diff --git a/docs/reference/google.auth.crypt.es256.rst b/docs/reference/google.auth.crypt.es256.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5a63184
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/reference/google.auth.crypt.es256.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+google.auth.crypt.es256 module
+==============================
+
+.. automodule:: google.auth.crypt.es256
+   :members:
+   :inherited-members:
+   :show-inheritance:
diff --git a/docs/reference/google.auth.crypt.rst b/docs/reference/google.auth.crypt.rst
index 0833e7f..be142f4 100644
--- a/docs/reference/google.auth.crypt.rst
+++ b/docs/reference/google.auth.crypt.rst
@@ -12,4 +12,5 @@
 .. toctree::
 
    google.auth.crypt.base
+   google.auth.crypt.es256
    google.auth.crypt.rsa
diff --git a/docs/requirements-docs.txt b/docs/requirements-docs.txt
index 8dabaf9..89ad689 100644
--- a/docs/requirements-docs.txt
+++ b/docs/requirements-docs.txt
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+cryptography
 sphinx-docstring-typing
 urllib3
 requests
diff --git a/docs/user-guide.rst b/docs/user-guide.rst
index 0abe160..3877bff 100644
--- a/docs/user-guide.rst
+++ b/docs/user-guide.rst
@@ -291,7 +291,21 @@
                                       target_credentials,
                                       target_audience=target_audience)
 
-IDToken verification can be done for various type of IDTokens using the :class:`google.oauth2.id_token` module 
+IDToken verification can be done for various type of IDTokens using the
+:class:`google.oauth2.id_token` module. It supports ID token signed with RS256
+and ES256 algorithms. However, ES256 algorithm won't be available unless
+`cryptography` dependency of version at least 1.4.0 is installed. You can check
+the dependency with `pip freeze` or try `from google.auth.crypt import es256`.
+The following is an example of verifying ID tokens:
+
+    from google.auth2 import id_token
+
+    request = google.auth.transport.requests.Request()
+
+    try:
+      decoded_token = id_token.verify_token(token_to_verify,request)
+    except ValueError:
+      # Verification failed.
 
 A sample end-to-end flow using an ID Token against a Cloud Run endpoint maybe ::
 
diff --git a/google/auth/crypt/__init__.py b/google/auth/crypt/__init__.py
index 39929fa..15ac950 100644
--- a/google/auth/crypt/__init__.py
+++ b/google/auth/crypt/__init__.py
@@ -31,6 +31,10 @@
     private_key = open('private_key.pem').read()
     signer = crypt.RSASigner.from_string(private_key)
     signature = signer.sign(message)
+
+The code above also works for :class:`ES256Signer` and :class:`ES256Verifier`.
+Note that these two classes are only available if your `cryptography` dependency
+version is at least 1.4.0.
 """
 
 import six
@@ -38,8 +42,23 @@
 from google.auth.crypt import base
 from google.auth.crypt import rsa
 
+try:
+    from google.auth.crypt import es256
+except ImportError:  # pragma: NO COVER
+    es256 = None
 
-__all__ = ["RSASigner", "RSAVerifier", "Signer", "Verifier"]
+if es256 is not None:  # pragma: NO COVER
+    __all__ = [
+        "ES256Signer",
+        "ES256Verifier",
+        "RSASigner",
+        "RSAVerifier",
+        "Signer",
+        "Verifier",
+    ]
+else:  # pragma: NO COVER
+    __all__ = ["RSASigner", "RSAVerifier", "Signer", "Verifier"]
+
 
 # Aliases to maintain the v1.0.0 interface, as the crypt module was split
 # into submodules.
@@ -48,9 +67,13 @@
 RSASigner = rsa.RSASigner
 RSAVerifier = rsa.RSAVerifier
 
+if es256 is not None:  # pragma: NO COVER
+    ES256Signer = es256.ES256Signer
+    ES256Verifier = es256.ES256Verifier
 
-def verify_signature(message, signature, certs):
-    """Verify an RSA cryptographic signature.
+
+def verify_signature(message, signature, certs, verifier_cls=rsa.RSAVerifier):
+    """Verify an RSA or ECDSA cryptographic signature.
 
