diff --git a/server/config/config.go b/server/config/config.go
index 74587efd6..43ecab7ec 100644
--- a/server/config/config.go
+++ b/server/config/config.go
@@ -149,10 +149,12 @@ type ServerConfig struct {
 
 	ForceNewCluster bool
 
-	// EnableLeaseCheckpoint enables primary lessor to persist lease remainingTTL to prevent indefinite auto-renewal of long lived leases.
+	// EnableLeaseCheckpoint enables leader to send regular checkpoints to other members to prevent reset of remaining TTL on leader change.
 	EnableLeaseCheckpoint bool
 	// LeaseCheckpointInterval time.Duration is the wait duration between lease checkpoints.
 	LeaseCheckpointInterval time.Duration
+	// LeaseCheckpointPersist enables persisting remainingTTL to prevent indefinite auto-renewal of long lived leases. Always enabled in v3.6. Should be used to ensure smooth upgrade from v3.5 clusters with this feature enabled.
+	LeaseCheckpointPersist bool
 
 	EnableGRPCGateway bool
 
diff --git a/server/embed/config.go b/server/embed/config.go
index ecec546a0..c168fe841 100644
--- a/server/embed/config.go
+++ b/server/embed/config.go
@@ -315,9 +315,14 @@ type Config struct {
 	// Deprecated in v3.5.
 	// TODO: Delete in v3.6 (https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/issues/12913)
 	ExperimentalEnableV2V3 string `json:"experimental-enable-v2v3"`
-	// ExperimentalEnableLeaseCheckpoint enables primary lessor to persist lease remainingTTL to prevent indefinite auto-renewal of long lived leases.
+	// ExperimentalEnableLeaseCheckpoint enables leader to send regular checkpoints to other members to prevent reset of remaining TTL on leader change.
 	ExperimentalEnableLeaseCheckpoint bool `json:"experimental-enable-lease-checkpoint"`
-	ExperimentalCompactionBatchLimit  int  `json:"experimental-compaction-batch-limit"`
+	// ExperimentalEnableLeaseCheckpointPersist enables persisting remainingTTL to prevent indefinite auto-renewal of long lived leases. Always enabled in v3.6. Should be used to ensure smooth upgrade from v3.5 clusters with this feature enabled.
+	// Requires experimental-enable-lease-checkpoint to be enabled.
+	// Deprecated in v3.6.
+	// TODO: Delete in v3.7
+	ExperimentalEnableLeaseCheckpointPersist bool `json:"experimental-enable-lease-checkpoint-persist"`
+	ExperimentalCompactionBatchLimit         int  `json:"experimental-compaction-batch-limit"`
 	// ExperimentalCompactionSleepInterval is the sleep interval between every etcd compaction loop.
 	ExperimentalCompactionSleepInterval     time.Duration `json:"experimental-compaction-sleep-interval"`
 	ExperimentalWatchProgressNotifyInterval time.Duration `json:"experimental-watch-progress-notify-interval"`
@@ -704,6 +709,14 @@ func (cfg *Config) Validate() error {
 		}
 	}
 
+	if !cfg.ExperimentalEnableLeaseCheckpointPersist && cfg.ExperimentalEnableLeaseCheckpoint {
+		cfg.logger.Warn("Detected that checkpointing is enabled without persistence. Consider enabling experimental-enable-lease-checkpoint-persist")
+	}
+
+	if cfg.ExperimentalEnableLeaseCheckpointPersist && !cfg.ExperimentalEnableLeaseCheckpoint {
+		return fmt.Errorf("setting experimental-enable-lease-checkpoint-persist requires experimental-enable-lease-checkpoint")
+	}
+
 	return nil
 }
 
