diff --git a/arguments.go b/arguments.go
index a97bb99..626308a 100644
--- a/arguments.go
+++ b/arguments.go
@@ -14,12 +14,13 @@ const defaultConcurrency = maxOpenFiles / 2
 const usage = `Link checker for Markdown and HTML
 
 Usage:
-	liche [-c <num-requests>] [-d <directory>] [-r] [-t <timeout>] [-x <regex>] [-v] <filenames>...
+	liche [-c <num-requests>] [-d <directory>] [-r] [-l] [-t <timeout>] [-x <regex>] [-v] <filenames>...
 
 Options:
 	-c, --concurrency <num-requests>  Set max number of concurrent HTTP requests. [default: %v]
 	-d, --document-root <directory>  Set document root directory for absolute paths.
 	-r, --recursive  Search Markdown and HTML files recursively
+	-l, --local-only  Validate only local links (file:// and bare links)
 	-t, --timeout <timeout>  Set timeout for HTTP requests in seconds. Disabled by default.
 	-x, --exclude <regex>  Regex of links to exclude from checking.
 	-v, --verbose  Be verbose.`
@@ -32,6 +33,7 @@ type arguments struct {
 	excludedPattern *regexp.Regexp
 	recursive       bool
 	verbose         bool
+	localOnly       bool
 }
 
 func getArguments(argv []string) (arguments, error) {
@@ -79,5 +81,6 @@ func getArguments(argv []string) (arguments, error) {
 		r,
 		args["--recursive"].(bool),
 		args["--verbose"].(bool),
+		args["--local-only"].(bool),
 	}, nil
 }
diff --git a/arguments_test.go b/arguments_test.go
index d56fcce..79750c8 100644
--- a/arguments_test.go
+++ b/arguments_test.go
@@ -15,55 +15,63 @@ func TestGetArguments(t *testing.T) {
 	}{
 		{
 			argv: []string{"file"},
-			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "", defaultConcurrency, 0, nil, false, false},
+			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "", defaultConcurrency, 0, nil, false, false, false},
 		},
 		{
 			argv: []string{"-c", "42", "file"},
-			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "", 42, 0, nil, false, false},
+			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "", 42, 0, nil, false, false, false},
 		},
 		{
 			argv: []string{"--concurrency", "42", "file"},
-			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "", 42, 0, nil, false, false},
+			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "", 42, 0, nil, false, false, false},
 		},
 		{
 			argv: []string{"-d", "directory", "file"},
-			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "directory", defaultConcurrency, 0, nil, false, false},
+			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "directory", defaultConcurrency, 0, nil, false, false, false},
 		},
 		{
 			argv: []string{"--document-root", "directory", "file"},
-			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "directory", defaultConcurrency, 0, nil, false, false},
+			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "directory", defaultConcurrency, 0, nil, false, false, false},
 		},
 		{
 			argv: []string{"-r", "file"},
-			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "", defaultConcurrency, 0, nil, true, false},
+			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "", defaultConcurrency, 0, nil, true, false, false},
 		},
 		{
 			argv: []string{"--recursive", "file"},
-			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "", defaultConcurrency, 0, nil, true, false},
+			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "", defaultConcurrency, 0, nil, true, false, false},
 		},
 		{
 			argv: []string{"-t", "42", "file"},
-			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "", defaultConcurrency, 42 * time.Second, nil, false, false},
+			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "", defaultConcurrency, 42 * time.Second, nil, false, false, false},
 		},
 		{
 			argv: []string{"--timeout", "42", "file"},
-			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "", defaultConcurrency, 42 * time.Second, nil, false, false},
+			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "", defaultConcurrency, 42 * time.Second, nil, false, false, false},
 		},
 		{
 			argv: []string{"-x", "^.*$", "file"},
-			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "", defaultConcurrency, 0, regexp.MustCompile(`^.*$`), false, false},
+			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "", defaultConcurrency, 0, regexp.MustCompile(`^.*$`), false, false, false},
 		},
 		{
 			argv: []string{"--exclude", "^.*$", "file"},
-			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "", defaultConcurrency, 0, regexp.MustCompile(`^.*$`), false, false},
+			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "", defaultConcurrency, 0, regexp.MustCompile(`^.*$`), false, false, false},
 		},
 		{
 			argv: []string{"-v", "file"},
-			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "", defaultConcurrency, 0, nil, false, true},
+			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "", defaultConcurrency, 0, nil, false, true, false},
 		},
 		{
 			argv: []string{"--verbose", "file"},
-			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "", defaultConcurrency, 0, nil, false, true},
+			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "", defaultConcurrency, 0, nil, false, true, false},
+		},
+		{
+			argv: []string{"--local-only", "file"},
+			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "", defaultConcurrency, 0, nil, false, false, true},
+		},
+		{
+			argv: []string{"-l", "file"},
+			args: arguments{[]string{"file"}, "", defaultConcurrency, 0, nil, false, false, true},
 		},
 	} {
 		args, err := getArguments(c.argv)
diff --git a/file_checker.go b/file_checker.go
index b60db75..935d55e 100644
--- a/file_checker.go
+++ b/file_checker.go
@@ -18,8 +18,8 @@ type fileChecker struct {
 	semaphore  semaphore
 }
 
