diff --git a/backend/dropbox/dropbox.go b/backend/dropbox/dropbox.go
index bd4f28c05..28eaa30be 100644
--- a/backend/dropbox/dropbox.go
+++ b/backend/dropbox/dropbox.go
@@ -216,7 +216,10 @@ are supported.
 
 Note that we don't unmount the shared folder afterwards so the 
 --dropbox-shared-folders can be omitted after the first use of a particular 
-shared folder.`,
+shared folder.
+
+See also --dropbox-root-namespace for an alternative way to work with shared
+folders.`,
 			Default:  false,
 			Advanced: true,
 		}, {
@@ -237,6 +240,11 @@ shared folder.`,
 				encoder.EncodeDel |
 				encoder.EncodeRightSpace |
 				encoder.EncodeInvalidUtf8,
+		}, {
+			Name:     "root_namespace",
+			Help:     "Specify a different Dropbox namespace ID to use as the root for all paths.",
+			Default:  "",
+			Advanced: true,
 		}}...), defaultBatcherOptions.FsOptions("For full info see [the main docs](https://rclone.org/dropbox/#batch-mode)\n\n")...),
 	})
 }
@@ -253,6 +261,7 @@ type Options struct {
 	AsyncBatch    bool                 `config:"async_batch"`
 	PacerMinSleep fs.Duration          `config:"pacer_min_sleep"`
 	Enc           encoder.MultiEncoder `config:"encoding"`
+	RootNsid      string               `config:"root_namespace"`
 }
 
 // Fs represents a remote dropbox server
@@ -502,8 +511,11 @@ func NewFs(ctx context.Context, name, root string, m configmap.Mapper) (fs.Fs, e
 
 	f.features.Fill(ctx, f)
 
-	// If root starts with / then use the actual root
-	if strings.HasPrefix(root, "/") {
+	if f.opt.RootNsid != "" {
+		f.ns = f.opt.RootNsid
+		fs.Debugf(f, "Overriding root namespace to %q", f.ns)
+	} else if strings.HasPrefix(root, "/") {
+		// If root starts with / then use the actual root
 		var acc *users.FullAccount
 		err = f.pacer.Call(func() (bool, error) {
 			acc, err = f.users.GetCurrentAccount()