diff --git a/apps/sdnip/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/sdnip/SdnIpService.java b/apps/sdnip/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/sdnip/SdnIpService.java
index d0b3434..936b7e8 100644
--- a/apps/sdnip/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/sdnip/SdnIpService.java
+++ b/apps/sdnip/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/sdnip/SdnIpService.java
@@ -36,4 +36,12 @@
      * @return the SDN-IP routes
      */
     public Collection<RouteEntry> getRoutes();
+
+    /**
+     * Changes whether this SDN-IP instance is the primary or not based on the
+     * boolean parameter.
+     *
+     * @param isPrimary true if the instance is primary, false if it is not
+     */
+    public void modifyPrimary(boolean isPrimary);
 }