diff --git a/panels.module b/panels.module
index eebcb99..fd88652 100644
--- a/panels.module
+++ b/panels.module
@@ -1158,6 +1158,9 @@ function template_preprocess_panels_pane($vars) {
     $vars['admin_links'] = theme('links', $content->admin_links);
   }
 
+  $title_elem = $vars['pane']->configuration['title_elem'];
+  $vars['title_elem'] = !empty($title_elem) ? $title_elem : 'h2';
+  
   $vars['title'] = !empty($content->title) ? $content->title : '';
 
   $vars['feeds'] = !empty($content->feeds) ? implode(' ', $content->feeds) : '';
diff --git a/templates/panels-pane.tpl.php b/templates/panels-pane.tpl.php
index c7ea90f..1094985 100644
--- a/templates/panels-pane.tpl.php
+++ b/templates/panels-pane.tpl.php
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
   <?php endif; ?>
 
   <?php if ($title): ?>
-    <h2 class="pane-title"><?php print $title; ?></h2>
+    <<?php print $title_elem ?> class="pane-title"><?php print $title; ?></<?php print $title_elem ?>>
   <?php endif; ?>
 
   <?php if ($feeds): ?>