diff --git a/server/embed/config_test.go b/server/embed/config_test.go
index e7da274b2..bb5c08880 100644
--- a/server/embed/config_test.go
+++ b/server/embed/config_test.go
@@ -297,6 +297,56 @@ func TestPeerURLsMapAndTokenFromSRV(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestLeaseCheckpointValidate(t *testing.T) {
+	tcs := []struct {
+		name        string
+		configFunc  func() Config
+		expectError bool
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "Default config should pass",
+			configFunc: func() Config {
+				return *NewConfig()
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "Enabling checkpoint leases should pass",
+			configFunc: func() Config {
+				cfg := *NewConfig()
+				cfg.ExperimentalEnableLeaseCheckpoint = true
+				return cfg
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "Enabling checkpoint leases and persist should pass",
+			configFunc: func() Config {
+				cfg := *NewConfig()
+				cfg.ExperimentalEnableLeaseCheckpoint = true
+				cfg.ExperimentalEnableLeaseCheckpointPersist = true
+				return cfg
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "Enabling checkpoint leases persist without checkpointing itself should fail",
+			configFunc: func() Config {
+				cfg := *NewConfig()
+				cfg.ExperimentalEnableLeaseCheckpointPersist = true
+				return cfg
+			},
+			expectError: true,
+		},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range tcs {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			cfg := tc.configFunc()
+			err := cfg.Validate()
+			if (err != nil) != tc.expectError {
+				t.Errorf("config.Validate() = %q, expected error: %v", err, tc.expectError)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
 func TestLogRotation(t *testing.T) {
 	tests := []struct {
 		name              string
diff --git a/server/embed/etcd.go b/server/embed/etcd.go
index 5970437f0..a3ba75a56 100644
--- a/server/embed/etcd.go
+++ b/server/embed/etcd.go
@@ -210,6 +210,7 @@ func StartEtcd(inCfg *Config) (e *Etcd, err error) {
 		ExperimentalEnableDistributedTracing:     cfg.ExperimentalEnableDistributedTracing,
 		UnsafeNoFsync:                            cfg.UnsafeNoFsync,
 		EnableLeaseCheckpoint:                    cfg.ExperimentalEnableLeaseCheckpoint,
+		LeaseCheckpointPersist:                   cfg.ExperimentalEnableLeaseCheckpointPersist,
 		CompactionBatchLimit:                     cfg.ExperimentalCompactionBatchLimit,
 		CompactionSleepInterval:                  cfg.ExperimentalCompactionSleepInterval,
 		WatchProgressNotifyInterval:              cfg.ExperimentalWatchProgressNotifyInterval,
diff --git a/server/etcdmain/config.go b/server/etcdmain/config.go
index 52c99eb6b..eadc5d637 100644
--- a/server/etcdmain/config.go
+++ b/server/etcdmain/config.go
@@ -282,7 +282,9 @@ func newConfig() *config {
 	fs.BoolVar(&cfg.ec.ExperimentalInitialCorruptCheck, "experimental-initial-corrupt-check", cfg.ec.ExperimentalInitialCorruptCheck, "Enable to check data corruption before serving any client/peer traffic.")
 	fs.DurationVar(&cfg.ec.ExperimentalCorruptCheckTime, "experimental-corrupt-check-time", cfg.ec.ExperimentalCorruptCheckTime, "Duration of time between cluster corruption check passes.")
 
