diff --git a/chronograf.go b/chronograf.go
index 9d743e97e1..4bf273910c 100644
--- a/chronograf.go
+++ b/chronograf.go
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ const (
 	ErrAlertNotFound     = Error("alert not found")
 	ErrAuthentication    = Error("user not authenticated")
 	ErrUninitialized     = Error("client uninitialized. Call Open() method")
+	ErrInvalidAxis       = Error("Unexpected axis in cell. Valid axes are 'x', 'y', and 'y2'")
 )
 
 // Error is a domain error encountered while processing chronograf requests
diff --git a/server/cells.go b/server/cells.go
index b6a79290b6..f60437c910 100644
--- a/server/cells.go
+++ b/server/cells.go
@@ -43,9 +43,23 @@ func newCellResponses(dID chronograf.DashboardID, dcells []chronograf.DashboardC
 	return cells
 }
 
-// ValidDashboardCellRequest verifies that the dashboard cells have a query
+// ValidDashboardCellRequest verifies that the dashboard cells have a query and
+// have the correct axes specified
 func ValidDashboardCellRequest(c *chronograf.DashboardCell) error {
 	CorrectWidthHeight(c)
+	return HasCorrectAxes(c)
+}
+
+// HasCorrectAxes verifies that only permitted axes exist within a DashboardCell
+func HasCorrectAxes(c *chronograf.DashboardCell) error {
+	for axis, _ := range c.Axes {
+		switch axis {
+		case "x", "y", "y2":
+			// no-op
+		default:
+			return chronograf.ErrInvalidAxis
+		}
+	}
 	return nil
 }
 
diff --git a/server/cells_test.go b/server/cells_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..be694b3dff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/cells_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+package server_test
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/influxdata/chronograf"
+	"github.com/influxdata/chronograf/server"
+)
+
+func Test_Cells_CorrectAxis(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	axisTests := []struct {
+		name       string
+		cell       *chronograf.DashboardCell
+		shouldFail bool
+	}{
+		{
+			"correct axes",
+			&chronograf.DashboardCell{
+				Axes: map[string]chronograf.Axis{
+					"x": chronograf.Axis{
+						Bounds: [2]int64{0, 100},
+					},
+					"y": chronograf.Axis{
+						Bounds: [2]int64{0, 100},
+					},
+					"y2": chronograf.Axis{
+						Bounds: [2]int64{0, 100},
+					},
+				},
+			},
+			false,
+		},
+		{
+			"invalid axes present",
+			&chronograf.DashboardCell{
+				Axes: map[string]chronograf.Axis{
+					"axis of evil": chronograf.Axis{
+						Bounds: [2]int64{666, 666},
+					},
+					"axis of awesome": chronograf.Axis{
+						Bounds: [2]int64{1337, 31337},
+					},
+				},
+			},
+			true,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, test := range axisTests {
+		t.Run(test.name, func(tt *testing.T) {
+			if err := server.HasCorrectAxes(test.cell); err != nil && !test.shouldFail {
+				t.Errorf("%q: Unexpected error: err: %s", test.name, err)
+			} else if err == nil && test.shouldFail {
+				t.Errorf("%q: Expected error and received none", test.name)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/server/dashboards_test.go b/server/dashboards_test.go
index 613d56d574..b5116913c5 100644
--- a/server/dashboards_test.go
+++ b/server/dashboards_test.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"reflect"
 	"testing"
 
+	"github.com/google/go-cmp/cmp"
 	"github.com/influxdata/chronograf"
 )
 
@@ -219,6 +220,14 @@ func Test_newDashboardResponse(t *testing.T) {
 								Command: "SELECT donors from hill_valley_preservation_society where time > '1985-10-25 08:00:00'",
 							},
 						},
+						Axes: map[string]chronograf.Axis{
+							"x": chronograf.Axis{
+								Bounds: [2]int64{0, 100},
+							},
+							"y": chronograf.Axis{
+								Bounds: [2]int64{2, 95},
+							},
+						},
 					},
 					{
 						ID: "b",
@@ -257,6 +266,14 @@ func Test_newDashboardResponse(t *testing.T) {
 									},
 								},
 							},
+							Axes: map[string]chronograf.Axis{
+								"x": chronograf.Axis{
+									Bounds: [2]int64{0, 100},
+								},
+								"y": chronograf.Axis{
+									Bounds: [2]int64{2, 95},
+								},
+							},
 						},
 					},
 					dashboardCellResponse{
@@ -301,8 +318,8 @@ func Test_newDashboardResponse(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 	}
 	for _, tt := range tests {
-		if got := newDashboardResponse(tt.d); !reflect.DeepEqual(got, tt.want) {
-			t.Errorf("%q. newDashboardResponse() = \n%#v\n\n, want\n\n%#v", tt.name, got, tt.want)
+		if got := newDashboardResponse(tt.d); !cmp.Equal(got, tt.want) {
+			t.Errorf("%q. newDashboardResponse() = diff:\n%s", tt.name, cmp.Diff(got, tt.want))
 		}
 	}
 }
diff --git a/server/swagger.json b/server/swagger.json
index 6a0da5692c..486984cae5 100644
--- a/server/swagger.json
+++ b/server/swagger.json
@@ -3718,8 +3718,16 @@
               "axes": {
                 "description": "The viewport for a cell's visualizations",
                 "type": "object",
-                "additionalProperties": {
-                  "$ref": "#/definitions/DashboardRange"
+                "properties": {
+                  "x": {
+                    "$ref": "#/definitions/DashboardRange"
+                  },
+                  "y": {
+                    "$ref": "#/definitions/DashboardRange"
+                  },
+                  "y2": {
+                    "$ref": "#/definitions/DashboardRange"
+                  }
                 }
               },
               "type": {
@@ -3814,7 +3822,7 @@
           "description": "The extents of an axis in the form [lower, upper]. Clients determine whether bounds are to be inclusive or exclusive of their limits",
           "items": {
             "type": "integer",
-            "format": "int32"
+            "format": "int64"
           }
         }
       }