diff --git a/lib/http-context.js b/lib/http-context.js
index d752cfc2..73a3f2cd 100644
--- a/lib/http-context.js
+++ b/lib/http-context.js
@@ -122,6 +122,7 @@ HttpContext.prototype.buildArgs = function(method) {
     var val;
 
     var typeConverter = ctx.typeRegistry.getConverter(o.type);
+    var conversionOptions = SharedMethod.getConversionOptionsForArg(o);
 
     // Turn off sloppy coercion for values coming from JSON payloads.
     // This is because JSON, unlike other methods, properly retains types
@@ -187,8 +188,8 @@ HttpContext.prototype.buildArgs = function(method) {
     //
     // Use some sloppy typing semantics to try to guess what the user meant to send.
     var result = doSloppyCoerce ?
-       typeConverter.fromSloppyValue(ctx, val) :
-       typeConverter.fromTypedValue(ctx, val);
+       typeConverter.fromSloppyValue(ctx, val, conversionOptions) :
+       typeConverter.fromTypedValue(ctx, val, conversionOptions);
 
     debug('arg %j: %s converted %j to %j',
       name, doSloppyCoerce ? 'sloppy' : 'typed', val, result);
diff --git a/lib/shared-method.js b/lib/shared-method.js
index 097f74a9..f8df64db 100644
--- a/lib/shared-method.js
+++ b/lib/shared-method.js
@@ -225,9 +225,10 @@ SharedMethod.prototype.invoke = function(scope, args, remotingOptions, ctx, cb)
       var desc = accepts[i];
       var name = desc.name || desc.arg;
       var uarg = SharedMethod.convertArg(desc, args[name]);
+      var conversionOptions = SharedMethod.getConversionOptionsForArg(desc);
 
       try {
-        uarg = validateInputArgument(uarg, desc, ctx);
+        uarg = validateInputArgument(uarg, desc, ctx, conversionOptions);
       } catch (e) {
         debug('- %s - ' + e.message, sharedMethod.name);
         return cb(e);
@@ -306,7 +307,7 @@ function escapeRegex(d) {
  * @param  {Context} ctx       Remoting request context.
  * @return {*}                 Coerced argument.
  */
-function validateInputArgument(uarg, desc, ctx) {
+function validateInputArgument(uarg, desc, ctx, conversionOptions) {
   var name = desc.name || desc.arg;
 
   // Verify that a required argument has a value
@@ -318,7 +319,7 @@ function validateInputArgument(uarg, desc, ctx) {
   }
 
   var converter = ctx.typeRegistry.getConverter(desc.type);
-  var err = converter.validate(ctx, uarg);
+  var err = converter.validate(ctx, uarg, conversionOptions);
   if (err) {
     err.message = g.f('Invalid argument %j. ', name) + err.message;
     throw err;
@@ -636,3 +637,19 @@ SharedMethod.prototype.addAlias = function(alias) {
     this.aliases.push(alias);
   }
 };
+
+/**
+ * build conversion options from remote's' args
+ *
+ * @param {Object} arg Definition of accepts/returns argument.
+ * @returns {Object} Options object to pass to type-converter methods,  e.g `validate` or `fromTypedValue`.
+ */
+SharedMethod.getConversionOptionsForArg = function(arg) {
+  var options = {};
+
+  // option for object coercion to allow Array of objects as well as objects
+  if (arg.allowArray) {
+    options.allowArray = arg.allowArray;
+  }
+  return options;
+};
diff --git a/lib/type-registry.js b/lib/type-registry.js
index 1d855355..401b38c3 100644
--- a/lib/type-registry.js
+++ b/lib/type-registry.js
@@ -48,9 +48,9 @@ TypeRegistry.prototype.registerObjectType = function(typeName, factoryFn) {
   assert(typeof factoryFn === 'function', 'factoryFn must be a function');
 
   var converter = {
-    fromTypedValue: function(ctx, data) {
+    fromTypedValue: function(ctx, data, options) {
       var objectConverter = ctx.typeRegistry.getConverter('object');
-      var result = objectConverter.fromTypedValue(ctx, data);
+      var result = objectConverter.fromTypedValue(ctx, data, options);
       if (result.error || result.value === undefined || result.value === null)
         return result;
 
