diff --git a/lib/mix/lib/mix/tasks/format.ex b/lib/mix/lib/mix/tasks/format.ex
index 131a1eb383f..9c5c3a06d1b 100644
--- a/lib/mix/lib/mix/tasks/format.ex
+++ b/lib/mix/lib/mix/tasks/format.ex
@@ -126,8 +126,8 @@ defmodule Mix.Tasks.Format do
 
   def run(args) do
     {opts, args} = OptionParser.parse!(args, strict: @switches)
-    formatter_opts = eval_dot_formatter(opts)
-    formatter_opts = fetch_deps_opts(formatter_opts)
+    {formatter_dir, formatter_opts} = eval_dot_formatter(opts)
+    formatter_opts = fetch_deps_opts(formatter_opts, in_directory: formatter_dir)
 
     args
     |> expand_args(formatter_opts)
@@ -138,8 +138,11 @@ defmodule Mix.Tasks.Format do
 
   defp eval_dot_formatter(opts) do
     case dot_formatter(opts) do
-      {:ok, dot_formatter} -> eval_file_with_keyword_list(dot_formatter)
-      :error -> []
+      {:ok, dot_formatter} ->
+        {Path.dirname(dot_formatter), eval_file_with_keyword_list(dot_formatter)}
+
+      :error ->
+        {nil, []}
     end
   end
 
@@ -153,6 +156,16 @@ defmodule Mix.Tasks.Format do
 
   # This function reads exported configuration from the imported dependencies and deals with
   # caching the result of reading such configuration in a manifest file.
+  defp fetch_deps_opts(formatter_opts, in_directory: nil) do
+    fetch_deps_opts(formatter_opts)
+  end
+
+  defp fetch_deps_opts(formatter_opts, in_directory: formatter_dir) do
+    File.cd!(formatter_dir, fn ->
+      fetch_deps_opts(formatter_opts)
+    end)
+  end
+
   defp fetch_deps_opts(formatter_opts) do
     deps = Keyword.get(formatter_opts, :import_deps, [])
 
diff --git a/lib/mix/test/mix/tasks/format_test.exs b/lib/mix/test/mix/tasks/format_test.exs
index 12b71dea779..c90dd39dfdd 100644
--- a/lib/mix/test/mix/tasks/format_test.exs
+++ b/lib/mix/test/mix/tasks/format_test.exs
@@ -219,6 +219,46 @@ defmodule Mix.Tasks.FormatTest do
     end
   end
 
+  test "can read exported configuration from dependencies with .formatter.exs in a different folder",
+       context do
+    Mix.Project.push(__MODULE__.FormatWithDepsApp)
+
+    in_tmp context.test, fn ->
+      File.write!(".formatter.exs", """
+      [import_deps: [:my_dep]]
+      """)
+
+      File.mkdir_p!("deps/my_dep/")
+
+      File.write!("deps/my_dep/.formatter.exs", """
+      [export: [locals_without_parens: [my_fun: 2]]]
+      """)
+
+      File.mkdir_p!("subfolder")
+
+      File.cd!("subfolder", fn ->
+        File.write!("a.ex", """
+        my_fun :foo, :bar
+        """)
+
+        Mix.Tasks.Format.run(["--dot-formatter", "../.formatter.exs", "a.ex"])
+
+        assert File.read!("a.ex") == """
+               my_fun :foo, :bar
+               """
+      end)
+
+      manifest_path = Path.join(Mix.Project.manifest_path(), "cached_formatter_deps")
+      assert File.regular?(manifest_path)
+
+      # Let's check that the manifest gets updated if it's stale.
+      File.touch!(manifest_path, {{1970, 1, 1}, {0, 0, 0}})
+
+      Mix.Tasks.Format.run(["subfolder/a.ex"])
+      assert File.stat!(manifest_path).mtime > {{1970, 1, 1}, {0, 0, 0}}
+    end
+  end
+
   test "validates dependencies in :import_deps", context do
     Mix.Project.push(__MODULE__.FormatWithDepsApp)