-	fs.BoolVar(&cfg.ec.ExperimentalEnableLeaseCheckpoint, "experimental-enable-lease-checkpoint", false, "Enable to persist lease remaining TTL to prevent indefinite auto-renewal of long lived leases.")
+	fs.BoolVar(&cfg.ec.ExperimentalEnableLeaseCheckpoint, "experimental-enable-lease-checkpoint", false, "Enable leader to send regular checkpoints to other members to prevent reset of remaining TTL on leader change.")
+	// TODO: delete in v3.7
+	fs.BoolVar(&cfg.ec.ExperimentalEnableLeaseCheckpointPersist, "experimental-enable-lease-checkpoint-persist", false, "Enable persisting remainingTTL to prevent indefinite auto-renewal of long lived leases. Always enabled in v3.6. Should be used to ensure smooth upgrade from v3.5 clusters with this feature enabled. Requires experimental-enable-lease-checkpoint to be enabled.")
 	fs.IntVar(&cfg.ec.ExperimentalCompactionBatchLimit, "experimental-compaction-batch-limit", cfg.ec.ExperimentalCompactionBatchLimit, "Sets the maximum revisions deleted in each compaction batch.")
 	fs.DurationVar(&cfg.ec.ExperimentalCompactionSleepInterval, "experimental-compaction-sleep-interval", cfg.ec.ExperimentalCompactionSleepInterval, "Sets the sleep interval between each compaction batch.")
 	fs.DurationVar(&cfg.ec.ExperimentalWatchProgressNotifyInterval, "experimental-watch-progress-notify-interval", cfg.ec.ExperimentalWatchProgressNotifyInterval, "Duration of periodic watch progress notifications.")
diff --git a/server/etcdserver/server.go b/server/etcdserver/server.go
index 2de2477ec..884caf411 100644
--- a/server/etcdserver/server.go
+++ b/server/etcdserver/server.go
@@ -344,9 +344,10 @@ func NewServer(cfg config.ServerConfig) (srv *EtcdServer, err error) {
 
 	// always recover lessor before kv. When we recover the mvcc.KV it will reattach keys to its leases.
 	// If we recover mvcc.KV first, it will attach the keys to the wrong lessor before it recovers.
-	srv.lessor = lease.NewLessor(srv.Logger(), srv.be, lease.LessorConfig{
+	srv.lessor = lease.NewLessor(srv.Logger(), srv.be, srv.cluster, lease.LessorConfig{
 		MinLeaseTTL:                int64(math.Ceil(minTTL.Seconds())),
 		CheckpointInterval:         cfg.LeaseCheckpointInterval,
+		CheckpointPersist:          cfg.LeaseCheckpointPersist,
 		ExpiredLeasesRetryInterval: srv.Cfg.ReqTimeout(),
 	})
 
diff --git a/server/lease/leasehttp/http_test.go b/server/lease/leasehttp/http_test.go
index 4fb8fd7eb..e614b4033 100644
--- a/server/lease/leasehttp/http_test.go
+++ b/server/lease/leasehttp/http_test.go
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ func TestRenewHTTP(t *testing.T) {
 	be, _ := betesting.NewTmpBackend(t, time.Hour, 10000)
 	defer betesting.Close(t, be)
 
-	le := lease.NewLessor(lg, be, lease.LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: int64(5)})
+	le := lease.NewLessor(lg, be, nil, lease.LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: int64(5)})
 	le.Promote(time.Second)
 	l, err := le.Grant(1, int64(5))
 	if err != nil {
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ func TestTimeToLiveHTTP(t *testing.T) {
 	be, _ := betesting.NewTmpBackend(t, time.Hour, 10000)
 	defer betesting.Close(t, be)
 
-	le := lease.NewLessor(lg, be, lease.LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: int64(5)})
+	le := lease.NewLessor(lg, be, nil, lease.LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: int64(5)})
 	le.Promote(time.Second)
 	l, err := le.Grant(1, int64(5))
 	if err != nil {
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ func testApplyTimeout(t *testing.T, f func(*lease.Lease, string) error) {
 	be, _ := betesting.NewTmpBackend(t, time.Hour, 10000)
 	defer betesting.Close(t, be)
 
-	le := lease.NewLessor(lg, be, lease.LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: int64(5)})
+	le := lease.NewLessor(lg, be, nil, lease.LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: int64(5)})
 	le.Promote(time.Second)
 	l, err := le.Grant(1, int64(5))
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/server/lease/lessor.go b/server/lease/lessor.go
index f82fe5cc1..0a77fd669 100644
--- a/server/lease/lessor.go
+++ b/server/lease/lessor.go
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import (
 	"sync"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/coreos/go-semver/semver"
 	pb "go.etcd.io/etcd/api/v3/etcdserverpb"
 	"go.etcd.io/etcd/server/v3/lease/leasepb"
 	"go.etcd.io/etcd/server/v3/storage/backend"
@@ -37,6 +38,8 @@ const NoLease = LeaseID(0)
 // MaxLeaseTTL is the maximum lease TTL value
 const MaxLeaseTTL = 9000000000
 