@@ -61,14 +61,14 @@ TypeRegistry.prototype.registerObjectType = function(typeName, factoryFn) {
       }
     },
 
-    fromSloppyValue: function(ctx, value) {
+    fromSloppyValue: function(ctx, value, options) {
       var objectConverter = ctx.typeRegistry.getConverter('object');
-      var result = objectConverter.fromSloppyValue(ctx, value);
+      var result = objectConverter.fromSloppyValue(ctx, value, options);
       return result.error ? result : this.fromTypedValue(ctx, result.value);
     },
 
-    validate: function(ctx, value) {
-      return ctx.typeRegistry.getConverter('object').validate(ctx, value);
+    validate: function(ctx, value, options) {
+      return ctx.typeRegistry.getConverter('object').validate(ctx, value, options);
     },
   };
 
diff --git a/lib/types/any.js b/lib/types/any.js
index 3c406e00..bf34d60b 100644
--- a/lib/types/any.js
+++ b/lib/types/any.js
@@ -17,11 +17,11 @@ var IS_INT_REGEX = /^\-?(?:[0-9]|[1-9][0-9]*)$/;
 var IS_FLOAT_REGEX = /^\-?([0-9]+)?\.[0-9]+$/;
 
 module.exports = {
-  fromTypedValue: function(ctx, value) {
+  fromTypedValue: function(ctx, value, options) {
     return { value: value };
   },
 
-  fromSloppyValue: function(ctx, value) {
+  fromSloppyValue: function(ctx, value, options) {
     if (value === 'null' || value === null)
       return { value: null };
 
@@ -51,17 +51,17 @@ module.exports = {
       try {
         var result = JSON.parse(value);
         debug('parsed %j as JSON: %j', value, result);
-        return this.fromTypedValue(ctx, result);
+        return this.fromTypedValue(ctx, result, options);
       } catch (ex) {
         debug('Cannot parse "any" value %j, assuming string. %s', value, ex);
         // no-op, use the original string value
       }
     }
 
-    return this.fromTypedValue(ctx, value);
+    return this.fromTypedValue(ctx, value, options);
   },
 
-  validate: function(ctx, value) {
+  validate: function(ctx, value, options) {
     // no-op, all values are valid
   },
 };
diff --git a/lib/types/array.js b/lib/types/array.js
index 06d50faf..a6cb114a 100644
--- a/lib/types/array.js
+++ b/lib/types/array.js
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ function ArrayConverter(itemType) {
   this._itemType = itemType;
 }
 
-ArrayConverter.prototype.fromTypedValue = function(ctx, value) {
+ArrayConverter.prototype.fromTypedValue = function(ctx, value, options) {
   if (value === undefined || value === null)
     return { value: value };
 
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ ArrayConverter.prototype.fromTypedValue = function(ctx, value) {
   var itemConverter = ctx.typeRegistry.getConverter(this._itemType);
 
   for (var ix in value) {
-    itemResult = itemConverter.fromTypedValue(ctx, value[ix]);
+    itemResult = itemConverter.fromTypedValue(ctx, value[ix], options);
     itemResult = validateConverterResult(itemResult);
     debug('typed item result: %j -> %j as %s',
       value[ix], itemResult, this._itemType);
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ ArrayConverter.prototype.fromTypedValue = function(ctx, value) {
   return { value: items };
 };
 
-ArrayConverter.prototype.fromSloppyValue = function(ctx, value) {
+ArrayConverter.prototype.fromSloppyValue = function(ctx, value, options) {
   if (value === undefined || value === '') {
     // undefined was chosen so that it plays well with ES6 default parameters.
     return { value: undefined };
@@ -51,12 +51,12 @@ ArrayConverter.prototype.fromSloppyValue = function(ctx, value) {
     return { value: null };
   }
 
