diff --git a/cpp/CMakeLists.txt b/cpp/CMakeLists.txt
index 136f43ee706..5883377d422 100644
--- a/cpp/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/cpp/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -861,15 +861,7 @@ if(CUDF_BUILD_TESTUTIL)
 
   add_library(cudf::cudftest_default_stream ALIAS cudftest_default_stream)
 
-  add_library(
-    cudftestutil SHARED
-    tests/io/metadata_utilities.cpp
-    tests/utilities/column_utilities.cu
-    tests/utilities/debug_utilities.cu
-    tests/utilities/random_seed.cpp
-    tests/utilities/table_utilities.cu
-    tests/utilities/tdigest_utilities.cu
-  )
+  add_library(cudftestutil INTERFACE)
 
   set_target_properties(
     cudftestutil
@@ -878,28 +870,23 @@ if(CUDF_BUILD_TESTUTIL)
                # set target compile options
                CXX_STANDARD 17
                CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON
-               CXX_VISIBILITY_PRESET hidden
                CUDA_STANDARD 17
                CUDA_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON
-               CUDA_VISIBILITY_PRESET hidden
-               POSITION_INDEPENDENT_CODE ON
-               INTERFACE_POSITION_INDEPENDENT_CODE ON
   )
 
   target_compile_options(
-    cudftestutil PUBLIC "$<BUILD_INTERFACE:$<$<COMPILE_LANGUAGE:CXX>:${CUDF_CXX_FLAGS}>>"
-                        "$<BUILD_INTERFACE:$<$<COMPILE_LANGUAGE:CUDA>:${CUDF_CUDA_FLAGS}>>"
+    cudftestutil INTERFACE "$<BUILD_INTERFACE:$<$<COMPILE_LANGUAGE:CXX>:${CUDF_CXX_FLAGS}>>"
+                           "$<BUILD_INTERFACE:$<$<COMPILE_LANGUAGE:CUDA>:${CUDF_CUDA_FLAGS}>>"
   )
 
   target_link_libraries(
-    cudftestutil
-    PUBLIC Threads::Threads cudf cudftest_default_stream
-    PRIVATE GTest::gmock GTest::gtest $<TARGET_NAME_IF_EXISTS:conda_env>
+    cudftestutil INTERFACE Threads::Threads cudf cudftest_default_stream
+                           $<TARGET_NAME_IF_EXISTS:conda_env>
   )
 
   target_include_directories(
-    cudftestutil PUBLIC "$<BUILD_INTERFACE:${CUDF_SOURCE_DIR}>"
-                        "$<BUILD_INTERFACE:${CUDF_SOURCE_DIR}/src>"
+    cudftestutil INTERFACE "$<BUILD_INTERFACE:${CUDF_SOURCE_DIR}>"
+                           "$<BUILD_INTERFACE:${CUDF_SOURCE_DIR}/src>"
   )
   rapids_cuda_set_runtime(cudftestutil USE_STATIC ${CUDA_STATIC_RUNTIME})
   add_library(cudf::cudftestutil ALIAS cudftestutil)
diff --git a/cpp/benchmarks/CMakeLists.txt b/cpp/benchmarks/CMakeLists.txt
index 4113e38dcf4..ee6094ff857 100644
--- a/cpp/benchmarks/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/cpp/benchmarks/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -65,14 +65,12 @@ target_include_directories(
 # Use an OBJECT library so we only compile these helper source files only once
 add_library(
   cudf_benchmark_common OBJECT
-  "${CUDF_SOURCE_DIR}/tests/utilities/random_seed.cpp"
-  synchronization/synchronization.cpp
-  io/cuio_common.cpp
-  common/table_utilities.cpp
-  common/benchmark_utilities.cpp
-  common/nvbench_utilities.cpp
+  common/random_seed_impl.cpp synchronization/synchronization.cpp io/cuio_common.cpp
+  common/table_utilities.cpp common/benchmark_utilities.cpp common/nvbench_utilities.cpp
+)
+target_link_libraries(
+  cudf_benchmark_common PRIVATE cudftestutil cudf_datagen $<TARGET_NAME_IF_EXISTS:conda_env>
 )
-target_link_libraries(cudf_benchmark_common PRIVATE cudf_datagen $<TARGET_NAME_IF_EXISTS:conda_env>)
 add_custom_command(
   OUTPUT CUDF_BENCHMARKS
   COMMAND echo Running benchmarks
diff --git a/cpp/benchmarks/common/random_seed_impl.cpp b/cpp/benchmarks/common/random_seed_impl.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..7b261e9262f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cpp/benchmarks/common/random_seed_impl.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2024, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#include <cudf_test/random_seed_impl.hpp>
diff --git a/cpp/include/cudf_test/cudf_gtest.hpp b/cpp/include/cudf_test/cudf_gtest.hpp
index 89394fbd1c3..0c17224bd12 100644
--- a/cpp/include/cudf_test/cudf_gtest.hpp
+++ b/cpp/include/cudf_test/cudf_gtest.hpp
@@ -16,8 +16,7 @@
 