+var v3_6 = semver.Version{Major: 3, Minor: 6}
+
 var (
 	forever = time.Time{}
 
@@ -180,19 +183,29 @@ type lessor struct {
 	checkpointInterval time.Duration
 	// the interval to check if the expired lease is revoked
 	expiredLeaseRetryInterval time.Duration
+	// whether lessor should always persist remaining TTL (always enabled in v3.6).
+	checkpointPersist bool
+	// cluster is used to adapt lessor logic based on cluster version
+	cluster cluster
+}
+
+type cluster interface {
+	// Version is the cluster-wide minimum major.minor version.
+	Version() *semver.Version
 }
 
 type LessorConfig struct {
 	MinLeaseTTL                int64
 	CheckpointInterval         time.Duration
 	ExpiredLeasesRetryInterval time.Duration
+	CheckpointPersist          bool
 }
 
-func NewLessor(lg *zap.Logger, b backend.Backend, cfg LessorConfig) Lessor {
-	return newLessor(lg, b, cfg)
+func NewLessor(lg *zap.Logger, b backend.Backend, cluster cluster, cfg LessorConfig) Lessor {
+	return newLessor(lg, b, cluster, cfg)
 }
 
-func newLessor(lg *zap.Logger, b backend.Backend, cfg LessorConfig) *lessor {
+func newLessor(lg *zap.Logger, b backend.Backend, cluster cluster, cfg LessorConfig) *lessor {
 	checkpointInterval := cfg.CheckpointInterval
 	expiredLeaseRetryInterval := cfg.ExpiredLeasesRetryInterval
 	if checkpointInterval == 0 {
@@ -210,11 +223,13 @@ func newLessor(lg *zap.Logger, b backend.Backend, cfg LessorConfig) *lessor {
 		minLeaseTTL:               cfg.MinLeaseTTL,
 		checkpointInterval:        checkpointInterval,
 		expiredLeaseRetryInterval: expiredLeaseRetryInterval,
+		checkpointPersist:         cfg.CheckpointPersist,
 		// expiredC is a small buffered chan to avoid unnecessary blocking.
 		expiredC: make(chan []*Lease, 16),
 		stopC:    make(chan struct{}),
 		doneC:    make(chan struct{}),
 		lg:       lg,
+		cluster:  cluster,
 	}
 	l.initAndRecover()
 
@@ -351,7 +366,9 @@ func (le *lessor) Checkpoint(id LeaseID, remainingTTL int64) error {
 	if l, ok := le.leaseMap[id]; ok {
 		// when checkpointing, we only update the remainingTTL, Promote is responsible for applying this to lease expiry
 		l.remainingTTL = remainingTTL
-		l.persistTo(le.b)
+		if le.shouldPersistCheckpoints() {
+			l.persistTo(le.b)
+		}
 		if le.isPrimary() {
 			// schedule the next checkpoint as needed
 			le.scheduleCheckpointIfNeeded(l)
@@ -360,6 +377,15 @@ func (le *lessor) Checkpoint(id LeaseID, remainingTTL int64) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+func (le *lessor) shouldPersistCheckpoints() bool {
+	cv := le.cluster.Version()
+	return le.checkpointPersist || (cv != nil && greaterOrEqual(*cv, v3_6))
+}
+
+func greaterOrEqual(first, second semver.Version) bool {
+	return !first.LessThan(second)
+}
+
 // Renew renews an existing lease. If the given lease does not exist or
 // has expired, an error will be returned.
 func (le *lessor) Renew(id LeaseID) (int64, error) {
diff --git a/server/lease/lessor_bench_test.go b/server/lease/lessor_bench_test.go
index 570663deb..86f9d1bf5 100644
--- a/server/lease/lessor_bench_test.go
+++ b/server/lease/lessor_bench_test.go
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ func setUp(t testing.TB) (le *lessor, tearDown func()) {
 	be, _ := betesting.NewDefaultTmpBackend(t)
 	// MinLeaseTTL is negative, so we can grant expired lease in benchmark.
 	// ExpiredLeasesRetryInterval should small, so benchmark of findExpired will recheck expired lease.
-	le = newLessor(lg, be, LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: -1000, ExpiredLeasesRetryInterval: 10 * time.Microsecond})
+	le = newLessor(lg, be, nil, LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: -1000, ExpiredLeasesRetryInterval: 10 * time.Microsecond})
 	le.SetRangeDeleter(func() TxnDelete {
 		ftd := &FakeTxnDelete{be.BatchTx()}
 		ftd.Lock()
diff --git a/server/lease/lessor_test.go b/server/lease/lessor_test.go
index 9d67bedf5..27ca86fd8 100644
--- a/server/lease/lessor_test.go
+++ b/server/lease/lessor_test.go
@@ -25,7 +25,9 @@ import (
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/coreos/go-semver/semver"
 	pb "go.etcd.io/etcd/api/v3/etcdserverpb"
+	"go.etcd.io/etcd/api/v3/version"
 	"go.etcd.io/etcd/server/v3/storage/backend"
 	"go.etcd.io/etcd/server/v3/storage/schema"
 	"go.uber.org/zap"
@@ -45,7 +47,7 @@ func TestLessorGrant(t *testing.T) {
 	defer os.RemoveAll(dir)
 	defer be.Close()
 
