diff --git a/src/pyuvdata/uvdata/uvdata.py b/src/pyuvdata/uvdata/uvdata.py
index 05b985d698..65b0dc44d3 100644
--- a/src/pyuvdata/uvdata/uvdata.py
+++ b/src/pyuvdata/uvdata/uvdata.py
@@ -4537,6 +4537,8 @@ def _phase_dict_helper(
                 cat_vrad = vrad
                 cat_dist_units = dist_units
                 cat_near_field = near_field
+                cat_dist_units = dist_units
+                cat_near_field = near_field
             else:
                 temp_dict = self.phase_center_catalog[cat_id]
                 cat_type = temp_dict["cat_type"]
@@ -4553,6 +4555,8 @@ def _phase_dict_helper(
                 cat_vrad = temp_dict.get("cat_vrad")
                 cat_dist_units = temp_dict.get("cat_dist_units")
                 cat_near_field = temp_dict.get("cat_near_field")
+                cat_dist_units = temp_dict.get("cat_dist_units")
+                cat_near_field = temp_dict.get("cat_near_field")
         else:
             # The name of the source is unique!
             cat_type = "sidereal" if cat_type is None else cat_type
@@ -4567,6 +4571,8 @@ def _phase_dict_helper(
             cat_vrad = vrad
             cat_dist_units = dist_units
             cat_near_field = near_field
+            cat_dist_units = dist_units
+            cat_near_field = near_field
 
         if (cat_epoch is None) and (cat_type != "unprojected"):
             cat_epoch = 1950.0 if (cat_frame in ["fk4", "fk4noeterms"]) else 2000.0
@@ -4781,6 +4787,13 @@ def phase(
             (for ephem phase centers), will be interpreted in units of parsec.
             Alternatively, an astropy.units.Quantity object may be passed instead,
             in which case the units will be infered automatically.
+        dist : float or ndarray of float or astropy.units.Quantity object
+            Distance to the source. Used for sidereal and ephem phase centers,
+            and for applying near-field corrections. If passed either as a float
+            (for sidereal phase centers) or as an ndarray of floats of shape (Npts,)
+            (for ephem phase centers), will be interpreted in units of parsec.
+            Alternatively, an astropy.units.Quantity object may be passed instead,
+            in which case the units will be infered automatically.
         vrad : float or ndarray of float
             Radial velocity of the source, in units of km/s. Only used for sidereal and
             ephem phase centers. Expected to be a float for sidereal phase
@@ -4802,6 +4815,10 @@ def phase(
             Option to apply near-field corrections to the provided
             ra, dec, and distance. Defaults to False
             (apply far-field corrections only).
+        near_field : bool
+            Option to apply near-field corrections to the provided
+            ra, dec, and distance. Defaults to False
+            (apply far-field corrections only).
 
         Raises
         ------
@@ -4849,6 +4866,23 @@ def phase(
                         UserWarning,
                     )
 
+        dist_units = "pc"
+        if dist is not None:
+            if isinstance(dist, units.Quantity):
+                dist_units = dist.unit
+                dist_qt = copy.deepcopy(dist)
+                dist = dist.value
+            else:
+                dist_qt = dist * units.parsec
+
+                if near_field:
+                    warnings.warn(
+                        "near_field is set to True, but dist is not an "
+                        "astropy.units.Quantity object. "
+                        "Distance will be interpreted in units of parsec.",
+                        UserWarning,
+                    )
+
         phase_dict = self._phase_dict_helper(
             lon=lon,
             lat=lat,
@@ -5011,6 +5045,12 @@ def phase(
                 focus=dist_qt, ra=phase_dict["cat_lon"], dec=phase_dict["cat_lat"]
             )
 
+        # Lastly, apply near-field corrections if specified
+        if near_field:
+            self._apply_near_field_corrections(
+                focus=dist_qt, ra=phase_dict["cat_lon"], dec=phase_dict["cat_lat"]
+            )
+
     def phase_to_time(
         self, time, *, phase_frame="icrs", use_ant_pos=True, select_mask=None
     ):