 #pragma once
 
-#include <gmock/gmock.h>
-#include <gtest/gtest.h>
+#include <cudf_test/testing_api.hpp>
 
 /**
  * @brief test macro to be expects `expr` to return cudaSuccess
diff --git a/cpp/include/cudf_test/cudf_test_impl.cuh b/cpp/include/cudf_test/cudf_test_impl.cuh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..03ea63f9a3e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cpp/include/cudf_test/cudf_test_impl.cuh
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2024, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#pragma once
+
+/**
+ * @file cudf_test_impl.cuh
+ * @brief Contains CUDA C++ symbol definitions for cudf_test APIs. This header must be included to
+ * one translation unit.
+ *
+ */
+
+#include <cudf_test/column_utilities_impl.cuh>
+#include <cudf_test/debug_utilities_impl.cuh>
+#include <cudf_test/table_utilities_impl.cuh>
+#include <cudf_test/tdigest_utilities_impl.cuh>
diff --git a/cpp/include/cudf_test/cudf_test_impl.hpp b/cpp/include/cudf_test/cudf_test_impl.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..61d100ccc25
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cpp/include/cudf_test/cudf_test_impl.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2024, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#pragma once
+
+/**
+ * @file cudf_test_impl.cuh
+ * @brief Contains C++ symbol definitions for cudf_test APIs. Must be included to one translation
+ * unit.
+ *
+ */
+
+#include <cudf_test/metadata_utilities_impl.hpp>
+#include <cudf_test/random_seed_impl.hpp>
diff --git a/cpp/include/cudf_test/metadata_utilities_impl.hpp b/cpp/include/cudf_test/metadata_utilities_impl.hpp
index 84f04f67038..3439124b1bd 100644
--- a/cpp/include/cudf_test/metadata_utilities_impl.hpp
+++ b/cpp/include/cudf_test/metadata_utilities_impl.hpp
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright (c) 2021-2022, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
+ * Copyright (c) 2021-2024, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -15,8 +15,7 @@
  */
 
 #include <cudf_test/io_metadata_utilities.hpp>
-
-#include <gmock/gmock.h>
+#include <cudf_test/testing_api.hpp>
 
 namespace cudf::test {
 
diff --git a/cpp/include/cudf_test/testing_api.hpp b/cpp/include/cudf_test/testing_api.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b1c876f75d3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cpp/include/cudf_test/testing_api.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2024, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#pragma once
+
+/**
+ * @file testing_api.hpp
+ * @brief exposes the testing APIs, GTEST can be disabled by defining CUDF_TEST_EXCLUDE_GTEST=1, and
+ * then including a testing API that conforms to GTEST's API before including any cudf_test headers.
+ * The testing API must define CUDF_TEST_TESTING_API_IMPL to signal cudf_test that it conforms to
+ * the GTest API.
+ *
+ */
+
+#if !(defined(CUDF_TEST_EXCLUDE_GTEST) && CUDF_TEST_EXCLUDE_GTEST)
+#include <cudf_test/testing_api_gtest.hpp>
+#endif
+
+#if !defined(CUDF_TEST_TESTING_API_IMPL)
+#error \
+  "No CUDF Testing API implementation found, Include a testing API that conforms to the GoogleTest API before including libcudftestutil headers"
+#endif
diff --git a/cpp/include/cudf_test/testing_api_gtest.hpp b/cpp/include/cudf_test/testing_api_gtest.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..63bed5d90ba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cpp/include/cudf_test/testing_api_gtest.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2024, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#pragma once
+
+#define CUDF_TEST_TESTING_API_IMPL
+
+#include <gmock/gmock.h>
+#include <gtest/gtest.h>
diff --git a/cpp/include/cudf_test/testing_main.hpp b/cpp/include/cudf_test/testing_main.hpp
index 272c91133f8..3dd82a8a06b 100644
--- a/cpp/include/cudf_test/testing_main.hpp
+++ b/cpp/include/cudf_test/testing_main.hpp
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 
 #include <cudf_test/cxxopts.hpp>
 #include <cudf_test/stream_checking_resource_adaptor.hpp>
+#include <cudf_test/testing_api.hpp>
 
