diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d78bdb7..2c84353 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -71,5 +71,5 @@ To manually rebuild a branch, for example 3.11:
 ssh docs.nyc1.psf.io
 sudo su --shell=/bin/bash docsbuild
 screen -DUR  # Rejoin screen session if it exists, otherwise create a new one
-/srv/docsbuild/venv/bin/python /srv/docsbuild/scripts/build_docs.py --branch 3.11
+/srv/docsbuild/venv/bin/python /srv/docsbuild/scripts/build_docs.py --force --branch 3.11
 ```
diff --git a/build_docs.py b/build_docs.py
index d4578eb..9ffe47f 100755
--- a/build_docs.py
+++ b/build_docs.py
@@ -538,7 +538,7 @@ def includes_html(self):
         """Does the build we are running include HTML output?"""
         return self.select_output != "no-html"
 
-    def run(self, http: urllib3.PoolManager) -> bool | None:
+    def run(self, http: urllib3.PoolManager, force_build: bool) -> bool | None:
         """Build and publish a Python doc, for a language, and a version."""
         start_time = perf_counter()
         start_timestamp = dt.datetime.now(tz=dt.UTC).replace(microsecond=0)
@@ -550,7 +550,7 @@ def run(self, http: urllib3.PoolManager) -> bool | None:
             self.cpython_repo.switch(self.version.branch_or_tag)
             if self.language.tag != "en":
                 self.clone_translation()
-            if trigger_reason := self.should_rebuild():
+            if trigger_reason := self.should_rebuild(force_build):
                 self.build_venv()
                 self.build()
                 self.copy_build_to_webroot(http)
@@ -806,7 +806,7 @@ def copy_build_to_webroot(self, http: urllib3.PoolManager) -> None:
             "Publishing done (%s).", format_seconds(perf_counter() - start_time)
         )
 
-    def should_rebuild(self):
+    def should_rebuild(self, force: bool):
         state = self.load_state()
         if not state:
             logging.info("Should rebuild: no previous state found.")
@@ -834,6 +834,9 @@ def should_rebuild(self):
                     cpython_sha,
                 )
                 return "Doc/ has changed"
+        if force:
+            logging.info("Should rebuild: forced.")
+            return "forced"
         logging.info("Nothing changed, no rebuild needed.")
         return False
 
@@ -956,6 +959,12 @@ def parse_args():
         help="Path where generated files will be copied.",
         default=Path("/srv/docs.python.org"),
     )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--force",
+        action="store_true",
+        help="Always build the chosen languages and versions, "
+        "regardless of existing state.",
+    )
     parser.add_argument(
         "--skip-cache-invalidation",
         help="Skip Fastly cache invalidation.",
@@ -1074,7 +1083,7 @@ def build_docs(args: argparse.Namespace) -> bool:
         builder = DocBuilder(
             version, versions, language, languages, cpython_repo, **vars(args)
         )
-        built_successfully = builder.run(http)
+        built_successfully = builder.run(http, force_build=args.force)
         if built_successfully:
             build_succeeded.add((version.name, language.tag))
         elif built_successfully is not None: