diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 4a136e12d7a..24f1ea4c869 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -15,6 +15,9 @@ Ansible Changes By Release
 ### Deprecations
 * Previously deprecated 'hostfile' config settings have been 're-deprecated' as previously code did not warn about deprecated configuration settings.
 * Using Ansible provided Jinja tests as filters is deprecated and will be removed in Ansible 2.9
+* `stat` and `win_stat` have deprecated `get_md5` and the `md5` return value
+  and these options will be removed in Ansible 2.9. `get_md5: no` will still be
+  allowed in 2.9 but will finally be removed 2 versions after that.
 
 ### Minor Changes
 * added a few new magic vars corresponding to configuration/command line options:
@@ -28,6 +31,10 @@ Ansible Changes By Release
 * combine filter now accepts a list of dicts as well as dicts directly
 * New CLI options for ansible-inventory, ansible-console and ansible to allow
   specifying a playbook_dir to be used for relative search paths.
+* `stat` and `win_stat` have changed the default value of `get_md5` to `False` which will result
+  in the `md5` return value not being returned. This option will be removed altogether in Ansible
+  2.9. use `get_checksum: True` with `checksum_algorithm: md5` to return an md5 hash of the file
+  under the `checksum` return value.
 
 #### Deprecated Modules (to be removed in 2.9):
 * ec2_ami_find
diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/files/stat.py b/lib/ansible/modules/files/stat.py
index 4a4269c5e05..d7e83b3671f 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/files/stat.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/files/stat.py
@@ -25,26 +25,32 @@ options:
   follow:
     description:
       - Whether to follow symlinks.
-    choices: [ 'no', 'yes' ]
+    type: bool
     default: 'no'
   get_md5:
     description:
       - Whether to return the md5 sum of the file.
       - Will return None if not a regular file or if we're
         unable to use md5 (Common for FIPS-140 compliant systems).
-    choices: [ 'no', 'yes' ]
-    default: 'yes'
+      - The default of this option changed from C(yes) to C(no) in Ansible 2.5
+        and will be removed altogether in Ansible 2.9.
+      - Use C(get_checksum=true) with C(checksum_algorithm=md5) to return an
+        md5 hash under the C(checksum) return value.
+    type: bool
+    default: 'no'
   get_checksum:
     description:
       - Whether to return a checksum of the file (default sha1).
-    choices: [ 'no', 'yes' ]
+    type: bool
     default: 'yes'
     version_added: "1.8"
   checksum_algorithm:
     description:
       - Algorithm to determine checksum of file. Will throw an error if the
         host is unable to use specified algorithm.
-    choices: [ sha1, sha224, sha256, sha384, sha512 ]
+      - The remote host has to support the hashing method specified, C(md5)
+        can be unavailable if the host is FIPS-140 compliant.
+    choices: [ md5, sha1, sha224, sha256, sha384, sha512 ]
     default: sha1
     aliases: [ checksum, checksum_algo ]
     version_added: "2.0"
@@ -54,14 +60,14 @@ options:
         the 'file' utility found on most Linux/Unix systems.
       - This will add both `mime_type` and 'charset' fields to the return, if possible.
       - In 2.3 this option changed from 'mime' to 'get_mime' and the default changed to 'Yes'.
-    choices: [ 'no', 'yes' ]
+    type: bool
     default: 'yes'
     version_added: "2.1"
     aliases: [ mime, mime_type, mime-type ]
   get_attributes:
     description:
       - Get file attributes using lsattr tool if present.
-    choices: [ 'no', 'yes' ]
+    type: bool
     default: 'yes'
     version_added: "2.3"
     aliases: [ attr, attributes ]
@@ -294,7 +300,8 @@ stat:
             sample: ../foobar/21102015-1445431274-908472971
             version_added: 2.4
         md5:
-            description: md5 hash of the path
+            description: md5 hash of the path, this will be removed in Ansible 2.9 in
+                favour of the checksum return value
             returned: success, path exists and user can read stats and path
                 supports hashing and md5 is supported
             type: string
@@ -433,12 +440,12 @@ def main():
         argument_spec=dict(
             path=dict(required=True, type='path'),
             follow=dict(type='bool', default='no'),
-            get_md5=dict(type='bool', default='yes'),
+            get_md5=dict(type='bool'),
             get_checksum=dict(type='bool', default='yes'),
             get_mime=dict(type='bool', default='yes', aliases=['mime', 'mime_type', 'mime-type']),
             get_attributes=dict(type='bool', default='yes', aliases=['attr', 'attributes']),
             checksum_algorithm=dict(type='str', default='sha1',
-                                    choices=['sha1', 'sha224', 'sha256', 'sha384', 'sha512'],
+                                    choices=['md5', 'sha1', 'sha224', 'sha256', 'sha384', 'sha512'],
                                     aliases=['checksum', 'checksum_algo']),
         ),
         supports_check_mode=True,
@@ -450,6 +457,14 @@ def main():
     get_mime = module.params.get('get_mime')
     get_attr = module.params.get('get_attributes')
     get_md5 = module.params.get('get_md5')
+
+    # get_md5 will be an undocumented option in 2.9 to be removed at a later
+    # date if possible (3.0+)
+    if get_md5:
+        module.deprecate("get_md5 has been deprecated along with the md5 return value, use "
+                         "get_checksum=True and checksum_algorithm=md5 instead", 2.9)
+    else:
+        get_md5 = False
     get_checksum = module.params.get('get_checksum')
     checksum_algorithm = module.params.get('checksum_algorithm')
 
diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/windows/win_stat.ps1 b/lib/ansible/modules/windows/win_stat.ps1
index 103aa0802ba..ec381164908 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/windows/win_stat.ps1
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/windows/win_stat.ps1
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ function Date_To_Timestamp($start_date, $end_date)
 $params = Parse-Args $args -supports_check_mode $true
 
 $path = Get-AnsibleParam -obj $params -name "path" -type "path" -failifempty $true -aliases "dest","name"
-$get_md5 = Get-AnsibleParam -obj $params -name "get_md5" -type "bool" -default $true
+$get_md5 = Get-AnsibleParam -obj $params -name "get_md5" -type "bool" -default $false
 $get_checksum = Get-AnsibleParam -obj $params -name "get_checksum" -type "bool" -default $true
 $checksum_algorithm = Get-AnsibleParam -obj $params -name "checksum_algorithm" -type "str" -default "sha1" -validateset "md5","sha1","sha256","sha384","sha512"
 
@@ -73,9 +73,10 @@ $result = @{
     }
 }
 
-# Backward compatibility
-if ($get_md5 -eq $true -and (Get-Member -inputobject $params -name "get_md5") ) {
-    Add-DeprecationWarning -obj $result -message "The parameter 'get_md5' is being replaced with 'checksum_algorithm: md5'" -version 2.7
+# get_md5 will be an undocumented option in 2.9 to be removed at a later
+# date if possible (3.0+)
+if (Get-Member -inputobject $params -name "get_md5") {
+    Add-DepreactionWarning -obj $result -message "get_md5 has been deprecated along with the md5 return value, use get_checksum=True and checksum_algorithm=md5 instead" -version 2.9
 }
 
 $info = Get-FileItem -path $path
@@ -159,7 +160,7 @@ If ($info -ne $null)
             try {
                 $result.stat.md5 = Get-FileChecksum -path $path -algorithm "md5"
             } catch {
-                Fail-Json -obj $result -message "failed to get MD5 hash of file, set get_md5 to False to ignore this error: $($_.Exception.Message)"
+                Fail-Json -obj $result -message "failed to get MD5 hash of file, remove get_md5 to ignore this error: $($_.Exception.Message)"
             }
         }
 
diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/windows/win_stat.py b/lib/ansible/modules/windows/win_stat.py
index a1c4cc4070c..64b71d1ccd6 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/windows/win_stat.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/windows/win_stat.py
@@ -42,28 +42,29 @@ options:
               and 2.2 this is no longer an MD5, but a SHA1 instead. As of Ansible
               2.3 this is back to an MD5. Will return None if host is unable to
               use specified algorithm.
-            - This option is deprecated in Ansible 2.3 and is replaced with
-              C(checksum_algorithm=md5).
-            - This option will be removed in Ansible 2.7
-        required: no
-        default: True
+            - The default of this option changed from C(yes) to C(no) in Ansible 2.5
+              and will be removed altogether in Ansible 2.9.
+            - Use C(get_checksum=true) with C(checksum_algorithm=md5) to return an
+              md5 hash under the C(checksum) return value.
+        type: bool
+        default: 'no'
     get_checksum:
         description:
             - Whether to return a checksum of the file (default sha1)
-        required: no
-        default: True
+        type: bool
+        default: 'yes'
         version_added: "2.1"
     checksum_algorithm:
         description:
             - Algorithm to determine checksum of file. Will throw an error if
               the host is unable to use specified algorithm.
-        required: no
         default: sha1
         choices: ['md5', 'sha1', 'sha256', 'sha384', 'sha512']
         version_added: "2.3"
 notes:
      - For non-Windows targets, use the M(stat) module instead.
-author: "Chris Church (@cchurch)"
+author:
+- Chris Church (@cchurch)
 '''
 
