StrictMode {
+		if err := tx.Check(); err != nil {
+			err := err.(ErrorList)
+			panic("check fail: " + err.Error() + ": " + err.join("; "))
+		}
+	}
+
 	// Write meta to disk.
 	if err := tx.writeMeta(); err != nil {
 		tx.close()
@@ -218,6 +227,89 @@ func (tx *Tx) close() {
 	tx.db = nil
 }
 
+// Check performs several consistency checks on the database for this transaction.
+// An error is returned if any inconsistency is found or if executed on a read-only transaction.
+func (tx *Tx) Check() error {
+	if !tx.writable {
+		return ErrTxNotWritable
+	}
+
+	var errors ErrorList
+
+	// Check if any pages are double freed.
+	freed := make(map[pgid]bool)
+	for _, id := range tx.db.freelist.all() {
+		if freed[id] {
+			errors = append(errors, fmt.Errorf("page %d: already freed", id))
+		}
+		freed[id] = true
+	}
+
+	// Track every reachable page.
+	reachable := make(map[pgid]*page)
+	reachable[0] = tx.page(0) // meta0
+	reachable[1] = tx.page(1) // meta1
+	for i := uint32(0); i <= tx.page(tx.meta.freelist).overflow; i++ {
+		reachable[tx.meta.freelist+pgid(i)] = tx.page(tx.meta.freelist)
+	}
+
+	// Recursively check buckets.
+	tx.checkBucket(&tx.root, reachable, &errors)
+
+	// Ensure all pages below high water mark are either reachable or freed.
+	for i := pgid(0); i < tx.meta.pgid; i++ {
+		_, isReachable := reachable[i]
+		if !isReachable && !freed[i] {
+			errors = append(errors, fmt.Errorf("page %d: unreachable unfreed", int(i)))
+		} else if isReachable && freed[i] {
+			errors = append(errors, fmt.Errorf("page %d: reachable freed", int(i)))
+		}
+	}
+
+	if len(errors) > 0 {
+		return errors
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (tx *Tx) checkBucket(b *Bucket, reachable map[pgid]*page, errors *ErrorList) {
+	// Ignore inline buckets.
+	if b.root == 0 {
+		return
+	}
+
+	// Check every page used by this bucket.
+	b.tx.forEachPage(b.root, 0, func(p *page, _ int) {
+		// Ensure each page is only referenced once.
+		for i := pgid(0); i <= pgid(p.overflow); i++ {
+			var id = p.id + i
+			if _, ok := reachable[id]; ok {
+				*errors = append(*errors, fmt.Errorf("page %d: multiple references", int(id)))
+			}
+			reachable[id] = p
+		}
+
+		// Retrieve page info.
+		info, err := b.tx.Page(int(p.id))
+		if err != nil {
+			*errors = append(*errors, err)
+		} else if info == nil {
+			*errors = append(*errors, fmt.Errorf("page %d: out of bounds: %d", int(p.id), int(b.tx.meta.pgid)))
+		} else if info.Type != "branch" && info.Type != "leaf" {
+			*errors = append(*errors, fmt.Errorf("page %d: invalid type: %s", int(p.id), info.Type))
+		}
+	})
+
+	// Check each bucket within this bucket.
+	_ = b.ForEach(func(k, v []byte) error {
+		if child := b.Bucket(k); child != nil {
+			tx.checkBucket(child, reachable, errors)
+		}
+		return nil
+	})
+}
+
 // allocate returns a contiguous block of memory starting at a given page.
 func (tx *Tx) allocate(count int) (*page, error) {
 	p, err := tx.db.allocate(count)
diff --git a/tx_test.go b/tx_test.go
index e466765..7bf369b 100644
--- a/tx_test.go
+++ b/tx_test.go
@@ -288,6 +288,31 @@ func TestTx_OnCommit_Rollback(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(t, 0, x)
 }
 
+// Ensure that a Tx in strict mode will fail when corrupted.
+func TestTx_Check_Corrupt(t *testing.T) {
+	var msg string
+	func() {
+		defer func() {
+			msg = fmt.Sprintf("%s", recover())
+		}()
+
+		withOpenDB(func(db *DB, path string) {
+			db.StrictMode = true
+			db.Update(func(tx *Tx) error {
+				tx.CreateBucket([]byte("foo"))
+
+				// Corrupt the DB by adding a page to the freelist.
+				warn("---")
+				db.freelist.free(0, tx.page(3))
+
+				return nil
+			})
+		})
+	}()
+
+	assert.Equal(t, "check fail: 1 errors occurred: page 3: already freed", msg)
+}
+
 func ExampleTx_Rollback() {
 	// Open the database.
 	db, _ := Open(tempfile(), 0666)