diff --git a/foundation/org.eclipse.persistence.core/src/main/java/org/eclipse/persistence/config/PersistenceUnitProperties.java b/foundation/org.eclipse.persistence.core/src/main/java/org/eclipse/persistence/config/PersistenceUnitProperties.java
index ce9d7cdeb23..4e92eff95cc 100644
--- a/foundation/org.eclipse.persistence.core/src/main/java/org/eclipse/persistence/config/PersistenceUnitProperties.java
+++ b/foundation/org.eclipse.persistence.core/src/main/java/org/eclipse/persistence/config/PersistenceUnitProperties.java
@@ -84,6 +84,19 @@
  */
 public final class PersistenceUnitProperties {
 
+    /**
+     * The {@code jakarta.persistence.provider} property specifies the name
+     * of a provider-specific implementation of {@link jakarta.persistence.spi.PersistenceProvider}.
+     * This property overrides the value specified in the persistence.xml.
+     * <p>
+     * <b>Allowed Values:</b>
+     * <ul>
+     * <li>fully qualified name of the provider-specific implementation class
+     * <li>{@link Class} instance of the provider-specific implementation class
+     * </ul>
+     */
+    public static final String PROVIDER = "jakarta.persistence.provider";
+
     /**
      * The {@code jakarta.persistence.transactionType} property specifies the
      * transaction type for the persistence unit. This property overrides the
diff --git a/jpa/org.eclipse.persistence.jpa/src/main/java/org/eclipse/persistence/jpa/PersistenceProvider.java b/jpa/org.eclipse.persistence.jpa/src/main/java/org/eclipse/persistence/jpa/PersistenceProvider.java
index ba56e7193d8..f7acc3b973e 100644
--- a/jpa/org.eclipse.persistence.jpa/src/main/java/org/eclipse/persistence/jpa/PersistenceProvider.java
+++ b/jpa/org.eclipse.persistence.jpa/src/main/java/org/eclipse/persistence/jpa/PersistenceProvider.java
@@ -192,6 +192,10 @@ public EntityManagerFactory createEntityManagerFactory(String emName, Map<?, ?>
     // Never call this method from this class because of stack frames removal.
     @Override
     public EntityManagerFactory createEntityManagerFactory(PersistenceConfiguration configuration) {
+        // Check whether persistence provider is set and matches EclipseLink known classes
+        if (!isProviderEclipseLink(configuration)) {
+            return null;
+        }
         JPAInitializer initializer = getInitializer(configuration.name(), configuration.properties());
         // Root URL from method caller
         StackWalker stackWalker = StackWalker.getInstance(StackWalker.Option.RETAIN_CLASS_REFERENCE);
@@ -316,29 +320,59 @@ public JPAInitializer getInitializer(String emName, Map m){
         return JavaSECMPInitializer.getJavaSECMPInitializer(classLoader);
     }
 
+    // Package visibility is required for jUnit
     /**
-     * Need to check that the provider property is null or set for EclipseLink
+     * The Persistence bootstrap class must locate all the persistence providers using the PersistenceProviderResolver
+     * mechanism described in Section 9.3 and call createEntityManagerFactory on them in turn until an appropriate backing
+     * provider returns an EntityManagerFactory instance. A provider may deem itself as appropriate for the persistence unit
+     * if any of the following are true:
+     * <p> * Its implementation class has been specified in the provider element for that persistence unit in the persistence.xml
+     * file and has not been overridden by a different jakarta.persistence.provider property value included in the Map passed
+     * to the createEntityManagerFactory method.
+     * <p> * The jakarta.persistence.provider property was included in the Map passed to createEntityManagerFactory and the value
+     * of the property is the provider’s implementation class.
+     * <p> * No provider was specified for the persistence unit in either the persistence.xml or the property map.
+     *
+     * @since Jakarta Persistence 3.2
      */
-    public boolean checkForProviderProperty(Map properties){
-        Object provider = properties.get("jakarta.persistence.provider");
-        if (provider != null){
-            //user has specified a provider make sure it is us or abort.