     Checks that the provided ``signature`` was generated from ``bytes`` using
     the private key associated with the ``cert``.
@@ -60,6 +83,9 @@
         signature (Union[str, bytes]): The cryptographic signature to check.
         certs (Union[Sequence, str, bytes]): The certificate or certificates
             to use to check the signature.
+        verifier_cls (Optional[~google.auth.crypt.base.Signer]): Which verifier
+            class to use for verification. This can be used to select different
+            algorithms, such as RSA or ECDSA. Default value is :class:`RSAVerifier`.
 
     Returns:
         bool: True if the signature is valid, otherwise False.
@@ -68,7 +94,7 @@
         certs = [certs]
 
     for cert in certs:
-        verifier = rsa.RSAVerifier.from_string(cert)
+        verifier = verifier_cls.from_string(cert)
         if verifier.verify(message, signature):
             return True
     return False
diff --git a/google/auth/crypt/es256.py b/google/auth/crypt/es256.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5bfd57f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/google/auth/crypt/es256.py
@@ -0,0 +1,145 @@
+# Copyright 2017 Google Inc.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+"""ECDSA (ES256) verifier and signer that use the ``cryptography`` library.
+"""
+
+import cryptography.exceptions
+from cryptography.hazmat import backends
+from cryptography.hazmat.primitives import hashes
+from cryptography.hazmat.primitives import serialization
+from cryptography.hazmat.primitives.asymmetric import ec
+from cryptography.hazmat.primitives.asymmetric import padding
+import cryptography.x509
+import pkg_resources
+
+from google.auth import _helpers
+from google.auth.crypt import base
+
+_IMPORT_ERROR_MSG = (
+    "cryptography>=1.4.0 is required to use cryptography-based ECDSA " "algorithms"
+)
+
+try:  # pragma: NO COVER
+    release = pkg_resources.get_distribution("cryptography").parsed_version
+    if release < pkg_resources.parse_version("1.4.0"):
+        raise ImportError(_IMPORT_ERROR_MSG)
+except pkg_resources.DistributionNotFound:  # pragma: NO COVER
+    raise ImportError(_IMPORT_ERROR_MSG)
+
+
+_CERTIFICATE_MARKER = b"-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----"
+_BACKEND = backends.default_backend()
+_PADDING = padding.PKCS1v15()
+
+
+class ES256Verifier(base.Verifier):
+    """Verifies ECDSA cryptographic signatures using public keys.
+
+    Args:
+        public_key (
+                cryptography.hazmat.primitives.asymmetric.ec.ECDSAPublicKey):
+            The public key used to verify signatures.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, public_key):
+        self._pubkey = public_key
+
+    @_helpers.copy_docstring(base.Verifier)
+    def verify(self, message, signature):
+        message = _helpers.to_bytes(message)
+        try:
+            self._pubkey.verify(signature, message, ec.ECDSA(hashes.SHA256()))
+            return True
+        except (ValueError, cryptography.exceptions.InvalidSignature):
+            return False
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_string(cls, public_key):
+        """Construct an Verifier instance from a public key or public
+        certificate string.
+
+        Args:
+            public_key (Union[str, bytes]): The public key in PEM format or the
+                x509 public key certificate.
+
+        Returns:
+            Verifier: The constructed verifier.
+
+        Raises:
+            ValueError: If the public key can't be parsed.
+        """
+        public_key_data = _helpers.to_bytes(public_key)
+
+        if _CERTIFICATE_MARKER in public_key_data:
+            cert = cryptography.x509.load_pem_x509_certificate(
+                public_key_data, _BACKEND
+            )
+            pubkey = cert.public_key()
+
+        else:
+            pubkey = serialization.load_pem_public_key(public_key_data, _BACKEND)
+
+        return cls(pubkey)
+
+
+class ES256Signer(base.Signer, base.FromServiceAccountMixin):
+    """Signs messages with an ECDSA private key.
+
+    Args:
+        private_key (
+                cryptography.hazmat.primitives.asymmetric.ec.ECDSAPrivateKey):
+            The private key to sign with.
+        key_id (str): Optional key ID used to identify this private key. This
+            can be useful to associate the private key with its associated
+            public key or certificate.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, private_key, key_id=None):
+        self._key = private_key
+        self._key_id = key_id
+
+    @property
+    @_helpers.copy_docstring(base.Signer)
+    def key_id(self):
+        return self._key_id
+
+    @_helpers.copy_docstring(base.Signer)
+    def sign(self, message):
+        message = _helpers.to_bytes(message)
+        return self._key.sign(message, ec.ECDSA(hashes.SHA256()))
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_string(cls, key, key_id=None):
+        """Construct a RSASigner from a private key in PEM format.
+
+        Args:
+            key (Union[bytes, str]): Private key in PEM format.
+            key_id (str): An optional key id used to identify the private key.
+
+        Returns:
+            google.auth.crypt._cryptography_rsa.RSASigner: The
+            constructed signer.
+
+        Raises:
+            ValueError: If ``key`` is not ``bytes`` or ``str`` (unicode).
+            UnicodeDecodeError: If ``key`` is ``bytes`` but cannot be decoded
+                into a UTF-8 ``str``.
+            ValueError: If ``cryptography`` "Could not deserialize key data."
+        """
+        key = _helpers.to_bytes(key)
+        private_key = serialization.load_pem_private_key(
+            key, password=None, backend=_BACKEND
+        )
+        return cls(private_key, key_id=key_id)
diff --git a/google/auth/jwt.py b/google/auth/jwt.py
index cdd69ac..9248eb2 100644
--- a/google/auth/jwt.py
+++ b/google/auth/jwt.py
@@ -59,8 +59,18 @@
 from google.auth import exceptions
 import google.auth.credentials
 
