diff --git a/docs/source/session_auth/middleware.rst b/docs/source/session_auth/middleware.rst
index be897a4f..8ebde60f 100644
--- a/docs/source/session_auth/middleware.rst
+++ b/docs/source/session_auth/middleware.rst
@@ -88,6 +88,13 @@ follows:
 
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+``excluded_paths``
+------------------
+
+This works identically to token auth - see :ref:`excluded_paths`.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
 Source
 ------
 
diff --git a/docs/source/token_auth/middleware.rst b/docs/source/token_auth/middleware.rst
index 0ce1361e..26236002 100644
--- a/docs/source/token_auth/middleware.rst
+++ b/docs/source/token_auth/middleware.rst
@@ -71,6 +71,8 @@ You'll have to run the migrations for this to work correctly.
 ``TokenAuthBackend``
 --------------------
 
+.. _excluded_paths:
+
 ``excluded_paths``
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
diff --git a/piccolo_api/session_auth/middleware.py b/piccolo_api/session_auth/middleware.py
index 6f90dc50..43d682d4 100644
--- a/piccolo_api/session_auth/middleware.py
+++ b/piccolo_api/session_auth/middleware.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 
 from piccolo_api.session_auth.tables import SessionsBase
 from piccolo_api.shared.auth import UnauthenticatedUser, User
+from piccolo_api.shared.auth.excluded_paths import check_excluded_paths
 
 
 class SessionsAuthBackend(AuthenticationBackend):
@@ -31,6 +32,7 @@ def __init__(
         active_only: bool = True,
         increase_expiry: t.Optional[timedelta] = None,
         allow_unauthenticated: bool = False,
+        excluded_paths: t.Optional[t.Sequence[str]] = None,
     ):
         """
         :param auth_table:
@@ -43,22 +45,26 @@ def __init__(
             The name of the session cookie. Override this if it clashes with
             other cookies in your application.
         :param admin_only:
-            If True, users which aren't admins will be rejected.
+            If ``True``, users which aren't admins will be rejected.
         :param superuser_only:
-            If True, users which aren't superusers will be rejected.
+            If ``True``, users which aren't superusers will be rejected.
         :param active_only:
-            If True, users which aren't active will be rejected.
+            If ``True``, users which aren't active will be rejected.
         :param increase_expiry:
             If set, the session expiry will be increased by this amount on each
             request, if it's close to expiry. This allows sessions to have a
             short expiry date, whilst also providing a good user experience.
         :param allow_unauthenticated:
-            If True, when a matching user session can't be found, the request
+            If ``True``, when a matching user session can't be found, the request
             still continues, but an unauthenticated user is added to the scope.
             It's then up to the application's endpoints to check if a user is
             authenticated or not using ``request.user.is_authenticated``. If
-            False, the request is automatically rejected if a user session
+            ``False``, the request is automatically rejected if a user session
             can't be found.
+        :param excluded_paths:
+            These paths don't require a session cookie - useful if you want to
+            exclude a few URLs, such as docs.
+
         """  # noqa: E501
         super().__init__()
         self.auth_table = auth_table
@@ -69,7 +75,9 @@ def __init__(
         self.active_only = active_only
         self.increase_expiry = increase_expiry
         self.allow_unauthenticated = allow_unauthenticated
+        self.excluded_paths = excluded_paths or []
 
+    @check_excluded_paths
     async def authenticate(
         self, conn: HTTPConnection
     ) -> t.Optional[t.Tuple[AuthCredentials, BaseUser]]:
diff --git a/piccolo_api/shared/auth/excluded_paths.py b/piccolo_api/shared/auth/excluded_paths.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..cc86565b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/piccolo_api/shared/auth/excluded_paths.py
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import functools
+import typing as t
+
+from starlette.authentication import AuthCredentials, AuthenticationBackend
+from starlette.requests import HTTPConnection
+
+from piccolo_api.shared.auth import UnauthenticatedUser
+
+
+def check_excluded_paths(authenticate_func: t.Callable):
+
+    @functools.wraps(authenticate_func)
+    async def authenticate(self: AuthenticationBackend, conn: HTTPConnection):
+        conn_path = dict(conn)
+
+        excluded_paths = getattr(self, "excluded_paths", None)
+
+        if excluded_paths is None:
+            raise ValueError("excluded_paths isn't defined")
+
+        for excluded_path in excluded_paths:
+            if excluded_path.endswith("*"):
+                if (
+                    conn_path["raw_path"]
+                    .decode("utf-8")
+                    .startswith(excluded_path.rstrip("*"))
+                ):
+                    return (
+                        AuthCredentials(scopes=[]),
+                        UnauthenticatedUser(),
+                    )
+            else:
+                if conn_path["path"] == excluded_path:
+                    return (
+                        AuthCredentials(scopes=[]),
+                        UnauthenticatedUser(),
+                    )
+
+        return await authenticate_func(self=self, conn=conn)
+
+    return authenticate
diff --git a/piccolo_api/token_auth/middleware.py b/piccolo_api/token_auth/middleware.py
index c9f2c019..b9dedd29 100644
--- a/piccolo_api/token_auth/middleware.py
+++ b/piccolo_api/token_auth/middleware.py
@@ -13,7 +13,8 @@
 )
 from starlette.requests import HTTPConnection
 