-  return this._fromTypedValueString(ctx, value) ||
-    this._fromDelimitedString(ctx, value) ||
-    this._fromSloppyData(ctx, value);
+  return this._fromTypedValueString(ctx, value, options) ||
+    this._fromDelimitedString(ctx, value, options) ||
+    this._fromSloppyData(ctx, value, options);
 };
 
-ArrayConverter.prototype._fromTypedValueString = function(ctx, value) {
+ArrayConverter.prototype._fromTypedValueString = function(ctx, value, options) {
   if (!looksLikeJsonArray(value))
     return null;
 
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ ArrayConverter.prototype._fromTypedValueString = function(ctx, value) {
   try {
     var result = JSON.parse(value);
     debug('parsed %j as JSON: %j', value, result);
-    return this.fromTypedValue(ctx, result);
+    return this.fromTypedValue(ctx, result, options);
   } catch (ex) {
     debug('Cannot parse array value %j. %s', value, ex);
     var err = new Error(g.f('Cannot parse JSON-encoded array value.'));
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ ArrayConverter.prototype._fromTypedValueString = function(ctx, value) {
   }
 };
 
-ArrayConverter.prototype._fromDelimitedString = function(ctx, value) {
+ArrayConverter.prototype._fromDelimitedString = function(ctx, value, options) {
   if (typeof value !== 'string')
     return null;
 
@@ -93,10 +93,10 @@ ArrayConverter.prototype._fromDelimitedString = function(ctx, value) {
   var items = value.split(delims);
 
   // perform sloppy-string coercion
-  return this.fromSloppyValue(ctx, items);
+  return this.fromSloppyValue(ctx, items, options);
 };
 
-ArrayConverter.prototype._fromSloppyData = function(ctx, value) {
+ArrayConverter.prototype._fromSloppyData = function(ctx, value, options) {
   if (!Array.isArray(value)) {
     // Alright, not array-like, just wrap it in an array on the way out.
     value = [value];
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ ArrayConverter.prototype._fromSloppyData = function(ctx, value) {
   var itemConverter = ctx.typeRegistry.getConverter(this._itemType);
 
   for (var ix in value) {
-    itemResult = itemConverter.fromSloppyValue(ctx, value[ix]);
+    itemResult = itemConverter.fromSloppyValue(ctx, value[ix], options);
     itemResult = validateConverterResult(itemResult);
     debug('item %d: sloppy converted %j to %j', ix, value[ix], itemResult);
     if (itemResult.error)
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ ArrayConverter.prototype._fromSloppyData = function(ctx, value) {
   return { value: items };
 };
 
-ArrayConverter.prototype.validate = function(ctx, value) {
+ArrayConverter.prototype.validate = function(ctx, value, options) {
   if (value === undefined || value === null)
     return null;
 
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ ArrayConverter.prototype.validate = function(ctx, value) {
   var itemConverter = ctx.typeRegistry.getConverter(this._itemType);
   var itemError;
   for (var ix in value) {
-    itemError = itemConverter.validate(ctx, value[ix]);
+    itemError = itemConverter.validate(ctx, value[ix], options);
     if (itemError) return itemError;
   }
 };
diff --git a/lib/types/boolean.js b/lib/types/boolean.js
index 4b6859ef..d4d8e8b1 100644
--- a/lib/types/boolean.js
+++ b/lib/types/boolean.js
@@ -9,12 +9,12 @@ var debug = require('debug')('strong-remoting:http-coercion');
 var g = require('strong-globalize')();
 
 module.exports = {
-  fromTypedValue: function(ctx, value) {
-    var error = this.validate(ctx, value);
+  fromTypedValue: function(ctx, value, options) {
+    var error = this.validate(ctx, value, options);
     return error ? { error: error } : { value: value };
   },
 
-  fromSloppyValue: function(ctx, value) {
+  fromSloppyValue: function(ctx, value, options) {
     if (value === '' || value === undefined)
       return { value: undefined };
 