 EXAMPLES = r'''
@@ -200,8 +201,8 @@ stat:
             type: string
             sample: C:\temp
         md5:
-            description: The MD5 checksum of a file (Between Ansible 1.9 and 2.2 this was returned as a SHA1 hash), will be removed in 2.7
-            returned: success, path exist, path is a file, get_md5 == True, md5 is supported
+            description: The MD5 checksum of a file (Between Ansible 1.9 and 2.2 this was returned as a SHA1 hash), will be removed in 2.9
+            returned: success, path exist, path is a file, get_md5 == True
             type: string
             sample: 09cb79e8fc7453c84a07f644e441fd81623b7f98
         owner:
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/__init__.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/__init__.py
index ad6eb0bc255..b8806baed13 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/__init__.py
@@ -478,7 +478,6 @@ class ActionBase(with_metaclass(ABCMeta, object)):
         module_args = dict(
             path=path,
             follow=follow,
-            get_md5=False,
             get_checksum=checksum,
             checksum_algo='sha1',
         )
diff --git a/test/integration/targets/copy/tasks/tests.yml b/test/integration/targets/copy/tasks/tests.yml
index 902ebf61488..2784febe807 100644
--- a/test/integration/targets/copy/tasks/tests.yml
+++ b/test/integration/targets/copy/tasks/tests.yml
@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@
 - name: Check the stat results of the file
   stat:
     path: "{{ remote_file }}"
+    get_md5: yes
   register: stat_results
 
 - debug:
diff --git a/test/integration/targets/stat/tasks/main.yml b/test/integration/targets/stat/tasks/main.yml
index c1b21f0a36d..9cb551e6504 100644
--- a/test/integration/targets/stat/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/test/integration/targets/stat/tasks/main.yml
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@
         - "'isreg' in stat_result.stat"
         - "'issock' in stat_result.stat"
         - "'isuid' in stat_result.stat"
-        - "'md5' in stat_result.stat"
+        - "'md5' not in stat_result.stat"  # Remove in 2.9
         - "'checksum' in stat_result.stat"
         - "stat_result.stat.checksum == '2aae6c35c94fcfb415dbe95f408b9ce91ee846ed'"
         - "'mode' in stat_result.stat"
@@ -63,9 +63,14 @@
         - "'xoth' in stat_result.stat"
         - "'xusr' in stat_result.stat"
 
+- name: check stat of file with get_md5
+  stat: path={{output_dir}}/foo.txt get_md5=True
+  register: stat_result_with_md5
+  when: ansible_fips|bool != True
+
 - assert:
     that:
-      - "stat_result.stat.md5 == '5eb63bbbe01eeed093cb22bb8f5acdc3'"
+      - "stat_result_with_md5.stat.md5 == '5eb63bbbe01eeed093cb22bb8f5acdc3'"
   when: ansible_fips|bool != True
 
 - name: make a symlink
@@ -144,7 +149,7 @@
         - "'isreg' in stat_result.stat"
         - "'issock' in stat_result.stat"
         - "'isuid' in stat_result.stat"
-        - "'md5' in stat_result.stat"
+        - "'md5' not in stat_result.stat"
         - "'checksum' in stat_result.stat"
         - "stat_result.stat.checksum == '2aae6c35c94fcfb415dbe95f408b9ce91ee846ed'"
         - "'mode' in stat_result.stat"
@@ -163,7 +168,15 @@
         - "'xoth' in stat_result.stat"
         - "'xusr' in stat_result.stat"
 
+- name: check stat of a symlink with follow on with get_md5
+  stat:
+    path: "{{ output_dir }}/foo-link"
+    follow: True
+    get_md5: yes
+  register: stat_result_with_md5
+  when: ansible_fips|bool != True
+
 - assert:
     that:
-      - "stat_result.stat.md5 == '5eb63bbbe01eeed093cb22bb8f5acdc3'"
+      - "stat_result_with_md5.stat.md5 == '5eb63bbbe01eeed093cb22bb8f5acdc3'"
   when: ansible_fips|bool != True
diff --git a/test/integration/targets/win_stat/tasks/tests.yml b/test/integration/targets/win_stat/tasks/tests.yml
index be0e42c4efc..9146319b6d8 100644
--- a/test/integration/targets/win_stat/tasks/tests.yml
+++ b/test/integration/targets/win_stat/tasks/tests.yml
@@ -21,15 +21,16 @@
     - stat_file.stat.isshared == False
     - stat_file.stat.lastaccesstime == 1477984205
     - stat_file.stat.lastwritetime == 1477984205
-    - stat_file.stat.md5 == '900150983cd24fb0d6963f7d28e17f72'
+    - stat_file.stat.md5 is not defined
     - stat_file.stat.owner == 'BUILTIN\Administrators'
     - stat_file.stat.path == win_stat_dir + '\\nested\\file.ps1'
     - stat_file.stat.size == 3
 
