diff --git a/doc/source/devref/api_converters.rst b/doc/source/devref/api_converters.rst
index 8288c4257..3679b0b74 100644
--- a/doc/source/devref/api_converters.rst
+++ b/doc/source/devref/api_converters.rst
@@ -84,3 +84,14 @@ Test The Validator
 Do the right thing, and make sure you've created a unit test for any
 converter that you add to verify that it works as expected.
 
+IPv6 canonical address formatter
+--------------------------------
+
+There are several ways to display an IPv6 address, which can lead to a lot
+of confusion for users, engineers and operators alike. To reduce the impact
+of the multifaceted style of writing an IPv6 address, it is proposed that
+the IPv6 address in Neutron should be saved in the canonical format.
+
+If a user passes an IPv6 address, it will be saved in the canonical format.
+
+The full document is found at : http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5952
diff --git a/neutron_lib/api/converters.py b/neutron_lib/api/converters.py
index 600e64a43..803160ba3 100644
--- a/neutron_lib/api/converters.py
+++ b/neutron_lib/api/converters.py
@@ -10,10 +10,12 @@
 #    License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations
 #    under the License.
 
+import netaddr
 from oslo_utils import strutils
 import six
 
 from neutron_lib._i18n import _
+from neutron_lib import constants
 from neutron_lib import exceptions as n_exc
 
 
@@ -162,3 +164,21 @@ def convert_to_list(data):
         return list(data)
     else:
         return [data]
+
+
+def convert_ip_to_canonical_format(value):
+    """IP Address is validated and then converted to canonical format.
+
+    :param value: The IP Address which needs to be checked.
+    :returns: - None if 'value' is None,
+              - 'value' if 'value' is IPv4 address,
+              - 'value' if 'value' is not an IP Address
+              - canonical IPv6 address if 'value' is IPv6 address.
+    """
+    try:
+        ip = netaddr.IPAddress(value)
+        if ip.version == constants.IP_VERSION_6:
+            return six.text_type(ip.format(dialect=netaddr.ipv6_compact))
+    except netaddr.core.AddrFormatError:
+        pass
+    return value
diff --git a/neutron_lib/tests/unit/api/test_conversions.py b/neutron_lib/tests/unit/api/test_conversions.py
index 6cfea0d61..4ad38dbf8 100644
--- a/neutron_lib/tests/unit/api/test_conversions.py
+++ b/neutron_lib/tests/unit/api/test_conversions.py
@@ -167,3 +167,34 @@ class TestConvertToList(base.BaseTestCase):
     def test_convert_to_list_non_iterable(self):
         for item in (True, False, 1, 1.2, object()):
             self.assertEqual([item], converters.convert_to_list(item))
+
+
+class TestConvertIPv6CanonicalFormat(base.BaseTestCase):
+
+    def test_convert_ipv6_address_extended_add_with_zeroes(self):
+        result = converters.convert_ip_to_canonical_format(
+            u'2001:0db8:0:0:0:0:0:0001')
+        self.assertEqual(u'2001:db8::1', result)
+
+    @testtools.skipIf(tools.is_bsd(), 'bug/1484837')
+    def test_convert_ipv6_compressed_address_OSX_skip(self):
+        result = converters.convert_ip_to_canonical_format(
+            u'2001:db8:0:1:1:1:1:1')
+        self.assertEqual(u'2001:db8:0:1:1:1:1:1', result)
+
+    def test_convert_ipv6_extended_addr_to_compressed(self):
+        result = converters.convert_ip_to_canonical_format(
+            u"Fe80:0:0:0:0:0:0:1")
+        self.assertEqual(u'fe80::1', result)
+
+    def test_convert_ipv4_address(self):
+        result = converters.convert_ip_to_canonical_format(u"192.168.1.1")
+        self.assertEqual(u'192.168.1.1', result)
+
+    def test_convert_None_address(self):
+        result = converters.convert_ip_to_canonical_format(None)
+        self.assertIsNone(result)
+
+    def test_convert_invalid_address(self):
+        result = converters.convert_ip_to_canonical_format("on")
+        self.assertEqual("on", result)
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/ipv6_address_usage-ef3d65ad5aa5798b.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/ipv6_address_usage-ef3d65ad5aa5798b.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a988ce0a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/ipv6_address_usage-ef3d65ad5aa5798b.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+features:
+     - |
+       A converter ``convert_ip_to_canonical_format`` has been added to
+       neutron-lib which allows IPv6 addresses to be stored and
+       displayed in canonical format.
\ No newline at end of file