diff --git a/vasl_templates/webapp/static/snippets.js b/vasl_templates/webapp/static/snippets.js
index 961c4e7..5cd38ba 100644
--- a/vasl_templates/webapp/static/snippets.js
+++ b/vasl_templates/webapp/static/snippets.js
@@ -16,7 +16,8 @@ var _DAY_OF_MONTH_POSTFIXES = { // nb: we assume English :-/
 
 var gDefaultScenario = null ;
 var gLastSavedScenario = null ;
-var gLastSavedScenarioFilename = null;
+var gLastSavedScenarioFilename = null ;
+var gScenarioCreatedTime = null ;
 
 // --------------------------------------------------------------------
 
@@ -733,6 +734,7 @@ function do_load_scenario_data( params )
 {
     // reset the scenario
     reset_scenario() ;
+    gScenarioCreatedTime = params._creation_time ;
 
     // auto-assign ID's to the OB setup notes and notes
     // NOTE: We do this here to handle scenarios that were created before these ID's were implemented.
@@ -879,7 +881,7 @@ function do_load_scenario_data( params )
     }
 
     // remember the state of this scenario
-    gLastSavedScenario = unload_params_for_save() ;
+    gLastSavedScenario = unload_params_for_save( false ) ;
 
     // update the UI
     $("#tabs").tabs( "option", "active", 0 ) ;
@@ -936,7 +938,7 @@ function auto_assign_id( usedIds )
 function on_save_scenario()
 {
     // unload the template parameters
-    var params = unload_params_for_save() ;
+    var params = unload_params_for_save( true ) ;
     var data = JSON.stringify( params ) ;
 
     // FOR TESTING PORPOISES! We can't control a file download from Selenium (since
@@ -972,7 +974,7 @@ function on_save_scenario()
     gLastSavedScenario = params ;
 }
 
-function unload_params_for_save()
+function unload_params_for_save( user_requested )
 {
     function extract_vo_entries( key ) {
         if ( !(key in params) )
@@ -1009,6 +1011,19 @@ function unload_params_for_save()
     if ( scenario_date )
         params.SCENARIO_DATE = scenario_date.toISOString().substring( 0, 10 ) ;
 
+    // save some admin metadata
+    if ( user_requested ) {
+        params._app_version = gAppVersion ;
+        var now = (new Date()).toISOString() ;
+        params._last_update_time = now ;
+        if ( gScenarioCreatedTime )
+            params._creation_time = gScenarioCreatedTime ;
+        else {
+            params._creation_time = now ;
+            gScenarioCreatedTime = now ;
+        }
+    }
+
     return params ;
 }
 
@@ -1089,8 +1104,13 @@ function is_scenario_dirty()
     // check if the scenario has been changed since it was loaded, or last saved
     if ( gLastSavedScenario === null )
         return false ;
-    var params = unload_params_for_save() ;
-    return (JSON.stringify(params) != JSON.stringify(gLastSavedScenario) ) ;
+    var last_saved_scenario = {} ;
+    for ( var key in gLastSavedScenario ) {
+        if ( key.substr(0,1) !== "_" )
+            last_saved_scenario[key] = gLastSavedScenario[key] ;
+    }
+    var params = unload_params_for_save( false ) ;
+    return (JSON.stringify(params) != JSON.stringify(last_saved_scenario) ) ;
 }
 
 // --------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/vasl_templates/webapp/tests/test_scenario_persistence.py b/vasl_templates/webapp/tests/test_scenario_persistence.py
index 476fca3..71eaff4 100644
--- a/vasl_templates/webapp/tests/test_scenario_persistence.py
+++ b/vasl_templates/webapp/tests/test_scenario_persistence.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import re
 
 from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import Select
 
-from vasl_templates.webapp.config.constants import APP_NAME
+from vasl_templates.webapp.config.constants import APP_NAME, APP_VERSION
 from vasl_templates.webapp.tests.utils import \
     init_webapp, get_nationality_display_name, load_scenario_params, select_tab, select_menu_option, \
     get_sortable_entry_text, get_sortable_vo_names, get_stored_msg, set_stored_msg, set_stored_msg_marker, \
@@ -108,14 +108,18 @@ def test_scenario_persistence( webapp, webdriver ): #pylint: disable=too-many-st
 
     # save the scenario and check the results
     saved_scenario = save_scenario()
+    assert saved_scenario["_app_version"] == APP_VERSION
+    scenario_creation_time = saved_scenario["_creation_time"]
+    assert saved_scenario["_last_update_time"] == scenario_creation_time
     expected = {
         k: v for tab in SCENARIO_PARAMS.values() for k,v in tab.items()
     }
     mo = re.search( r"^(\d{2})/(\d{2})/(\d{4})$", expected["SCENARIO_DATE"] )
     expected["SCENARIO_DATE"] = "{}-{}-{}".format( mo.group(3), mo.group(1), mo.group(2) ) # nb: convert from ISO-8601
-    for key in saved_scenario:
+    saved_scenario2 = { k: v for k,v in saved_scenario.items() if not k.startswith("_") }
+    for key in saved_scenario2:
         if re.search( r"^OB_(VEHICLES|ORDNANCE)_\d$", key ):
-            for vo_entry in saved_scenario[key]:
+            for vo_entry in saved_scenario2[key]:
                 del vo_entry["id"]
     for key in expected:
         if re.search( r"^OB_(VEHICLES|ORDNANCE)_\d$", key ):
@@ -127,10 +131,10 @@ def test_scenario_persistence( webapp, webdriver ): #pylint: disable=too-many-st
                 entry["id"] = 1+i
     for i,entry in enumerate(expected["SCENARIO_NOTES"]):
         entry["id"] = 1+i
-    assert saved_scenario == expected
+    assert saved_scenario2 == expected
 
     # make sure that our list of scenario parameters is correct
-    lhs = set( saved_scenario.keys() )
+    lhs = set( saved_scenario2.keys() )
     rhs = set( itertools.chain( *ALL_SCENARIO_PARAMS.values() ) )
     assert lhs == rhs
 
@@ -141,7 +145,10 @@ def test_scenario_persistence( webapp, webdriver ): #pylint: disable=too-many-st
     check_window_title( "" )
     check_ob_tabs( "german", "russian" )
     data = save_scenario()
-    data2 = { k: v for k,v in data.items() if v }
+    assert data["_app_version"] == APP_VERSION
+    assert data["_last_update_time"] == data["_creation_time"]
+    assert data["_creation_time"] > scenario_creation_time
+    data2 = { k: v for k,v in data.items() if not k.startswith("_") and v }
     assert data2 == {
         "SCENARIO_THEATER": "ETO",
         "PLAYER_1": "german", "PLAYER_1_ELR": "5", "PLAYER_1_SAN": "2",
@@ -193,6 +200,11 @@ def test_scenario_persistence( webapp, webdriver ): #pylint: disable=too-many-st
     assert get_sortable_vo_names(vehicles2) == SCENARIO_PARAMS["ob2"]["OB_VEHICLES_2"]
     assert get_sortable_vo_names(ordnance2) == SCENARIO_PARAMS["ob2"]["OB_ORDNANCE_2"]
 
+    # save the scenario, make sure the timestamps are correct
+    data = save_scenario()
+    assert data["_creation_time"] == scenario_creation_time
+    assert data["_last_update_time"] > scenario_creation_time
+
 def assert_scenario_params_complete( scenario_params ):
     """Check that a set of scenario parameters is complete."""
     lhs = { k: set(v) for k,v in scenario_params.items() }