-- name: test win_stat module on file without md5
+# get_md5 will be undocumented in 2.9, remove this test then
+- name: test win_stat module on file with md5
   win_stat:
     path: '{{win_stat_dir}}\nested\file.ps1'
-    get_md5: False
+    get_md5: True
   register: stat_file_md5
 
 - name: check actual for file without md5
@@ -49,7 +50,7 @@
     - stat_file_md5.stat.isshared == False
     - stat_file_md5.stat.lastaccesstime == 1477984205
     - stat_file_md5.stat.lastwritetime == 1477984205
-    - stat_file_md5.stat.md5 is not defined
+    - stat_file_md5.stat.md5 == '900150983cd24fb0d6963f7d28e17f72'
     - stat_file_md5.stat.owner == 'BUILTIN\Administrators'
     - stat_file_md5.stat.path == win_stat_dir + '\\nested\\file.ps1'
     - stat_file_md5.stat.size == 3
@@ -77,7 +78,7 @@
     - stat_file_sha256.stat.isshared == False
     - stat_file_sha256.stat.lastaccesstime == 1477984205
     - stat_file_sha256.stat.lastwritetime == 1477984205
-    - stat_file_sha256.stat.md5 == '900150983cd24fb0d6963f7d28e17f72'
+    - stat_file_sha256.stat.md5 is not defined
     - stat_file_sha256.stat.owner == 'BUILTIN\Administrators'
     - stat_file_sha256.stat.path == win_stat_dir + '\\nested\\file.ps1'
     - stat_file_sha256.stat.size == 3
@@ -105,7 +106,7 @@
     - stat_file_sha384.stat.isshared == False
     - stat_file_sha384.stat.lastaccesstime == 1477984205
     - stat_file_sha384.stat.lastwritetime == 1477984205
-    - stat_file_sha384.stat.md5 == '900150983cd24fb0d6963f7d28e17f72'
+    - stat_file_sha384.stat.md5 is not defined
     - stat_file_sha384.stat.owner == 'BUILTIN\Administrators'
     - stat_file_sha384.stat.path == win_stat_dir + '\\nested\\file.ps1'
     - stat_file_sha384.stat.size == 3
@@ -133,7 +134,7 @@
     - stat_file_sha512.stat.isshared == False
     - stat_file_sha512.stat.lastaccesstime == 1477984205
     - stat_file_sha512.stat.lastwritetime == 1477984205
-    - stat_file_sha512.stat.md5 == '900150983cd24fb0d6963f7d28e17f72'
+    - stat_file_sha512.stat.md5 is not defined
     - stat_file_sha512.stat.owner == 'BUILTIN\Administrators'
     - stat_file_sha512.stat.path == win_stat_dir + '\\nested\\file.ps1'
     - stat_file_sha512.stat.size == 3
@@ -160,7 +161,7 @@
     - stat_file_hidden.stat.isshared == False
     - stat_file_hidden.stat.lastaccesstime == 1477984205
     - stat_file_hidden.stat.lastwritetime == 1477984205
-    - stat_file_hidden.stat.md5 == '900150983cd24fb0d6963f7d28e17f72'
+    - stat_file_hidden.stat.md5 is not defined
     - stat_file_hidden.stat.owner == 'BUILTIN\Administrators'
     - stat_file_hidden.stat.path == win_stat_dir + '\\nested\\hidden.ps1'
     - stat_file_hidden.stat.size == 3
@@ -187,7 +188,7 @@
     - stat_readonly.stat.isshared == False
     - stat_readonly.stat.lastaccesstime == 1477984205
     - stat_readonly.stat.lastwritetime == 1477984205
-    - stat_readonly.stat.md5 == '900150983cd24fb0d6963f7d28e17f72'
+    - stat_readonly.stat.md5 is not defined
     - stat_readonly.stat.owner == 'BUILTIN\Administrators'
     - stat_readonly.stat.path == win_stat_dir + '\\nested\\read-only.ps1'
     - stat_readonly.stat.size == 3
@@ -214,7 +215,7 @@
     - stat_hard_link.stat.isshared == False
     - stat_hard_link.stat.lastaccesstime == 1477984205
     - stat_hard_link.stat.lastwritetime == 1477984205
-    - stat_hard_link.stat.md5 == '900150983cd24fb0d6963f7d28e17f72'
+    - stat_hard_link.stat.md5 is not defined
     - stat_hard_link.stat.owner == 'BUILTIN\Administrators'
     - stat_hard_link.stat.path == win_stat_dir + '\\nested\\hard-link.ps1'
     - stat_hard_link.stat.size == 3