diff --git a/e2e/e2e_test.go b/e2e/e2e_test.go
index b15d2157f..e7e033c40 100644
--- a/e2e/e2e_test.go
+++ b/e2e/e2e_test.go
@@ -286,6 +286,22 @@ var _ = Describe("Central", func() {
 			Expect(secretsStored).Should(ContainElements(expectedSecrets))
 		})
 
+		It("should set ForceReconcile through admin API", func() {
+			if createdCentral == nil {
+				Fail("central not created")
+			}
+
+			_, _, err := adminAPI.UpdateCentralById(
+				context.Background(),
+				createdCentral.Id,
+				private.CentralUpdateRequest{ForceReconcile: "true"})
+
+			Expect(err).To(BeNil())
+
+			privateCentral, _, err := client.PrivateAPI().GetCentral(context.Background(), createdCentral.Id)
+			Expect(err).To(BeNil())
+			Expect(privateCentral.ForceReconcile).To(Equal("true"))
+		})
 		// TODO(ROX-11368): Add test to eventually reach ready state
 		// TODO(ROX-11368): create test to check that Central and Scanner are healthy
 		// TODO(ROX-11368): Create test to check Central is correctly exposed
diff --git a/internal/dinosaur/pkg/handlers/admin_dinosaur.go b/internal/dinosaur/pkg/handlers/admin_dinosaur.go
index 6fa5fad63..f9d3b499b 100644
--- a/internal/dinosaur/pkg/handlers/admin_dinosaur.go
+++ b/internal/dinosaur/pkg/handlers/admin_dinosaur.go
@@ -288,12 +288,7 @@ func updateCentralRequest(request *dbapi.CentralRequest, strategicPatch []byte)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("unmarshalling strategic merge patch: %w", err)
 	}
-	// only keep central and scanner keys
-	for k := range patchMap {
-		if k != "central" && k != "scanner" {
-			delete(patchMap, k)
-		}
-	}
+
 	patchBytes, err := json.Marshal(patchMap)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("marshalling strategic merge patch: %w", err)
@@ -308,12 +303,12 @@ func updateCentralRequest(request *dbapi.CentralRequest, strategicPatch []byte)
 		scannerBytes = string(request.Scanner)
 	}
 
-	var originalBytes = fmt.Sprintf("{\"central\":%s,\"scanner\":%s,\"forceReconcile\":\"%s\"}", centralBytes, scannerBytes, request.ForceReconcile)
+	var originalBytes = fmt.Sprintf("{\"central\":%s,\"scanner\":%s,\"force_reconcile\":\"%s\"}", centralBytes, scannerBytes, request.ForceReconcile)
 
 	type Original struct {
 		Central        *dbapi.CentralSpec `json:"central,omitempty"`
 		Scanner        *dbapi.ScannerSpec `json:"scanner,omitempty"`
-		ForceReconcile string             `json:"forceReconcile,omitempty"`
+		ForceReconcile string             `json:"force_reconcile,omitempty"`
 	}
 
 	// apply the patch
diff --git a/internal/dinosaur/pkg/handlers/admin_dinosaur_test.go b/internal/dinosaur/pkg/handlers/admin_dinosaur_test.go
index ca2425e61..91ff0acd8 100644
--- a/internal/dinosaur/pkg/handlers/admin_dinosaur_test.go
+++ b/internal/dinosaur/pkg/handlers/admin_dinosaur_test.go
@@ -165,19 +165,19 @@ func Test_updateCentralRequest(t *testing.T) {
 			patch:       `{"scanner":{"analyzer":{"resources":{"limits":null}}}}`,
 			wantScanner: `{"analyzer":{"resources":{"requests":{"cpu":"1","memory":"1"}},"scaling":{}},"db":{"resources":{}}}`,
 		}, {
-			name:               "replacing forceReconcile",
-			state:              `{"forceReconcile":"foo"}`,
-			patch:              `{"forceReconcile":"bar"}`,
+			name:               "replacing force_reconcile",
+			state:              `{"force_reconcile":"foo"}`,
+			patch:              `{"force_reconcile":"bar"}`,
 			wantForceReconcile: "bar",
 		}, {
-			name:               "unsetting forceReconcile",
-			state:              `{"forceReconcile":"foo"}`,
-			patch:              `{"forceReconcile":null}`,
+			name:               "unsetting force_reconcile",
+			state:              `{"force_reconcile":"foo"}`,
+			patch:              `{"force_reconcile":null}`,
 			wantForceReconcile: "",
 		}, {
-			name:               "setting forceReconcile to empty string",
-			state:              `{"forceReconcile":"foo"}`,
-			patch:              `{"forceReconcile":""}`,
+			name:               "setting force_reconcile to empty string",
+			state:              `{"force_reconcile":"foo"}`,
+			patch:              `{"force_reconcile":""}`,
 			wantForceReconcile: "",
 		}, {
 			name:  "should fail if the patch is invalid json",
@@ -217,6 +217,8 @@ func Test_updateCentralRequest(t *testing.T) {
 				if len(tt.wantCentral) > 0 {
 					assert.Equal(t, string(tt.wantCentral), string(request.Central))
 				}
+
+				assert.Equal(t, tt.wantForceReconcile, request.ForceReconcile)
 			}
 		})
 	}