-	le := newLessor(lg, be, LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL})
+	le := newLessor(lg, be, clusterLatest(), LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL})
 	defer le.Stop()
 	le.Promote(0)
 
@@ -108,7 +110,7 @@ func TestLeaseConcurrentKeys(t *testing.T) {
 	defer os.RemoveAll(dir)
 	defer be.Close()
 
-	le := newLessor(lg, be, LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL})
+	le := newLessor(lg, be, clusterLatest(), LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL})
 	defer le.Stop()
 	le.SetRangeDeleter(func() TxnDelete { return newFakeDeleter(be) })
 
@@ -157,7 +159,7 @@ func TestLessorRevoke(t *testing.T) {
 	defer os.RemoveAll(dir)
 	defer be.Close()
 
-	le := newLessor(lg, be, LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL})
+	le := newLessor(lg, be, clusterLatest(), LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL})
 	defer le.Stop()
 	var fd *fakeDeleter
 	le.SetRangeDeleter(func() TxnDelete {
@@ -211,7 +213,7 @@ func TestLessorRenew(t *testing.T) {
 	defer be.Close()
 	defer os.RemoveAll(dir)
 
-	le := newLessor(lg, be, LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL})
+	le := newLessor(lg, be, clusterLatest(), LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL})
 	defer le.Stop()
 	le.Promote(0)
 
@@ -244,7 +246,7 @@ func TestLessorRenewWithCheckpointer(t *testing.T) {
 	defer be.Close()
 	defer os.RemoveAll(dir)
 
-	le := newLessor(lg, be, LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL})
+	le := newLessor(lg, be, clusterLatest(), LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL})
 	fakerCheckerpointer := func(ctx context.Context, cp *pb.LeaseCheckpointRequest) {
 		for _, cp := range cp.GetCheckpoints() {
 			le.Checkpoint(LeaseID(cp.GetID()), cp.GetRemaining_TTL())
@@ -293,7 +295,7 @@ func TestLessorRenewExtendPileup(t *testing.T) {
 	dir, be := NewTestBackend(t)
 	defer os.RemoveAll(dir)
 
-	le := newLessor(lg, be, LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL})
+	le := newLessor(lg, be, clusterLatest(), LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL})
 	ttl := int64(10)
 	for i := 1; i <= leaseRevokeRate*10; i++ {
 		if _, err := le.Grant(LeaseID(2*i), ttl); err != nil {
@@ -312,7 +314,7 @@ func TestLessorRenewExtendPileup(t *testing.T) {
 	bcfg.Path = filepath.Join(dir, "be")
 	be = backend.New(bcfg)
 	defer be.Close()
-	le = newLessor(lg, be, LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL})
+	le = newLessor(lg, be, clusterLatest(), LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL})
 	defer le.Stop()
 