-func newFileChecker(timeout time.Duration, d string, r *regexp.Regexp, s semaphore) fileChecker {
-	return fileChecker{newURLChecker(timeout, d, r, s), s}
+func newFileChecker(timeout time.Duration, d string, r *regexp.Regexp, s semaphore, l bool) fileChecker {
+	return fileChecker{newURLChecker(timeout, d, r, s, l), s}
 }
 
 func (c fileChecker) Check(f string) ([]urlResult, error) {
@@ -132,5 +132,5 @@ func isURL(s string) bool {
 	}
 
 	u, err := url.Parse(s)
-	return err == nil && (u.Scheme == "" || u.Scheme == "http" || u.Scheme == "https")
+	return err == nil && (u.Scheme == "" || u.Scheme == "http" || u.Scheme == "https" || u.Scheme == "file")
 }
diff --git a/file_checker_test.go b/file_checker_test.go
index 06a70c5..8f5f34e 100644
--- a/file_checker_test.go
+++ b/file_checker_test.go
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 func TestFileCheckerCheck(t *testing.T) {
-	c := newFileChecker(0, "", nil, newSemaphore(1024))
+	c := newFileChecker(0, "", nil, newSemaphore(1024), false)
 
 	for _, f := range []string{"README.md", "test/foo.md", "test/foo.html"} {
 		rs, err := c.Check(f)
@@ -47,8 +47,22 @@ func TestFileCheckerCheck(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestFileCheckerLocal(t *testing.T) {
+	c := newFileChecker(0, "", nil, newSemaphore(1024), true)
+
+	for _, f := range []string{"test/remote.md", "test/remote.html"} {
+		rs, err := c.Check(f)
+
+		assert.Equal(t, nil, err)
+
+		for _, r := range rs {
+			assert.Equal(t, errSkipped, r.err)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 func TestFileCheckerCheckMany(t *testing.T) {
-	c := newFileChecker(0, "", nil, newSemaphore(maxOpenFiles))
+	c := newFileChecker(0, "", nil, newSemaphore(maxOpenFiles), false)
 
 	for _, fs := range [][]string{
 		{"README.md"},
@@ -77,7 +91,7 @@ func TestFileCheckerCheckMany(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestFileCheckerCheckManyWithInvalidFiles(t *testing.T) {
-	c := newFileChecker(0, "", nil, newSemaphore(maxOpenFiles))
+	c := newFileChecker(0, "", nil, newSemaphore(maxOpenFiles), false)
 
