diff --git a/django/contrib/auth/mixins.py b/django/contrib/auth/mixins.py
index 00fc9cb727..d98c909112 100644
--- a/django/contrib/auth/mixins.py
+++ b/django/contrib/auth/mixins.py
@@ -79,9 +79,15 @@ class PermissionRequiredMixin(AccessMixin):
             perms = self.permission_required
         return perms
 
-    def dispatch(self, request, *args, **kwargs):
+    def has_permission(self):
+        """
+        Override this method to customize the way permissions are checked.
+        """
         perms = self.get_permission_required()
-        if not request.user.has_perms(perms):
+        return self.request.user.has_perms(perms)
+
+    def dispatch(self, request, *args, **kwargs):
+        if not self.has_permission():
             return self.handle_no_permission()
         return super(PermissionRequiredMixin, self).dispatch(request, *args, **kwargs)
 
diff --git a/docs/topics/auth/default.txt b/docs/topics/auth/default.txt
index 29447982f6..e388ec51ee 100644
--- a/docs/topics/auth/default.txt
+++ b/docs/topics/auth/default.txt
@@ -712,6 +712,21 @@ To apply permission checks to :doc:`class-based views
     :class:`~django.contrib.auth.mixins.AccessMixin` to customize the handling
     of unauthorized users.
 
+    You may also override these methods:
+
+    .. method:: get_permission_required()
+
+        Returns an iterable of permission names used by the mixin. Defaults to
+        the ``permission_required`` attribute, converted to a tuple if
+        necessary.
+
+    .. method:: has_permission()
+
+        Returns a boolean denoting whether the current user has permission to
+        execute the decorated view. By default, this returns the result of
+        calling :meth:`~django.contrib.auth.models.User.has_perms()` with the
+        list of permissions returned by :meth:`get_permission_required()`.
+
 Redirecting unauthorized requests in class-based views
 ------------------------------------------------------