diff --git a/micrometer-observation/src/main/java/io/micrometer/observation/contextpropagation/ObservationThreadLocalAccessor.java b/micrometer-observation/src/main/java/io/micrometer/observation/contextpropagation/ObservationThreadLocalAccessor.java
index ec55adb10a..6fdcf6ec80 100644
--- a/micrometer-observation/src/main/java/io/micrometer/observation/contextpropagation/ObservationThreadLocalAccessor.java
+++ b/micrometer-observation/src/main/java/io/micrometer/observation/contextpropagation/ObservationThreadLocalAccessor.java
@@ -71,6 +71,14 @@ public void setObservationRegistry(ObservationRegistry observationRegistry) {
         this.observationRegistry = observationRegistry;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Returns the provided {@link ObservationRegistry}.
+     * @return observation registry
+     */
+    public ObservationRegistry getObservationRegistry() {
+        return this.observationRegistry;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Return the singleton instance of this {@link ObservationThreadLocalAccessor}.
      * @return instance