 	for _, fs := range [][]string{
 		{"test/absolute_path.md"},
@@ -107,7 +121,7 @@ func TestFileCheckerCheckManyWithInvalidFiles(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestFileCheckerExtractURLs(t *testing.T) {
-	c := newFileChecker(0, "", nil, newSemaphore(42))
+	c := newFileChecker(0, "", nil, newSemaphore(42), false)
 
 	for _, x := range []struct {
 		html    string
@@ -152,11 +166,11 @@ func TestURLParse(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestIsURL(t *testing.T) {
-	for _, s := range []string{"http://google.com", "https://google.com", "file-path"} {
+	for _, s := range []string{"http://google.com", "https://google.com", "file://file-path", "file-path"} {
 		assert.True(t, isURL(s))
 	}
 
-	for _, s := range []string{"ftp://foo.com", "file://file-path", "#foo"} {
+	for _, s := range []string{"ftp://foo.com", "#foo"} {
 		assert.False(t, isURL(s))
 	}
 }
diff --git a/file_result.go b/file_result.go
index 322db90..b03c262 100644
--- a/file_result.go
+++ b/file_result.go
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ func (r fileResult) Ok() bool {
 	}
 
 	for _, r := range r.urlResults {
-		if r.err != nil {
+		if r.err != nil && r.err != errSkipped {
 			return false
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 920f23f..2a25249 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -34,7 +34,8 @@ func main() {
 		args.timeout,
 		args.documentRoot,
 		args.excludedPattern,
-		newSemaphore(args.concurrency))
+		newSemaphore(args.concurrency),
+		args.localOnly)
 
 	go c.CheckMany(m.Filenames(), rc)
 
diff --git a/test.md b/test.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e783e79
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test.md
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+# Markdown test file
+
+## Remote links
+
+http://should.be/ignored
+
+https://should.be/ignored
+
+[ignored](http://should.be/ignored)
+
+## Local links
+
+[self](test.md)
+[self](./test.md)
+[self](file://test.md)
diff --git a/test/remote.html b/test/remote.html
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5ebd12b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/remote.html
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html>
+
+<head>
+	<title>My title</title>
+</head>
+
+<body>
+	<div>
+		<a href="https://www.google.com/">Google</a>
+	</div>
+</body>
+
+</html>
diff --git a/test/remote.md b/test/remote.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5538d8d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/remote.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+[google](https://www.google.com/)
diff --git a/url_checker.go b/url_checker.go
index 3104ce2..8f40948 100644
--- a/url_checker.go
+++ b/url_checker.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package main
 
 import (
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"net/http"
 	"net/url"
@@ -19,10 +20,13 @@ type urlChecker struct {
 	documentRoot    string
 	excludedPattern *regexp.Regexp
 	semaphore       semaphore
+	localOnly       bool
 }
 
-func newURLChecker(t time.Duration, d string, r *regexp.Regexp, s semaphore) urlChecker {
-	return urlChecker{t, d, r, s}
+var errSkipped = errors.New("skipped as instructed")
+
+func newURLChecker(t time.Duration, d string, r *regexp.Regexp, s semaphore, l bool) urlChecker {
+	return urlChecker{t, d, r, s, l}
 }
 
 func (c urlChecker) Check(u string, f string) error {
@@ -38,6 +42,8 @@ func (c urlChecker) Check(u string, f string) error {
 	if local {
 		_, err := os.Stat(u)
 		return err
+	} else if c.localOnly {
+		return errSkipped
 	}
 
 	c.semaphore.Request()
@@ -83,7 +89,7 @@ func (c urlChecker) resolveURL(u string, f string) (string, bool, error) {
 		return "", false, err
 	}
 