 	// extend after recovery should extend expiration on lease pile-up
@@ -342,7 +344,7 @@ func TestLessorDetach(t *testing.T) {
 	defer os.RemoveAll(dir)
 	defer be.Close()
 
-	le := newLessor(lg, be, LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL})
+	le := newLessor(lg, be, clusterLatest(), LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL})
 	defer le.Stop()
 	le.SetRangeDeleter(func() TxnDelete { return newFakeDeleter(be) })
 
@@ -383,7 +385,7 @@ func TestLessorRecover(t *testing.T) {
 	defer os.RemoveAll(dir)
 	defer be.Close()
 
-	le := newLessor(lg, be, LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL})
+	le := newLessor(lg, be, clusterLatest(), LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL})
 	defer le.Stop()
 	l1, err1 := le.Grant(1, 10)
 	l2, err2 := le.Grant(2, 20)
@@ -392,7 +394,7 @@ func TestLessorRecover(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	// Create a new lessor with the same backend
-	nle := newLessor(lg, be, LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL})
+	nle := newLessor(lg, be, clusterLatest(), LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL})
 	defer nle.Stop()
 	nl1 := nle.Lookup(l1.ID)
 	if nl1 == nil || nl1.ttl != l1.ttl {
@@ -413,7 +415,7 @@ func TestLessorExpire(t *testing.T) {
 
 	testMinTTL := int64(1)
 
-	le := newLessor(lg, be, LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: testMinTTL})
+	le := newLessor(lg, be, clusterLatest(), LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: testMinTTL})
 	defer le.Stop()
 
 	le.Promote(1 * time.Second)
@@ -466,7 +468,7 @@ func TestLessorExpireAndDemote(t *testing.T) {
 
 	testMinTTL := int64(1)
 
-	le := newLessor(lg, be, LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: testMinTTL})
+	le := newLessor(lg, be, clusterLatest(), LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: testMinTTL})
 	defer le.Stop()
 
 	le.Promote(1 * time.Second)
@@ -515,7 +517,7 @@ func TestLessorMaxTTL(t *testing.T) {
 	defer os.RemoveAll(dir)
 	defer be.Close()
 
-	le := newLessor(lg, be, LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL})
+	le := newLessor(lg, be, clusterLatest(), LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL})
 	defer le.Stop()
 
 	_, err := le.Grant(1, MaxLeaseTTL+1)
@@ -531,7 +533,7 @@ func TestLessorCheckpointScheduling(t *testing.T) {
 	defer os.RemoveAll(dir)
 	defer be.Close()
 
-	le := newLessor(lg, be, LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL, CheckpointInterval: 1 * time.Second})
+	le := newLessor(lg, be, clusterLatest(), LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL, CheckpointInterval: 1 * time.Second})
 	defer le.Stop()
 	le.minLeaseTTL = 1
 	checkpointedC := make(chan struct{})
@@ -565,7 +567,7 @@ func TestLessorCheckpointsRestoredOnPromote(t *testing.T) {
 	defer os.RemoveAll(dir)
 	defer be.Close()
 