 #include <cudf/utilities/error.hpp>
 #include <cudf/utilities/export.hpp>
@@ -191,22 +192,30 @@ inline auto make_stream_mode_adaptor(cxxopts::ParseResult const& cmd_opts)
   return adaptor;
 }
 
+/**
+ * @brief Should be called in every test program that uses rmm allocators since it maintains the
+ * lifespan of the rmm default memory resource. this function parses the command line to customize
+ * test behavior, like the allocation mode used for creating the default memory resource.
+ *
+ */
+inline void init_cudf_test(int argc, char** argv)
+{
+  // static lifetime to keep rmm resource alive till tests end
+  auto const cmd_opts                  = parse_cudf_test_opts(argc, argv);
+  [[maybe_unused]] static auto mr      = make_memory_resource_adaptor(cmd_opts);
+  [[maybe_unused]] static auto adaptor = make_stream_mode_adaptor(cmd_opts);
+}
+
 /**
  * @brief Macro that defines main function for gtest programs that use rmm
  *
- * Should be included in every test program that uses rmm allocators since
- * it maintains the lifespan of the rmm default memory resource.
  * This `main` function is a wrapper around the google test generated `main`,
- * maintaining the original functionality. In addition, this custom `main`
- * function parses the command line to customize test behavior, like the
- * allocation mode used for creating the default memory resource.
+ * maintaining the original functionality.
  */
-#define CUDF_TEST_PROGRAM_MAIN()                                            \
-  int main(int argc, char** argv)                                           \
-  {                                                                         \
-    ::testing::InitGoogleTest(&argc, argv);                                 \
-    auto const cmd_opts           = parse_cudf_test_opts(argc, argv);       \
-    [[maybe_unused]] auto mr      = make_memory_resource_adaptor(cmd_opts); \
-    [[maybe_unused]] auto adaptor = make_stream_mode_adaptor(cmd_opts);     \
-    return RUN_ALL_TESTS();                                                 \
+#define CUDF_TEST_PROGRAM_MAIN()            \
+  int main(int argc, char** argv)           \
+  {                                         \
+    ::testing::InitGoogleTest(&argc, argv); \
+    init_cudf_test(argc, argv);             \
+    return RUN_ALL_TESTS();                 \
   }
diff --git a/cpp/tests/CMakeLists.txt b/cpp/tests/CMakeLists.txt
index b67d922d377..6e5a565939b 100644
--- a/cpp/tests/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/cpp/tests/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -41,7 +41,9 @@ function(ConfigureTest CMAKE_TEST_NAME)
     set(_CUDF_TEST_STREAM_MODE cudf)
   endif()
 
-  add_executable(${CMAKE_TEST_NAME} ${_CUDF_TEST_UNPARSED_ARGUMENTS})
+  add_executable(
+    ${CMAKE_TEST_NAME} ${_CUDF_TEST_UNPARSED_ARGUMENTS} cudf_test_impl.cu cudf_test_impl.cpp
+  )
   set_target_properties(
     ${CMAKE_TEST_NAME}
     PROPERTIES RUNTIME_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY "$<BUILD_INTERFACE:${CUDF_BINARY_DIR}/gtests>"
@@ -59,6 +61,7 @@ function(ConfigureTest CMAKE_TEST_NAME)
     PRIVATE cudftestutil GTest::gmock GTest::gmock_main GTest::gtest GTest::gtest_main
             nvtx3::nvtx3-cpp $<TARGET_NAME_IF_EXISTS:conda_env> "${_CUDF_TEST_EXTRA_LIBS}"
   )
+  target_compile_definitions(${CMAKE_TEST_NAME} PRIVATE CUDF_TEST_EXCLUDE_GTEST=0)
   rapids_cuda_set_runtime(${CMAKE_TEST_NAME} USE_STATIC ${CUDA_STATIC_RUNTIME})
   rapids_test_add(
     NAME ${CMAKE_TEST_NAME}
diff --git a/cpp/tests/cudf_test_impl.cpp b/cpp/tests/cudf_test_impl.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..1951c036129
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cpp/tests/cudf_test_impl.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2024, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#include <cudf_test/cudf_test_impl.hpp>
diff --git a/cpp/tests/cudf_test_impl.cu b/cpp/tests/cudf_test_impl.cu
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..279e19bc0c1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cpp/tests/cudf_test_impl.cu
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2024, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#include <cudf_test/cudf_test_impl.cuh>