+try:
+    from google.auth.crypt import es256
+except ImportError:  # pragma: NO COVER
+    es256 = None
+
 _DEFAULT_TOKEN_LIFETIME_SECS = 3600  # 1 hour in seconds
 _DEFAULT_MAX_CACHE_SIZE = 10
+_ALGORITHM_TO_VERIFIER_CLASS = {"RS256": crypt.RSAVerifier}
+_CRYPTOGRAPHY_BASED_ALGORITHMS = set(["ES256"])
+
+if es256 is not None:  # pragma: NO COVER
+    _ALGORITHM_TO_VERIFIER_CLASS["ES256"] = es256.ES256Verifier
 
 
 def encode(signer, payload, header=None, key_id=None):
@@ -83,7 +93,12 @@
     if key_id is None:
         key_id = signer.key_id
 
-    header.update({"typ": "JWT", "alg": "RS256"})
+    header.update({"typ": "JWT"})
+
+    if es256 is not None and isinstance(signer, es256.ES256Signer):
+        header.update({"alg": "ES256"})
+    else:
+        header.update({"alg": "RS256"})
 
     if key_id is not None:
         header["kid"] = key_id
@@ -217,10 +232,30 @@
     if not verify:
         return payload
 
+    # Pluck the key id and algorithm from the header and make sure we have
+    # a verifier that can support it.
+    key_alg = header.get("alg")
+    key_id = header.get("kid")
+
+    try:
+        verifier_cls = _ALGORITHM_TO_VERIFIER_CLASS[key_alg]
+    except KeyError as exc:
+        if key_alg in _CRYPTOGRAPHY_BASED_ALGORITHMS:
+            six.raise_from(
+                ValueError(
+                    "The key algorithm {} requires the cryptography package "
+                    "to be installed.".format(key_alg)
+                ),
+                exc,
+            )
+        else:
+            six.raise_from(
+                ValueError("Unsupported signature algorithm {}".format(key_alg)), exc
+            )
+
     # If certs is specified as a dictionary of key IDs to certificates, then
     # use the certificate identified by the key ID in the token header.
     if isinstance(certs, Mapping):
-        key_id = header.get("kid")
         if key_id:
             if key_id not in certs:
                 raise ValueError("Certificate for key id {} not found.".format(key_id))
@@ -232,7 +267,9 @@
         certs_to_check = certs
 
     # Verify that the signature matches the message.
-    if not crypt.verify_signature(signed_section, signature, certs_to_check):
+    if not crypt.verify_signature(
+        signed_section, signature, certs_to_check, verifier_cls
+    ):
         raise ValueError("Could not verify token signature.")
 