-            if (provider instanceof Class){
-                provider = ((Class)provider).getName();
-            }
-            try{
-                if (!(EntityManagerFactoryProvider.class.getName().equals(provider) || PersistenceProvider.class.getName().equals(provider))){
-                    return false;
-                    //user has requested another provider so lets ignore this request.
-                }
-            }catch(ClassCastException e){
-                return false;
-                // not a recognized provider property value so must be another provider.
-            }
+    static boolean isProviderEclipseLink(PersistenceConfiguration configuration) {
+        // Property jakarta.persistence.provider has higher priority, EclipseLink accepts it also as class.
+        if (configuration.properties().containsKey(PersistenceUnitProperties.PROVIDER)) {
+            return isProviderPropertyEclipseLink(configuration.properties().get(PersistenceUnitProperties.PROVIDER));
+        }
+        // Persistence unit provider configuration option
+        if (configuration.provider() != null && !configuration.provider().isEmpty()) {
+            return checkEclipseLinkProviderClassName(configuration.provider());
         }
         return true;
+    }
 
+    /**
+     * Need to check that the provider property is null or set for EclipseLink
+     */
+    public static boolean checkForProviderProperty(Map<?, ?> properties) {
+        return !properties.containsKey(PersistenceUnitProperties.PROVIDER)
+                || isProviderPropertyEclipseLink(properties.get(PersistenceUnitProperties.PROVIDER));
+    }
+
+    // Check whether provided jakarta persistence provider property value matches any of known classes.
+    // Supported property value types are String and Class<?>.
+    private static boolean isProviderPropertyEclipseLink(Object providerProperty) {
+        String providerClassName = (providerProperty instanceof String providerString) ? providerString : null;
+        if (providerProperty instanceof Class<?> providerClass) {
+            providerClassName = providerClass.getName();
+        }
+        return providerClassName != null && checkEclipseLinkProviderClassName(providerClassName);
+    }
+
+    // Check whether provided jakarta persistence provider class name matches any of known classes:
+    // * org.eclipse.persistence.jpa.PersistenceProvider
+    // * org.eclipse.persistence.internal.jpa.EntityManagerFactoryProvider
+    private static boolean checkEclipseLinkProviderClassName(String providerClassName) {
+        return PersistenceProvider.class.getName().equals(providerClassName)
+                || EntityManagerFactoryProvider.class.getName().equals(providerClassName);
     }
+
     /**
      * Called by the container when an EntityManagerFactory
      * is to be created.
diff --git a/jpa/org.eclipse.persistence.jpa/src/test/java/org/eclipse/persistence/jpa/PersistenceProviderTest.java b/jpa/org.eclipse.persistence.jpa/src/test/java/org/eclipse/persistence/jpa/PersistenceProviderTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c1d7e9f3de1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/jpa/org.eclipse.persistence.jpa/src/test/java/org/eclipse/persistence/jpa/PersistenceProviderTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,262 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2024 Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
+ * terms of the Eclipse Public License v. 2.0 which is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0,
+ * or the Eclipse Distribution License v. 1.0 which is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/org/documents/edl-v10.php.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0 OR BSD-3-Clause
+ */
+package org.eclipse.persistence.jpa;
+
+import java.util.Map;
+
+import jakarta.persistence.EntityManagerFactory;
+import jakarta.persistence.PersistenceConfiguration;
+import jakarta.persistence.spi.PersistenceUnitInfo;
+import jakarta.persistence.spi.ProviderUtil;
+import org.eclipse.persistence.config.PersistenceUnitProperties;
+import org.eclipse.persistence.internal.jpa.EntityManagerFactoryProvider;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertFalse;
+
+public class PersistenceProviderTest {
+
+    @Test
+    void testCheckForProviderPropertyWithoutProperty() {
+        Map<String, Object> properties = Map.of();
+        boolean result = PersistenceProvider.checkForProviderProperty(properties);
+        assertTrue(result);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void testCheckForProviderPropertyWithProviderClass() {
+        Map<String, Object> properties = Map.of(
+                PersistenceUnitProperties.PROVIDER, PersistenceProvider.class
+        );
+        boolean result = PersistenceProvider.checkForProviderProperty(properties);
