diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index efeb7170..c6da0310 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ FEATURE: New metrics infrastructure based on OpenZiti usage events (https://gith
 
 FEATURE: New limits implementation based on the new metrics infrastructure (https://github.com/openziti/zrok/issues/235). See the [v0.4 Limits Guide](docs/guides/metrics-and-limits/configuring-limits.md) for more information.
 
+FEATURE: The invite mechanism has been reworked to improve user experience. The configuration has been moved to the `admin` stanza of the controller configuration and now includes a boolean flag indicating whether or not the instance allows new invitations to be created, and also includes contact details for requesting a new invite. These values are used by the `zrok invite` command to provide a smoother end-user invite experience https://github.com/openziti/zrok/issues/229)
+
 CHANGE: The controller configuration version bumps from `v: 2` to `v: 3` to support all of the new `v0.4` functionality. See the [example ctrl.yml](etc/ctrl.yml) for details on the new configuration.
 
 CHANGE: The underlying database store now utilizes a `deleted` flag on all tables to implement "soft deletes". This was necessary for the new metrics infrastructure, where we need to account for metrics data that arrived after the lifetime of a share or environment; and also we're going to need this for limits, where we need to see historical information about activity in the past (https://github.com/openziti/zrok/issues/262)
diff --git a/cmd/zrok/invite.go b/cmd/zrok/invite.go
index 11e14e00..ed33cf26 100644
--- a/cmd/zrok/invite.go
+++ b/cmd/zrok/invite.go
@@ -62,7 +62,13 @@ func (cmd *inviteCommand) run(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) {
 	}
 
 	if md != nil {
-		cmd.tui.RequireToken(md.GetPayload().RegistrationRequiresToken)
+		if !md.GetPayload().InvitesOpen {
+			apiEndpoint, _ := zrd.ApiEndpoint()
+			tui.Error(fmt.Sprintf("'%v' is not currently accepting new users", apiEndpoint), nil)
+		}
+		cmd.tui.invitesOpen = md.GetPayload().InvitesOpen
+		cmd.tui.RequiresInviteToken(md.GetPayload().RequiresInviteToken)
+		cmd.tui.invitesContact = md.GetPayload().InviteTokenContact
 	}
 
 	if _, err := tea.NewProgram(&cmd.tui).Run(); err != nil {
@@ -97,14 +103,16 @@ func (cmd *inviteCommand) endpointError(apiEndpoint, _ string) {
 }
 
 type inviteTui struct {
-	focusIndex   int
-	msg          string
-	emailInputs  []textinput.Model
-	tokenInput   textinput.Model
-	cursorMode   textinput.CursorMode
-	done         bool
-	requireToken bool
-	maxIndex     int
+	focusIndex         int
+	msg                string
+	emailInputs        []textinput.Model
+	tokenInput         textinput.Model
+	cursorMode         textinput.CursorMode
+	done               bool
+	invitesOpen        bool
+	requireInviteToken bool
+	invitesContact     string
+	maxIndex           int
 
 	msgOk         string
 	msgMismatch   string
@@ -208,7 +216,7 @@ func (m *inviteTui) Update(msg tea.Msg) (tea.Model, tea.Cmd) {
 				m.emailInputs[i].PromptStyle = m.noStyle
 				m.emailInputs[i].TextStyle = m.noStyle
 			}
-			if m.requireToken {
+			if m.requireInviteToken {
 				if m.focusIndex == 2 {
 					cmds[2] = m.tokenInput.Focus()
 					m.tokenInput.PromptStyle = m.focusedStyle
@@ -234,7 +242,7 @@ func (m *inviteTui) updateInputs(msg tea.Msg) tea.Cmd {
 	for i := range m.emailInputs {
 		m.emailInputs[i], cmds[i] = m.emailInputs[i].Update(msg)
 	}
-	if m.requireToken {
+	if m.requireInviteToken {
 		m.tokenInput, cmds[2] = m.tokenInput.Update(msg)
 	}
 	return tea.Batch(cmds...)
@@ -242,14 +250,19 @@ func (m *inviteTui) updateInputs(msg tea.Msg) tea.Cmd {
 
 func (m inviteTui) View() string {
 	var b strings.Builder
+
 	b.WriteString(fmt.Sprintf("\n%v\n\n", m.msg))
 
