diff --git a/states/borg/templates/borg_job.sh.j2 b/states/borg/templates/borg_job.sh.j2
index 39b5323..ea3e0a9 100755
--- a/states/borg/templates/borg_job.sh.j2
+++ b/states/borg/templates/borg_job.sh.j2
@@ -28,11 +28,16 @@ borg create  \
     --stats                             \
     --show-rc                           \
     --compression {{ job.compression|default('lz4') }}  \
+{%- if job.excluded_dirs is defined -%}
+{%- for exclude in job.excluded_dirs %}
+    --exclude '{{ exclude }}'          \
+{%- endfor %}
+{%- endif %}
     --exclude-caches                    \
-    ::$backup_name'-{hostname}-{now}'              \
-{% for include in job.included_dirs -%}
+    ::$backup_name'-{hostname}-{now}'   \
+{%- for include in job.included_dirs %}
     {{ include }} \
-{% endfor -%}
+{%- endfor %}
     2>> {{ working_dir }}/logs/${backup_name}-$(date +%Y-%m-%d).log
 
 backup_exit=$?