-from piccolo_api.shared.auth import UnauthenticatedUser, User
+from piccolo_api.shared.auth import User
+from piccolo_api.shared.auth.excluded_paths import check_excluded_paths
 from piccolo_api.token_auth.tables import TokenAuth
 
 
@@ -90,7 +91,9 @@ def __init__(
         :param token_auth_provider:
             Used to verify that a token is correct.
         :param excluded_paths:
-            These paths don't require a token.
+            These paths don't require a token - useful if you want to
+            exclude a few URLs, such as docs.
+
         """
         super().__init__()
         self.token_auth_provider = token_auth_provider
@@ -104,29 +107,11 @@ def extract_token(self, header: str) -> str:
 
         return token
 
+    @check_excluded_paths
     async def authenticate(
         self, conn: HTTPConnection
     ) -> t.Optional[t.Tuple[AuthCredentials, BaseUser]]:
         auth_header = conn.headers.get("Authorization", None)
-        conn_path = dict(conn)
-
-        for excluded_path in self.excluded_paths:
-            if excluded_path.endswith("*"):
-                if (
-                    conn_path["raw_path"]
-                    .decode("utf-8")
-                    .startswith(excluded_path.rstrip("*"))
-                ):
-                    return (
-                        AuthCredentials(scopes=[]),
-                        UnauthenticatedUser(),
-                    )
-            else:
-                if conn_path["path"] == excluded_path:
-                    return (
-                        AuthCredentials(scopes=[]),
-                        UnauthenticatedUser(),
-                    )
 
         if not auth_header:
             raise AuthenticationError("The Authorization header is missing.")
diff --git a/tests/session_auth/test_session.py b/tests/session_auth/test_session.py
index 78318123..f2edb08d 100644
--- a/tests/session_auth/test_session.py
+++ b/tests/session_auth/test_session.py
@@ -707,6 +707,105 @@ def test_wrong_cookie_value(self):
         )
 
 
+###############################################################################
+
+EXCLUDED_PATHS_APP = Router(
+    routes=[
+        Route("/", EchoEndpoint),
+        Route(
+            "/foo/",
+            EchoEndpoint,
+        ),
+        Route(
+            "/foo/1/",
+            EchoEndpoint,
+        ),
+        Route(
+            "/bar/",
+            EchoEndpoint,
+        ),
+        Route(
+            "/bar/1/",
+            EchoEndpoint,
+        ),
+    ]
+)
+
+
+class TestExcludedPaths(SessionTestCase):
+    """
+    Make sure that if `excluded_paths` is set, then the middleware allows the
+    request to continue without a cookie.
+    """
+
+    def create_user_and_session(self):
+        user = BaseUser(
+            **self.credentials, active=True, admin=True, superuser=True
+        )
+        user.save().run_sync()
+        SessionsBase.create_session_sync(user_id=user.id)
+
+    def setUp(self):
+        super().setUp()
+
+        # Add a session to the database to make it more realistic.
+        self.create_user_and_session()
+
+    def test_excluded_paths(self):
+        """
+        Make sure that only the `excluded_paths` are accessible
+        """
+        app = AuthenticationMiddleware(
+            EXCLUDED_PATHS_APP,
+            SessionsAuthBackend(
+                allow_unauthenticated=False,
+                excluded_paths=["/foo/"],
+            ),
+        )
+        client = TestClient(app)
+
+        for path in ("/", "/foo/1/", "/bar/", "/bar/1/"):
+            response = client.get(path)
+            self.assertEqual(response.status_code, 400)
+            self.assertEqual(response.content, b"No session cookie found.")
+
+        response = client.get("/foo/")
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+        self.assertDictEqual(
+            response.json(),
+            {"is_unauthenticated_user": True, "is_authenticated": False},
+        )
+
+    def test_excluded_paths_wildcard(self):
+        """
+        Make sure that wildcard paths work correctly.
+        """
+        app = AuthenticationMiddleware(
+            EXCLUDED_PATHS_APP,
+            SessionsAuthBackend(
+                allow_unauthenticated=False,
+                excluded_paths=["/foo/*"],
+            ),
+        )
+        client = TestClient(app)
+
+        for path in ("/", "/bar/", "/bar/1/"):
+            response = client.get(path)
+            self.assertEqual(response.status_code, 400)
+            self.assertEqual(response.content, b"No session cookie found.")
+
+        for path in ("/foo/", "/foo/1/"):
+            response = client.get(path)
+            self.assertEqual(response.status_code, 200)
+            self.assertDictEqual(
+                response.json(),
+                {"is_unauthenticated_user": True, "is_authenticated": False},
+            )
+
+
+###############################################################################
+
+
 class TestHooks(SessionTestCase):
     def test_hooks(self):
         # TODO Replace these with mocks ...