+	if m.requireInviteToken && m.invitesContact != "" {
+		b.WriteString(fmt.Sprintf("If you don't already have one, request an invite token at: %v\n\n", m.invitesContact))
+	}
+
 	for i := 0; i < len(m.emailInputs); i++ {
 		b.WriteString(m.emailInputs[i].View())
 		b.WriteRune('\n')
 	}
 
-	if m.requireToken {
+	if m.requireInviteToken {
 		b.WriteString(m.tokenInput.View())
 		b.WriteRune('\n')
 	}
@@ -263,8 +276,8 @@ func (m inviteTui) View() string {
 	return b.String()
 }
 
-func (m *inviteTui) RequireToken(require bool) {
-	m.requireToken = require
+func (m *inviteTui) RequiresInviteToken(require bool) {
+	m.requireInviteToken = require
 	if require {
 		m.maxIndex = 3
 	} else {
diff --git a/controller/config/config.go b/controller/config/config.go
index 9f54f241..7f717aa1 100644
--- a/controller/config/config.go
+++ b/controller/config/config.go
@@ -31,8 +31,11 @@ type Config struct {
 }
 
 type AdminConfig struct {
-	Secrets []string `cf:"+secret"`
-	TouLink string
+	Secrets             []string `cf:"+secret"`
+	TouLink             string
+	InvitesOpen         bool
+	InviteTokenStrategy string
+	InviteTokenContact  string
 }
 
 type EndpointConfig struct {
@@ -42,7 +45,6 @@ type EndpointConfig struct {
 
 type RegistrationConfig struct {
 	RegistrationUrlTemplate string
-	TokenStrategy           string
 }
 
 type ResetPasswordConfig struct {
diff --git a/controller/configuration.go b/controller/configuration.go
index 0c4fc298..4e31810f 100644
--- a/controller/configuration.go
+++ b/controller/configuration.go
@@ -19,18 +19,14 @@ func newConfigurationHandler(cfg *config.Config) *configurationHandler {
 }
 
 func (ch *configurationHandler) Handle(_ metadata.ConfigurationParams) middleware.Responder {
-	tou := ""
-	if cfg.Admin != nil {
-		tou = cfg.Admin.TouLink
-	}
-	tokenRequired := false
-	if cfg.Registration != nil {
-		tokenRequired = cfg.Registration.TokenStrategy == "store"
-	}
 	data := &rest_model_zrok.Configuration{
-		Version:                   build.String(),
-		TouLink:                   tou,
-		RegistrationRequiresToken: tokenRequired,
+		Version:             build.String(),
+		InvitesOpen:         cfg.Admin != nil && cfg.Admin.InvitesOpen,
+		RequiresInviteToken: cfg.Registration != nil && cfg.Admin.InviteTokenStrategy == "store",
+	}
+	if cfg.Admin != nil {
+		data.TouLink = cfg.Admin.TouLink
+		data.InviteTokenContact = cfg.Admin.InviteTokenContact
 	}
 	return metadata.NewConfigurationOK().WithPayload(data)
 }
diff --git a/controller/invite.go b/controller/invite.go
index ab2f80f0..d8badfde 100644
--- a/controller/invite.go
+++ b/controller/invite.go
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ func (h *inviteHandler) Handle(params account.InviteParams) middleware.Responder
 	}
 	defer func() { _ = tx.Rollback() }()
 