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ module.exports = {
     return { error: invalidBooleanError() };
   },
 
-  validate: function(ctx, value) {
+  validate: function(ctx, value, options) {
     if (value === undefined || typeof value === 'boolean')
       return null;
 
diff --git a/lib/types/date.js b/lib/types/date.js
index 37676e4d..f264d501 100644
--- a/lib/types/date.js
+++ b/lib/types/date.js
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ var debug = require('debug')('strong-remoting:http-coercion');
 var g = require('strong-globalize')();
 
 module.exports = {
-  fromTypedValue: function(ctx, value) {
+  fromTypedValue: function(ctx, value, options) {
     if (value === undefined)
       return { value: value };
 
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ module.exports = {
     return error ? { error: error } : { value: result };
   },
 
-  fromSloppyValue: function(ctx, value) {
+  fromSloppyValue: function(ctx, value, options) {
     if (value === '')
       return { value: undefined };
 
@@ -34,10 +34,10 @@ module.exports = {
       value = +value;
     }
 
-    return this.fromTypedValue(ctx, value);
+    return this.fromTypedValue(ctx, value, options);
   },
 
-  validate: function(ctx, value) {
+  validate: function(ctx, value, options) {
     if (value === undefined)
       return null;
 
diff --git a/lib/types/integer.js b/lib/types/integer.js
index 962a9ce2..d1d049c3 100644
--- a/lib/types/integer.js
+++ b/lib/types/integer.js
@@ -11,23 +11,23 @@ var isSafeInteger = require('../number-checks').isSafeInteger;
 var numberConverter = require('./number');
 
 module.exports = {
-  fromTypedValue: function(ctx, value) {
-    var error = this.validate(ctx, value);
+  fromTypedValue: function(ctx, value, options) {
+    var error = this.validate(ctx, value, options);
     return error ? { error: error } : { value: value };
   },
 
-  fromSloppyValue: function(ctx, value) {
+  fromSloppyValue: function(ctx, value, options) {
     var result = numberConverter.fromSloppyValue(ctx, value);
     if (result.error)
       return result;
     return this.fromTypedValue(ctx, result.value);
   },
 
-  validate: function(ctx, value) {
+  validate: function(ctx, value, options) {
     if (value === undefined)
       return null;
 
-    var err = numberConverter.validate(ctx, value);
+    var err = numberConverter.validate(ctx, value, options);
     if (err)
       return err;
 
diff --git a/lib/types/number.js b/lib/types/number.js
index e56c1573..f0572038 100644
--- a/lib/types/number.js
+++ b/lib/types/number.js
@@ -9,20 +9,20 @@ var debug = require('debug')('strong-remoting:http-coercion');
 var g = require('strong-globalize')();
 
 module.exports = {
-  fromTypedValue: function(ctx, value) {
-    var error = this.validate(ctx, value);
+  fromTypedValue: function(ctx, value, options) {
+    var error = this.validate(ctx, value, options);
     return error ? { error: error } : { value: value };
   },
 
-  fromSloppyValue: function(ctx, value) {
+  fromSloppyValue: function(ctx, value, options) {
     if (value === undefined || value === '')
       return { value: undefined };
 
     var result = +value;
-    return this.fromTypedValue(ctx, result);
+    return this.fromTypedValue(ctx, result, options);
   },
 
-  validate: function(ctx, value) {
+  validate: function(ctx, value, options) {
     if (value === undefined)
       return null;
 
diff --git a/lib/types/object.js b/lib/types/object.js
index ad493bf1..ceca987c 100644
--- a/lib/types/object.js
+++ b/lib/types/object.js
@@ -10,12 +10,12 @@ var g = require('strong-globalize')();
 var looksLikeJsonObject = require('../looks-like-json').looksLikeJsonObject;
 
 module.exports = {
-  fromTypedValue: function(ctx, value) {
-    var error = this.validate(ctx, value);
+  fromTypedValue: function(ctx, value, options) {
+    var error = this.validate(ctx, value, options);
     return error ? { error: error } : { value: value };
   },
 