+        assertTrue(result);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void testCheckForProviderPropertyWithProviderString() {
+        Map<String, Object> properties = Map.of(
+                PersistenceUnitProperties.PROVIDER, PersistenceProvider.class.getName()
+        );
+        boolean result = PersistenceProvider.checkForProviderProperty(properties);
+        assertTrue(result);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void testCheckForProviderPropertyWithEMFProviderClass() {
+        Map<String, Object> properties = Map.of(
+                PersistenceUnitProperties.PROVIDER, EntityManagerFactoryProvider.class
+        );
+        boolean result = PersistenceProvider.checkForProviderProperty(properties);
+        assertTrue(result);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void testCheckForProviderPropertyWithEMFProviderString() {
+        Map<String, Object> properties = Map.of(
+                PersistenceUnitProperties.PROVIDER, EntityManagerFactoryProvider.class.getName()
+        );
+        boolean result = PersistenceProvider.checkForProviderProperty(properties);
+        assertTrue(result);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void testCheckForProviderPropertyWithUnsupportedClass() {
+        Map<String, Object> properties = Map.of(
+                PersistenceUnitProperties.PROVIDER, Unsupported.class
+        );
+        boolean result = PersistenceProvider.checkForProviderProperty(properties);
+        assertFalse(result);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void testCheckForProviderPropertyWithUnsupportedString() {
+        Map<String, Object> properties = Map.of(
+                PersistenceUnitProperties.PROVIDER, Unsupported.class.getName()
+        );
+        boolean result = PersistenceProvider.checkForProviderProperty(properties);
+        assertFalse(result);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void testIsProviderEclipseLinkWithoutProvider() {
+        PersistenceConfiguration configuration = new PersistenceConfiguration("Test");
+        boolean result = PersistenceProvider.isProviderEclipseLink(configuration);
+        assertTrue(result);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void testIsProviderEclipseLinkWithProvider() {
+        PersistenceConfiguration configuration = new PersistenceConfiguration("Test");
+        configuration.provider(PersistenceProvider.class.getName());
+        boolean result = PersistenceProvider.isProviderEclipseLink(configuration);
+        assertTrue(result);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void testIsProviderEclipseLinkWithEMFProvider() {
+        PersistenceConfiguration configuration = new PersistenceConfiguration("Test");
+        configuration.provider(EntityManagerFactoryProvider.class.getName());
+        boolean result = PersistenceProvider.isProviderEclipseLink(configuration);
+        assertTrue(result);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void testIsProviderEclipseLinkWithUnsupportedProvider() {
+        PersistenceConfiguration configuration = new PersistenceConfiguration("Test");
+        configuration.provider(Unsupported.class.getName());
+        boolean result = PersistenceProvider.isProviderEclipseLink(configuration);
+        assertFalse(result);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void testIsProviderEclipseLinkWithProviderStringProperty() {
+        Map<String, Object> properties = Map.of(
+                PersistenceUnitProperties.PROVIDER, PersistenceProvider.class.getName()
+        );
+        PersistenceConfiguration configuration = new PersistenceConfiguration("Test");
+        configuration.properties(properties);
+        boolean result = PersistenceProvider.isProviderEclipseLink(configuration);
+        assertTrue(result);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void testIsProviderEclipseLinkWithEMFProviderStringProperty() {
+        Map<String, Object> properties = Map.of(
+                PersistenceUnitProperties.PROVIDER, EntityManagerFactoryProvider.class.getName()
+        );
+        PersistenceConfiguration configuration = new PersistenceConfiguration("Test");
+        configuration.properties(properties);
+        boolean result = PersistenceProvider.isProviderEclipseLink(configuration);
+        assertTrue(result);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void testIsProviderEclipseLinkWithUnsupportedProviderStringProperty() {
+        Map<String, Object> properties = Map.of(
+                PersistenceUnitProperties.PROVIDER, Unsupported.class.getName()
+        );
+        PersistenceConfiguration configuration = new PersistenceConfiguration("Test");
+        configuration.properties(properties);
+        boolean result = PersistenceProvider.isProviderEclipseLink(configuration);
+        assertFalse(result);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void testIsProviderEclipseLinkWithProviderClassProperty() {