-	if h.cfg.Registration != nil && h.cfg.Registration.TokenStrategy == "store" {
+	if h.cfg.Admin != nil && h.cfg.Admin.InviteTokenStrategy == "store" {
 		inviteToken, err := str.FindInviteTokenByToken(params.Body.Token, tx)
 		if err != nil {
 			logrus.Errorf("cannot get invite token '%v' for '%v': %v", params.Body.Token, params.Body.Email, err)
diff --git a/etc/ctrl.yml b/etc/ctrl.yml
index 4c71f607..4e9af002 100644
--- a/etc/ctrl.yml
+++ b/etc/ctrl.yml
@@ -19,9 +19,22 @@ admin:
   #
   secrets:
     -                             77623cad-1847-4d6d-8ffe-37defc33c909
-  # if `tou_link` is present, the frontend will display the "Terms of Use" link on the login and registration forms
+  #
+  # If `tou_link` is present, the frontend will display the "Terms of Use" link on the login and registration forms
   #
   tou_link:                       '<a href="https://google.com" target="_">Terms and Conditions</a>'
+  #
+  # To allow open invites to your `zrok` instance, set `invites_open` to `true`
+  #
+  invites_open:                   true
+  #
+  # Set `token_strategy` to `store` to require an invite token.
+  #
+  #token_strategy:                 store
+  #
+  # Set `invite_token_contact` to include an email address or a URL where an invite token can be requested
+  # 
+  invite_token_contact:           invites@zrok.io
 
 # The `bridge` section configures the `zrok controller metrics bridge`, specifying the source and sink where OpenZiti
 # `fabric.usage` events are consumed and then sent into `zrok`. For production environments, we recommend that you use
@@ -131,10 +144,6 @@ metrics:
 #
 registration:
   registration_url_template:      https://zrok.server.com/register
-  #
-  # Set `token_strategy` to `store` to require an invite token.
-  #
-  #token_strategy:                 store
 
 # Configure the generated URL for password resets. The reset token will be appended to this URL.
 #
diff --git a/rest_model_zrok/configuration.go b/rest_model_zrok/configuration.go
index e5103c43..8486455a 100644
--- a/rest_model_zrok/configuration.go
+++ b/rest_model_zrok/configuration.go
@@ -17,8 +17,14 @@ import (
 // swagger:model configuration
 type Configuration struct {
 
-	// registration requires token
-	RegistrationRequiresToken bool `json:"registrationRequiresToken,omitempty"`
+	// invite token contact
+	InviteTokenContact string `json:"inviteTokenContact,omitempty"`
+
+	// invites open
+	InvitesOpen bool `json:"invitesOpen,omitempty"`
+
+	// requires invite token
+	RequiresInviteToken bool `json:"requiresInviteToken,omitempty"`
 
 	// tou link
 	TouLink string `json:"touLink,omitempty"`
diff --git a/rest_server_zrok/embedded_spec.go b/rest_server_zrok/embedded_spec.go
index 0773e3de..78bdfeee 100644
--- a/rest_server_zrok/embedded_spec.go
+++ b/rest_server_zrok/embedded_spec.go
@@ -1056,7 +1056,13 @@ func init() {
     "configuration": {
       "type": "object",
       "properties": {
-        "registrationRequiresToken": {
+        "inviteTokenContact": {
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        "invitesOpen": {
+          "type": "boolean"
+        },
+        "requiresInviteToken": {
           "type": "boolean"
         },
         "touLink": {
@@ -2611,7 +2617,13 @@ func init() {
     "configuration": {
       "type": "object",
       "properties": {
-        "registrationRequiresToken": {
+        "inviteTokenContact": {
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        "invitesOpen": {
+          "type": "boolean"
+        },
+        "requiresInviteToken": {
           "type": "boolean"
         },
         "touLink": {
diff --git a/specs/zrok.yml b/specs/zrok.yml
index b5ddcaea..cf43aa67 100644
--- a/specs/zrok.yml
+++ b/specs/zrok.yml
@@ -672,8 +672,12 @@ definitions:
         type: string
       touLink:
         type: string
-      registrationRequiresToken:
+      invitesOpen:
         type: boolean
+      requiresInviteToken:
+        type: boolean
+      inviteTokenContact:
+        type: string
 
   createFrontendRequest:
     type: object
diff --git a/ui/src/api/types.js b/ui/src/api/types.js
index c326434d..0f00f787 100644
--- a/ui/src/api/types.js
+++ b/ui/src/api/types.js
@@ -31,7 +31,9 @@
  * 
  * @property {string} version 
  * @property {string} touLink 
- * @property {boolean} registrationRequiresToken 
+ * @property {boolean} invitesOpen 
+ * @property {boolean} requiresInviteToken 
+ * @property {string} inviteTokenContact 
  */
 
 /**