-  fromSloppyValue: function(ctx, value) {
+  fromSloppyValue: function(ctx, value, options) {
     if (value === undefined || value === '') {
       // undefined was chosen so that it plays well with ES6 default parameters.
       return { value: undefined };
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ module.exports = {
       try {
         var result = JSON.parse(value);
         debug('parsed %j as JSON: %j', value, result);
-        return this.fromTypedValue(ctx, result);
+        return this.fromTypedValue(ctx, result, options);
       } catch (ex) {
         debug('Cannot parse object value %j. %s', value, ex);
         var err = new Error(g.f('Cannot parse JSON-encoded object value.'));
@@ -38,10 +38,12 @@ module.exports = {
     }
 
     // NOTE: nested values in objects are intentionally not coerced
-    return this.fromTypedValue(ctx, value);
+    return this.fromTypedValue(ctx, value, options);
   },
 
-  validate: function(ctx, value) {
+  validate: function(ctx, value, options) {
+    var self = this;
+    var options = options || {};
     if (value === undefined || value === null)
       return null;
 
@@ -50,8 +52,22 @@ module.exports = {
 
     // reject object-like values that have their own strong-remoting type
 
-    if (Array.isArray(value))
-      return errorNotAnObject();
+    if (Array.isArray(value)) {
+      // TODO: @davidcheung, remove this flag and support [array or Object]
+      // see strong-remoting/issues/360 for details
+      // allowArray flag is to handle persistedModels uses
+      // array of Objects to batch create, which was supported in 2.x
+      if (!options.allowArray) {
+        return errorNotAnObject();
+      } else {
+        var hasInvalidItems = value.some(function(item) {
+          // option is not passed here so it should always reject array `item(s)`
+          return self.validate(ctx, item);
+        });
+
+        return hasInvalidItems ? errorArrayItemsNotAnObject() : null;
+      }
+    }
 
     if (value instanceof Date)
       return errorNotAnObject();
@@ -65,3 +81,9 @@ function errorNotAnObject() {
   err.statusCode = 400;
   return err;
 }
+
+function errorArrayItemsNotAnObject() {
+  var err = new Error(g.f('Some of array items are not an object.'));
+  err.statusCode = 400;
+  return err;
+}
diff --git a/lib/types/string.js b/lib/types/string.js
index f3ab3d4b..d9298293 100644
--- a/lib/types/string.js
+++ b/lib/types/string.js
@@ -9,12 +9,12 @@ var debug = require('debug')('strong-remoting:http-coercion');
 var g = require('strong-globalize')();
 
 module.exports = {
-  fromTypedValue: function(ctx, value) {
-    var error = this.validate(ctx, value);
+  fromTypedValue: function(ctx, value, options) {
+    var error = this.validate(ctx, value, options);
     return error ? { error: error } : { value: value };
   },
 
-  fromSloppyValue: function(ctx, value) {
+  fromSloppyValue: function(ctx, value, options) {
     if (value === '') {
       // Pass on empty string as undefined.
       // undefined was chosen so that it plays well with ES6 default parameters.
@@ -26,10 +26,10 @@ module.exports = {
     if (value !== undefined && value !== null)
       value = '' + value;
 
-    return this.fromTypedValue(ctx, value);
+    return this.fromTypedValue(ctx, value, options);
   },
 
-  validate: function(ctx, value) {
+  validate: function(ctx, value, options) {
     if (value === undefined || typeof value === 'string')
       return null;
 