     # Verify the issued at and created times in the payload.
diff --git a/tests/crypt/test_es256.py b/tests/crypt/test_es256.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..087ce6e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/crypt/test_es256.py
@@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
+# Copyright 2016 Google Inc.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+import json
+import os
+
+from cryptography.hazmat.primitives.asymmetric import ec
+import pytest
+
+from google.auth import _helpers
+from google.auth.crypt import base
+from google.auth.crypt import es256
+
+
+DATA_DIR = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "..", "data")
+
+# To generate es256_privatekey.pem, es256_privatekey.pub, and
+# es256_public_cert.pem:
+#   $ openssl ecparam -genkey -name prime256v1 -noout -out es256_privatekey.pem
+#   $ openssl ec -in es256-private-key.pem -pubout -out es256-publickey.pem
+#   $ openssl req -new -x509 -key es256_privatekey.pem -out \
+#   >     es256_public_cert.pem
+
+with open(os.path.join(DATA_DIR, "es256_privatekey.pem"), "rb") as fh:
+    PRIVATE_KEY_BYTES = fh.read()
+    PKCS1_KEY_BYTES = PRIVATE_KEY_BYTES
+
+with open(os.path.join(DATA_DIR, "es256_publickey.pem"), "rb") as fh:
+    PUBLIC_KEY_BYTES = fh.read()
+
+with open(os.path.join(DATA_DIR, "es256_public_cert.pem"), "rb") as fh:
+    PUBLIC_CERT_BYTES = fh.read()
+
+SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON_FILE = os.path.join(DATA_DIR, "es256_service_account.json")
+
+with open(SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON_FILE, "r") as fh:
+    SERVICE_ACCOUNT_INFO = json.load(fh)
+
+
+class TestES256Verifier(object):
+    def test_verify_success(self):
+        to_sign = b"foo"
+        signer = es256.ES256Signer.from_string(PRIVATE_KEY_BYTES)
+        actual_signature = signer.sign(to_sign)
+
+        verifier = es256.ES256Verifier.from_string(PUBLIC_KEY_BYTES)
+        assert verifier.verify(to_sign, actual_signature)
+
+    def test_verify_unicode_success(self):
+        to_sign = u"foo"
+        signer = es256.ES256Signer.from_string(PRIVATE_KEY_BYTES)
+        actual_signature = signer.sign(to_sign)
+
+        verifier = es256.ES256Verifier.from_string(PUBLIC_KEY_BYTES)
+        assert verifier.verify(to_sign, actual_signature)
+
+    def test_verify_failure(self):
+        verifier = es256.ES256Verifier.from_string(PUBLIC_KEY_BYTES)
+        bad_signature1 = b""
+        assert not verifier.verify(b"foo", bad_signature1)
+        bad_signature2 = b"a"
+        assert not verifier.verify(b"foo", bad_signature2)
+
+    def test_from_string_pub_key(self):
+        verifier = es256.ES256Verifier.from_string(PUBLIC_KEY_BYTES)
+        assert isinstance(verifier, es256.ES256Verifier)
+        assert isinstance(verifier._pubkey, ec.EllipticCurvePublicKey)
+
+    def test_from_string_pub_key_unicode(self):
+        public_key = _helpers.from_bytes(PUBLIC_KEY_BYTES)
+        verifier = es256.ES256Verifier.from_string(public_key)
+        assert isinstance(verifier, es256.ES256Verifier)
+        assert isinstance(verifier._pubkey, ec.EllipticCurvePublicKey)
+
+    def test_from_string_pub_cert(self):
+        verifier = es256.ES256Verifier.from_string(PUBLIC_CERT_BYTES)
+        assert isinstance(verifier, es256.ES256Verifier)
+        assert isinstance(verifier._pubkey, ec.EllipticCurvePublicKey)
+
+    def test_from_string_pub_cert_unicode(self):
+        public_cert = _helpers.from_bytes(PUBLIC_CERT_BYTES)
+        verifier = es256.ES256Verifier.from_string(public_cert)
+        assert isinstance(verifier, es256.ES256Verifier)
+        assert isinstance(verifier._pubkey, ec.EllipticCurvePublicKey)
+
+
+class TestES256Signer(object):
+    def test_from_string_pkcs1(self):
+        signer = es256.ES256Signer.from_string(PKCS1_KEY_BYTES)
+        assert isinstance(signer, es256.ES256Signer)
+        assert isinstance(signer._key, ec.EllipticCurvePrivateKey)
+
+    def test_from_string_pkcs1_unicode(self):
