diff --git a/caldav/server.go b/caldav/server.go
index 1e50827..e29fe2e 100644
--- a/caldav/server.go
+++ b/caldav/server.go
@@ -23,10 +23,10 @@ import (
 type PutCalendarObjectOptions struct {
 	// IfNoneMatch indicates that the client does not want to overwrite
 	// an existing resource.
-	IfNoneMatch bool
+	IfNoneMatch webdav.ConditionalMatch
 	// IfMatch provides the ETag of the resource that the client intends
 	// to overwrite, can be ""
-	IfMatch string
+	IfMatch webdav.ConditionalMatch
 }
 
 // Backend is a CalDAV server backend.
@@ -642,13 +642,12 @@ func (b *backend) PropPatch(r *http.Request, update *internal.PropertyUpdate) (*
 }
 
 func (b *backend) Put(r *http.Request) (*internal.Href, error) {
-	if inm := r.Header.Get("If-None-Match"); inm != "" && inm != "*" {
-		return nil, internal.HTTPErrorf(http.StatusBadRequest, "invalid value for If-None-Match header")
-	}
+	ifNoneMatch := webdav.ConditionalMatch(r.Header.Get("If-None-Match"))
+	ifMatch := webdav.ConditionalMatch(r.Header.Get("If-Match"))
 
 	opts := PutCalendarObjectOptions{
-		IfNoneMatch: r.Header.Get("If-None-Match") == "*",
-		IfMatch:     r.Header.Get("If-Match"),
+		IfNoneMatch: ifNoneMatch,
+		IfMatch:     ifMatch,
 	}
 
 	t, _, err := mime.ParseMediaType(r.Header.Get("Content-Type"))
diff --git a/carddav/server.go b/carddav/server.go
index 7e069ea..d2762e0 100644
--- a/carddav/server.go
+++ b/carddav/server.go
@@ -21,10 +21,10 @@ import (
 type PutAddressObjectOptions struct {
 	// IfNoneMatch indicates that the client does not want to overwrite
 	// an existing resource.
-	IfNoneMatch bool
+	IfNoneMatch webdav.ConditionalMatch
 	// IfMatch provides the ETag of the resource that the client intends
 	// to overwrite, can be ""
-	IfMatch string
+	IfMatch webdav.ConditionalMatch
 }
 
 // Backend is a CardDAV server backend.
@@ -631,13 +631,12 @@ func (b *backend) PropPatch(r *http.Request, update *internal.PropertyUpdate) (*
 }
 
 func (b *backend) Put(r *http.Request) (*internal.Href, error) {
-	if inm := r.Header.Get("If-None-Match"); inm != "" && inm != "*" {
-		return nil, internal.HTTPErrorf(http.StatusBadRequest, "invalid value for If-None-Match header")
-	}
+	ifNoneMatch := webdav.ConditionalMatch(r.Header.Get("If-None-Match"))
+	ifMatch := webdav.ConditionalMatch(r.Header.Get("If-Match"))
 
 	opts := PutAddressObjectOptions{
-		IfNoneMatch: r.Header.Get("If-None-Match") == "*",
-		IfMatch:     r.Header.Get("If-Match"),
+		IfNoneMatch: ifNoneMatch,
+		IfMatch:     ifMatch,
 	}
 
 	t, _, err := mime.ParseMediaType(r.Header.Get("Content-Type"))
diff --git a/elements.go b/elements.go
index 70f9e9b..f1f2d7f 100644
--- a/elements.go
+++ b/elements.go
@@ -30,3 +30,24 @@ type groupMembership struct {
 	XMLName xml.Name        `xml:"DAV: group-membership"`
 	Hrefs   []internal.Href `xml:"href"`
 }
+
+// ConditionalMatch represents the value of a conditional header
+// according to RFC 2068 section 14.25 and RFC 2068 section 14.26
+// The (optional) value can either be a wildcard or an ETag.
+type ConditionalMatch string
+
+func (val ConditionalMatch) IsSet() bool {
+	return val != ""
+}
+
+func (val ConditionalMatch) IsWildcard() bool {
+	return val == "*"
+}
+
+func (val ConditionalMatch) ETag() (string, error) {
+	var e internal.ETag
+	if err := e.UnmarshalText([]byte(val)); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	return string(e), nil
+}