diff --git a/test/rest-coercion/jsonbody-object-type.suite.js b/test/rest-coercion/jsonbody-object-type.suite.js
index f99cac5b..adfd8928 100644
--- a/test/rest-coercion/jsonbody-object-type.suite.js
+++ b/test/rest-coercion/jsonbody-object-type.suite.js
@@ -69,4 +69,25 @@ module.exports = function(ctx) {
       [{ invalid: true }, ERROR_BAD_REQUEST],
     ]);
   });
+
+  describe('json body - CustomClass - allowArray: true', function() {
+    verifyTestCases({ arg: 'anyname', type: 'CustomClass', allowArray: true }, [
+      // normal objects is valid
+      [{ x: '' }],
+      [{ x: null }],
+      [{ x: {}}],
+      [{ x: { key: null }}],
+
+      // array of objects also valid
+      [[{}]],
+      [[{ x: '' }]],
+      [[{ x: null }]],
+      [[{ x: 1 }, { y: 'string' }]],
+
+      // array of non-objects are invalid
+      [[{}, [{}]], ERROR_BAD_REQUEST],
+      [[{}, 3.1415], ERROR_BAD_REQUEST],
+      [[{}, 'non-object'], ERROR_BAD_REQUEST],
+    ]);
+  });
 };
diff --git a/test/rest-coercion/jsonbody-object.suite.js b/test/rest-coercion/jsonbody-object.suite.js
index 298243b3..201fb9ee 100644
--- a/test/rest-coercion/jsonbody-object.suite.js
+++ b/test/rest-coercion/jsonbody-object.suite.js
@@ -75,4 +75,25 @@ module.exports = function(ctx) {
       [[1, 2], ERROR_BAD_REQUEST],
     ]);
   });
+
+  describe('json body - object - allowArray: true', function() {
+    verifyTestCases({ arg: 'data', type: 'object', allowArray: true }, [
+      // normal objects is valid
+      [{ x: '' }],
+      [{ x: null }],
+      [{ x: {}}],
+      [{ x: { key: null }}],
+
+      // array of objects also valid
+      [[{}]],
+      [[{ x: '' }]],
+      [[{ x: null }]],
+      [[{ x: 1 }, { y: 'string' }]],
+
+      // array of non-objects are invalid
+      [[{}, [{}]], ERROR_BAD_REQUEST],
+      [[{}, 3.1415], ERROR_BAD_REQUEST],
+      [[{}, 'non-object'], ERROR_BAD_REQUEST],
+    ]);
+  });
 };
diff --git a/test/rest-coercion/jsonform-object.suite.js b/test/rest-coercion/jsonform-object.suite.js
index b12c5920..430aed03 100644
--- a/test/rest-coercion/jsonform-object.suite.js
+++ b/test/rest-coercion/jsonform-object.suite.js
@@ -70,4 +70,32 @@ module.exports = function(ctx) {
       [{ arg: [1, 2] }, ERROR_BAD_REQUEST],
     ]);
   });
+
+  describe('json form - object - allowArray: true', function() {
+    verifyTestCases({ arg: 'arg', type: 'object', allowArray: true }, [
+      // normal objects is valid
+      [{ arg: { x: null }}, { x: null }],
+      [{ arg: {}}, {}],
+      [{ arg: { x: 'value' }}, { x: 'value' }],
+      [{ arg: { x: 1 }}, { x: 1 }],
+
+      // array of objects also valid
+      [{ arg: [{}] }, [{}]],
+      [{ arg: [{ x: 1 }, {}] }, [{ x: 1 }, {}]],
+      [{ arg: [{ x: null }] }, [{ x: null }]],
+
+       // Invalid values should trigger ERROR_BAD_REQUEST
+      [{ arg: '' }, ERROR_BAD_REQUEST],
+      [{ arg: false }, ERROR_BAD_REQUEST],
+      [{ arg: true }, ERROR_BAD_REQUEST],
+      [{ arg: 0 }, ERROR_BAD_REQUEST],
+      [{ arg: 1 }, ERROR_BAD_REQUEST],
+      [{ arg: -1 }, ERROR_BAD_REQUEST],
+
+      // array of non-objects are invalid
+      [{ arg: [{}, [{}]] }, ERROR_BAD_REQUEST],
+      [{ arg: [{}, 3.1415] }, ERROR_BAD_REQUEST],
+      [{ arg: [{}, 'non-object'] }, ERROR_BAD_REQUEST],
+    ]);
+  });
 };