+        Map<String, Object> properties = Map.of(
+                PersistenceUnitProperties.PROVIDER, PersistenceProvider.class
+        );
+        PersistenceConfiguration configuration = new PersistenceConfiguration("Test");
+        configuration.properties(properties);
+        boolean result = PersistenceProvider.isProviderEclipseLink(configuration);
+        assertTrue(result);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void testIsProviderEclipseLinkWithEMFProviderClassProperty() {
+        Map<String, Object> properties = Map.of(
+                PersistenceUnitProperties.PROVIDER, EntityManagerFactoryProvider.class
+        );
+        PersistenceConfiguration configuration = new PersistenceConfiguration("Test");
+        configuration.properties(properties);
+        boolean result = PersistenceProvider.isProviderEclipseLink(configuration);
+        assertTrue(result);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void testIsProviderEclipseLinkWithUnsupportedProviderClassProperty() {
+        Map<String, Object> properties = Map.of(
+                PersistenceUnitProperties.PROVIDER, Unsupported.class
+        );
+        PersistenceConfiguration configuration = new PersistenceConfiguration("Test");
+        configuration.properties(properties);
+        boolean result = PersistenceProvider.isProviderEclipseLink(configuration);
+        assertFalse(result);
+    }
+
+
+    @Test
+    void testIsProviderEclipseLinkWithProviderStringPropertyOverride() {
+        Map<String, Object> properties = Map.of(
+                PersistenceUnitProperties.PROVIDER, PersistenceProvider.class.getName()
+        );
+        PersistenceConfiguration configuration = new PersistenceConfiguration("Test");
+        // Provider is set as unsupported, but supported property must override it
+        configuration.provider(Unsupported.class.getName());
+        configuration.properties(properties);
+        boolean result = PersistenceProvider.isProviderEclipseLink(configuration);
+        assertTrue(result);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void testIsProviderEclipseLinkWithEMFProviderStringPropertyOverride() {
+        Map<String, Object> properties = Map.of(
+                PersistenceUnitProperties.PROVIDER, EntityManagerFactoryProvider.class.getName()
+        );
+        PersistenceConfiguration configuration = new PersistenceConfiguration("Test");
+        // Provider is set as unsupported, but supported property must override it
+        configuration.provider(Unsupported.class.getName());
+        configuration.properties(properties);
+        boolean result = PersistenceProvider.isProviderEclipseLink(configuration);
+        assertTrue(result);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void testIsProviderEclipseLinkWithUnsupportedProviderStringPropertyOverride() {
+        Map<String, Object> properties = Map.of(
+                PersistenceUnitProperties.PROVIDER, Unsupported.class.getName()
+        );
+        PersistenceConfiguration configuration = new PersistenceConfiguration("Test");
+        // Provider is set as supported, but unsupported property must override it
+        configuration.provider(PersistenceProvider.class.getName());
+        configuration.properties(properties);
+        boolean result = PersistenceProvider.isProviderEclipseLink(configuration);
+        assertFalse(result);
+    }
+
+    // PersistenceProvider that shall fail the check
+    private static final class Unsupported implements jakarta.persistence.spi.PersistenceProvider {
+
+        @Override
+        public EntityManagerFactory createEntityManagerFactory(String emName, Map<?, ?> map) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public EntityManagerFactory createEntityManagerFactory(PersistenceConfiguration configuration) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public EntityManagerFactory createContainerEntityManagerFactory(PersistenceUnitInfo info, Map<?, ?> map) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void generateSchema(PersistenceUnitInfo info, Map<?, ?> map) {
+
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public boolean generateSchema(String persistenceUnitName, Map<?, ?> map) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public ProviderUtil getProviderUtil() {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index eeb3deb100f..558dda9c5f4 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -1287,7 +1287,7 @@
                     <!-- see https://github.com/eclipse-ee4j/eclipselink-build-support -->
                     <groupId>org.eclipse.persistence</groupId>
                     <artifactId>eclipselink-testbuild-plugin</artifactId>
-                    <version>1.1.0</version>
+                    <version>1.1.1</version>
                 </plugin>
                 <plugin>
                     <groupId>org.carlspring.maven</groupId>