Embodiments of a method performed by a wireless device for receiving and interpreting a Downlink Control Information (DCI) message having a flexible DCI format and embodiments of a corresponding wireless device are disclosed. In some embodiments, a method performed by a wireless device for receiving and interpreting a DCI message comprises receiving a DCI message from a base station and obtaining a DCI formatting indicator for the DCI message. The DCI formatting indicator is an indicator related to a flexible-interpretation DCI format, wherein the flexible-interpretation DCI format is a DCI format for which bits are interpreted differently based on the DCI formatting indicator. The method further comprises interpreting the DCI message in accordance with the DCI formatting indicator. Embodiments of a method performed by a base station for transmitting a DCI message having a flexible DCI format and embodiments of a corresponding base station are disclosed.