diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_crtc.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_crtc.c
index 7710bcb4bd8d..5e818a808ace 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_crtc.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_crtc.c
@@ -557,7 +557,8 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL(drm_encoder_cleanup);
 int drm_plane_init(struct drm_device *dev, struct drm_plane *plane,
 		   unsigned long possible_crtcs,
 		   const struct drm_plane_funcs *funcs,
-		   const uint32_t *formats, uint32_t format_count)
+		   const uint32_t *formats, uint32_t format_count,
+		   bool priv)
 {
 	mutex_lock(&dev->mode_config.mutex);
 
@@ -577,8 +578,16 @@ int drm_plane_init(struct drm_device *dev, struct drm_plane *plane,
 	plane->format_count = format_count;
 	plane->possible_crtcs = possible_crtcs;
 
-	list_add_tail(&plane->head, &dev->mode_config.plane_list);
-	dev->mode_config.num_plane++;
+	/* private planes are not exposed to userspace, but depending on
+	 * display hardware, might be convenient to allow sharing programming
+	 * for the scanout engine with the crtc implementation.
+	 */
+	if (!priv) {
+		list_add_tail(&plane->head, &dev->mode_config.plane_list);
+		dev->mode_config.num_plane++;
+	} else {
+		INIT_LIST_HEAD(&plane->head);
+	}
 
 	mutex_unlock(&dev->mode_config.mutex);
 
@@ -593,8 +602,11 @@ void drm_plane_cleanup(struct drm_plane *plane)
 	mutex_lock(&dev->mode_config.mutex);
 	kfree(plane->format_types);
 	drm_mode_object_put(dev, &plane->base);
-	list_del(&plane->head);
-	dev->mode_config.num_plane--;
+	/* if not added to a list, it must be a private plane */
+	if (!list_empty(&plane->head)) {
+		list_del(&plane->head);
+		dev->mode_config.num_plane--;
+	}
 	mutex_unlock(&dev->mode_config.mutex);
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL(drm_plane_cleanup);
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/exynos/exynos_drm_plane.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/exynos/exynos_drm_plane.c
index c785e34ccff9..bdcf770aa22e 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/exynos/exynos_drm_plane.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/exynos/exynos_drm_plane.c
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ int exynos_plane_init(struct drm_device *dev, unsigned int nr)
 
 	/* TODO: format */
 	return drm_plane_init(dev, &exynos_plane->base, possible_crtcs,
-			      &exynos_plane_funcs, NULL, 0);
+			      &exynos_plane_funcs, NULL, 0, false);
 }
 
 int exynos_plane_set_zpos_ioctl(struct drm_device *dev, void *data,
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/intel_sprite.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/intel_sprite.c
index b26e7c46a752..d13989fda501 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/intel_sprite.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/intel_sprite.c
@@ -659,7 +659,7 @@ intel_plane_init(struct drm_device *dev, enum pipe pipe)
 	possible_crtcs = (1 << pipe);
 	ret = drm_plane_init(dev, &intel_plane->base, possible_crtcs,
 			     &intel_plane_funcs, snb_plane_formats,
-			     ARRAY_SIZE(snb_plane_formats));
+			     ARRAY_SIZE(snb_plane_formats), false);
 	if (ret)
 		kfree(intel_plane);
 
diff --git a/include/drm/drm_crtc.h b/include/drm/drm_crtc.h
index 2deb6f99f950..63e4fce67288 100644
--- a/include/drm/drm_crtc.h
+++ b/include/drm/drm_crtc.h
@@ -829,7 +829,8 @@ extern int drm_plane_init(struct drm_device *dev,
 			  struct drm_plane *plane,
 			  unsigned long possible_crtcs,
 			  const struct drm_plane_funcs *funcs,
-			  const uint32_t *formats, uint32_t format_count);
+			  const uint32_t *formats, uint32_t format_count,
+			  bool priv);
 extern void drm_plane_cleanup(struct drm_plane *plane);
 
 extern void drm_encoder_cleanup(struct drm_encoder *encoder);