+        key_bytes = _helpers.from_bytes(PKCS1_KEY_BYTES)
+        signer = es256.ES256Signer.from_string(key_bytes)
+        assert isinstance(signer, es256.ES256Signer)
+        assert isinstance(signer._key, ec.EllipticCurvePrivateKey)
+
+    def test_from_string_bogus_key(self):
+        key_bytes = "bogus-key"
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+            es256.ES256Signer.from_string(key_bytes)
+
+    def test_from_service_account_info(self):
+        signer = es256.ES256Signer.from_service_account_info(SERVICE_ACCOUNT_INFO)
+
+        assert signer.key_id == SERVICE_ACCOUNT_INFO[base._JSON_FILE_PRIVATE_KEY_ID]
+        assert isinstance(signer._key, ec.EllipticCurvePrivateKey)
+
+    def test_from_service_account_info_missing_key(self):
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError) as excinfo:
+            es256.ES256Signer.from_service_account_info({})
+
+        assert excinfo.match(base._JSON_FILE_PRIVATE_KEY)
+
+    def test_from_service_account_file(self):
+        signer = es256.ES256Signer.from_service_account_file(SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON_FILE)
+
+        assert signer.key_id == SERVICE_ACCOUNT_INFO[base._JSON_FILE_PRIVATE_KEY_ID]
+        assert isinstance(signer._key, ec.EllipticCurvePrivateKey)
diff --git a/tests/data/es256_privatekey.pem b/tests/data/es256_privatekey.pem
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5c950b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/data/es256_privatekey.pem
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+-----BEGIN EC PRIVATE KEY-----
+MHcCAQEEIAIC57aTx5ev4T2HBMQk4fXV09AzLDQ3Ju1uNoEB0LngoAoGCCqGSM49
+AwEHoUQDQgAEsACsrmP6Bp216OCFm73C8W/VRHZWcO8yU/bMwx96f05BkTII3KeJ
+z2O0IRAnXfso8K6YsjMuUDGCfj+b1IDIoA==
+-----END EC PRIVATE KEY-----
diff --git a/tests/data/es256_public_cert.pem b/tests/data/es256_public_cert.pem
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..774ca14
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/data/es256_public_cert.pem
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
+MIIBGDCBwAIJAPUA0H4EQWsdMAoGCCqGSM49BAMCMBUxEzARBgNVBAMMCnVuaXQt
+dGVzdHMwHhcNMTkwNTA5MDI1MDExWhcNMTkwNjA4MDI1MDExWjAVMRMwEQYDVQQD
+DAp1bml0LXRlc3RzMFkwEwYHKoZIzj0CAQYIKoZIzj0DAQcDQgAEsACsrmP6Bp21
+6OCFm73C8W/VRHZWcO8yU/bMwx96f05BkTII3KeJz2O0IRAnXfso8K6YsjMuUDGC
+fj+b1IDIoDAKBggqhkjOPQQDAgNHADBEAh8PcDTMyWk8SHqV/v8FLuMbDxdtAsq2
+dwCpuHQwqCcmAiEAnwtkiyieN+8zozaf1P4QKp2mAqNGqua50y3ua5uVotc=
+-----END CERTIFICATE-----
diff --git a/tests/data/es256_publickey.pem b/tests/data/es256_publickey.pem
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..51f2a03
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/data/es256_publickey.pem
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+-----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----
+MFkwEwYHKoZIzj0CAQYIKoZIzj0DAQcDQgAEsACsrmP6Bp216OCFm73C8W/VRHZW
+cO8yU/bMwx96f05BkTII3KeJz2O0IRAnXfso8K6YsjMuUDGCfj+b1IDIoA==
+-----END PUBLIC KEY-----
diff --git a/tests/data/es256_service_account.json b/tests/data/es256_service_account.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dd26719
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/data/es256_service_account.json
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+{
+  "type": "service_account",
+  "project_id": "example-project",
+  "private_key_id": "1",
+  "private_key": "-----BEGIN EC PRIVATE KEY-----\nMHcCAQEEIAIC57aTx5ev4T2HBMQk4fXV09AzLDQ3Ju1uNoEB0LngoAoGCCqGSM49\nAwEHoUQDQgAEsACsrmP6Bp216OCFm73C8W/VRHZWcO8yU/bMwx96f05BkTII3KeJ\nz2O0IRAnXfso8K6YsjMuUDGCfj+b1IDIoA==\n-----END EC PRIVATE KEY-----",
+  "client_email": "service-account@example.com",
+  "client_id": "1234",
+  "auth_uri": "https://accounts.google.com/o/oauth2/auth",
+  "token_uri": "https://accounts.google.com/o/oauth2/token"
+}
diff --git a/tests/test_jwt.py b/tests/test_jwt.py
index b0c6e48..488aee4 100644
--- a/tests/test_jwt.py
+++ b/tests/test_jwt.py
@@ -37,6 +37,12 @@
 with open(os.path.join(DATA_DIR, "other_cert.pem"), "rb") as fh:
     OTHER_CERT_BYTES = fh.read()
 