-	if uu.Scheme != "" {
+	if uu.Scheme != "" && uu.Scheme != "file" {
 		return u, false, nil
 	}
 
diff --git a/url_checker_test.go b/url_checker_test.go
index 5d53912..cc3e861 100644
--- a/url_checker_test.go
+++ b/url_checker_test.go
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 func TestURLCheckerCheck(t *testing.T) {
-	c := newURLChecker(0, "", nil, newSemaphore(1024))
+	c := newURLChecker(0, "", nil, newSemaphore(1024), false)
 
 	for _, u := range []string{"https://google.com", "README.md"} {
 		assert.Equal(t, nil, c.Check(u, "README.md"))
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ func TestURLCheckerCheck(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestURLCheckerCheckWithExclude(t *testing.T) {
-	c := newURLChecker(0, "", regexp.MustCompile(`^http:\/\/localhost:[13]$`), newSemaphore(1024))
+	c := newURLChecker(0, "", regexp.MustCompile(`^http:\/\/localhost:[13]$`), newSemaphore(1024), false)
 
 	for _, u := range []string{"http://localhost:1", "http://localhost:3", "README.md"} {
 		assert.Equal(t, nil, c.Check(u, "README.md"))
@@ -34,8 +34,20 @@ func TestURLCheckerCheckWithExclude(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestURLCheckerCheckLocal(t *testing.T) {
+	c := newURLChecker(0, "", nil, newSemaphore(1024), true)
+
+	for _, u := range []string{"https://www.google.com"} {
+		assert.Equal(t, errSkipped, c.Check(u, "README.md"))
+	}
+
+	for _, u := range []string{"README.md"} {
+		assert.Equal(t, nil, c.Check(u, "README.md"))
+	}
+}
+
 func TestURLCheckerCheckWithTimeout(t *testing.T) {
-	c := newURLChecker(30*time.Second, "", nil, newSemaphore(1024))
+	c := newURLChecker(30*time.Second, "", nil, newSemaphore(1024), false)
 
 	for _, u := range []string{"https://google.com", "README.md"} {
 		assert.Equal(t, nil, c.Check(u, "README.md"))
@@ -47,7 +59,7 @@ func TestURLCheckerCheckWithTimeout(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestURLCheckerCheckMany(t *testing.T) {
-	c := newURLChecker(0, "", nil, newSemaphore(1024))
+	c := newURLChecker(0, "", nil, newSemaphore(1024), false)
 
 	for _, us := range [][]string{{}, {"https://google.com", "README.md"}} {
 		rc := make(chan urlResult, 1024)
@@ -60,7 +72,7 @@ func TestURLCheckerCheckMany(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 func TestURLCheckerResolveURL(t *testing.T) {
-	f := newURLChecker(0, "", nil, newSemaphore(1024))
+	f := newURLChecker(0, "", nil, newSemaphore(1024), false)
 
 	for _, c := range []struct {
 		source, target string
@@ -78,7 +90,7 @@ func TestURLCheckerResolveURL(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestURLCheckerResolveURLWithAbsolutePath(t *testing.T) {
-	f := newURLChecker(0, "", nil, newSemaphore(1024))
+	f := newURLChecker(0, "", nil, newSemaphore(1024), false)
 
 	u, _, err := f.resolveURL("/foo", "foo.md")
 
@@ -87,7 +99,7 @@ func TestURLCheckerResolveURLWithAbsolutePath(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestURLCheckerResolveURLWithDocumentRoot(t *testing.T) {
-	f := newURLChecker(0, "foo", nil, newSemaphore(1024))
+	f := newURLChecker(0, "foo", nil, newSemaphore(1024), false)
 
 	for _, c := range []struct {
 		source, target string
diff --git a/url_result.go b/url_result.go
index f7ded01..c9c2217 100644
--- a/url_result.go
+++ b/url_result.go
@@ -16,6 +16,10 @@ func (r urlResult) String() string {
 		return color.GreenString("OK") + "\t" + r.url
 	}
 
+	if r.err == errSkipped {
+		return color.YellowString("SKIPPED") + "\t" + r.url
+	}
+
 	s := r.err.Error()
 
 	return color.RedString("ERROR") + "\t" + r.url + "\n\t" +