+with open(os.path.join(DATA_DIR, "es256_privatekey.pem"), "rb") as fh:
+    EC_PRIVATE_KEY_BYTES = fh.read()
+
+with open(os.path.join(DATA_DIR, "es256_public_cert.pem"), "rb") as fh:
+    EC_PUBLIC_CERT_BYTES = fh.read()
+
 SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON_FILE = os.path.join(DATA_DIR, "service_account.json")
 
 with open(SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON_FILE, "r") as fh:
@@ -68,8 +74,21 @@
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
-def token_factory(signer):
-    def factory(claims=None, key_id=None):
+def es256_signer():
+    return crypt.ES256Signer.from_string(EC_PRIVATE_KEY_BYTES, "1")
+
+
+def test_encode_basic_es256(es256_signer):
+    test_payload = {"test": "value"}
+    encoded = jwt.encode(es256_signer, test_payload)
+    header, payload, _, _ = jwt._unverified_decode(encoded)
+    assert payload == test_payload
+    assert header == {"typ": "JWT", "alg": "ES256", "kid": es256_signer.key_id}
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def token_factory(signer, es256_signer):
+    def factory(claims=None, key_id=None, use_es256_signer=False):
         now = _helpers.datetime_to_secs(_helpers.utcnow())
         payload = {
             "aud": "audience@example.com",
@@ -86,7 +105,10 @@
             signer._key_id = None
             key_id = None
 
-        return jwt.encode(signer, payload, key_id=key_id)
+        if use_es256_signer:
+            return jwt.encode(es256_signer, payload, key_id=key_id)
+        else:
+            return jwt.encode(signer, payload, key_id=key_id)
 
     return factory
 
@@ -98,6 +120,15 @@
     assert payload["metadata"]["meta"] == "data"
 
 
+def test_decode_valid_es256(token_factory):
+    payload = jwt.decode(
+        token_factory(use_es256_signer=True), certs=EC_PUBLIC_CERT_BYTES
+    )
+    assert payload["aud"] == "audience@example.com"
+    assert payload["user"] == "billy bob"
+    assert payload["metadata"]["meta"] == "data"
+
+
 def test_decode_valid_with_audience(token_factory):
     payload = jwt.decode(
         token_factory(), certs=PUBLIC_CERT_BYTES, audience="audience@example.com"
@@ -201,6 +232,29 @@
     assert payload["user"] == "billy bob"
 
 
+def test_decode_unknown_alg():
+    headers = json.dumps({u"kid": u"1", u"alg": u"fakealg"})
+    token = b".".join(
+        map(lambda seg: base64.b64encode(seg.encode("utf-8")), [headers, u"{}", u"sig"])
+    )
+
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError) as excinfo:
+        jwt.decode(token)
+    assert excinfo.match(r"fakealg")
+
+
+def test_decode_missing_crytography_alg(monkeypatch):
+    monkeypatch.delitem(jwt._ALGORITHM_TO_VERIFIER_CLASS, "ES256")
+    headers = json.dumps({u"kid": u"1", u"alg": u"ES256"})
+    token = b".".join(
+        map(lambda seg: base64.b64encode(seg.encode("utf-8")), [headers, u"{}", u"sig"])
+    )
+
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError) as excinfo:
+        jwt.decode(token)
+    assert excinfo.match(r"cryptography")
+
+
 def test_roundtrip_explicit_key_id(token_factory):
     token = token_factory(key_id="3")
     certs = {"2": OTHER_CERT_BYTES, "3": PUBLIC_CERT_BYTES}