-	le := newLessor(lg, be, LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL})
+	le := newLessor(lg, be, clusterLatest(), LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL})
 	defer le.Stop()
 	l, err := le.Grant(1, 10)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -579,6 +581,75 @@ func TestLessorCheckpointsRestoredOnPromote(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestLessorCheckpointPersistenceAfterRestart(t *testing.T) {
+	const ttl int64 = 10
+	const checkpointTTL int64 = 5
+
+	tcs := []struct {
+		name               string
+		cluster            cluster
+		checkpointPersist  bool
+		expectRemainingTTL int64
+	}{
+		{
+			name:               "Etcd v3.6 and newer persist remainingTTL on checkpoint",
+			cluster:            clusterLatest(),
+			expectRemainingTTL: checkpointTTL,
+		},
+		{
+			name:               "Etcd v3.5 and older persist remainingTTL if CheckpointPersist is set",
+			cluster:            clusterV3_5(),
+			checkpointPersist:  true,
+			expectRemainingTTL: checkpointTTL,
+		},
+		{
+			name:               "Etcd with version unknown persists remainingTTL if CheckpointPersist is set",
+			cluster:            clusterNil(),
+			checkpointPersist:  true,
+			expectRemainingTTL: checkpointTTL,
+		},
+		{
+			name:               "Etcd v3.5 and older reset remainingTTL on checkpoint",
+			cluster:            clusterV3_5(),
+			expectRemainingTTL: ttl,
+		},
+		{
+			name:               "Etcd with version unknown fallbacks to v3.5 behavior",
+			cluster:            clusterNil(),
+			expectRemainingTTL: ttl,
+		},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range tcs {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			lg := zap.NewNop()
+			dir, be := NewTestBackend(t)
+			defer os.RemoveAll(dir)
+			defer be.Close()
+
+			cfg := LessorConfig{MinLeaseTTL: minLeaseTTL}
+			cfg.CheckpointPersist = tc.checkpointPersist
+			le := newLessor(lg, be, tc.cluster, cfg)
+			l, err := le.Grant(2, ttl)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			if l.RemainingTTL() != ttl {
+				t.Errorf("remainingTTL() = %d, expected: %d", l.RemainingTTL(), ttl)
+			}
+			le.Checkpoint(2, checkpointTTL)
+			if l.RemainingTTL() != checkpointTTL {
+				t.Errorf("remainingTTL() = %d, expected: %d", l.RemainingTTL(), checkpointTTL)
+			}
+			le.Stop()
+			le2 := newLessor(lg, be, clusterLatest(), cfg)
+			l = le2.Lookup(2)
+			if l.RemainingTTL() != tc.expectRemainingTTL {
+				t.Errorf("remainingTTL() = %d, expected: %d", l.RemainingTTL(), tc.expectRemainingTTL)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
 type fakeDeleter struct {
 	deleted []string
 	tx      backend.BatchTx
@@ -606,3 +677,23 @@ func NewTestBackend(t *testing.T) (string, backend.Backend) {
 	bcfg.Path = filepath.Join(tmpPath, "be")
 	return tmpPath, backend.New(bcfg)
 }
+
+func clusterLatest() cluster {
+	return fakeCluster{semver.New(version.Cluster(version.Version) + ".0")}
+}
+
+func clusterV3_5() cluster {
+	return fakeCluster{semver.New("3.5.0")}
+}
+
+func clusterNil() cluster {
+	return fakeCluster{}
+}
+
+type fakeCluster struct {
+	version *semver.Version
+}
+
+func (c fakeCluster) Version() *semver.Version {
+	return c.version
+}
diff --git a/tests/framework/integration/cluster.go b/tests/framework/integration/cluster.go
index 631e00689..4021ff676 100644
--- a/tests/framework/integration/cluster.go
+++ b/tests/framework/integration/cluster.go
@@ -168,6 +168,7 @@ type ClusterConfig struct {
 
 	EnableLeaseCheckpoint   bool
 	LeaseCheckpointInterval time.Duration
+	LeaseCheckpointPersist  bool
 
 	WatchProgressNotifyInterval time.Duration
 	ExperimentalMaxLearners     int
@@ -331,6 +332,7 @@ func (c *Cluster) mustNewMember(t testutil.TB, memberNumber int64) *Member {
 			UseTCP:                      c.Cfg.UseTCP,
 			EnableLeaseCheckpoint:       c.Cfg.EnableLeaseCheckpoint,
 			LeaseCheckpointInterval:     c.Cfg.LeaseCheckpointInterval,
+			LeaseCheckpointPersist:      c.Cfg.LeaseCheckpointPersist,
 			WatchProgressNotifyInterval: c.Cfg.WatchProgressNotifyInterval,
 			ExperimentalMaxLearners:     c.Cfg.ExperimentalMaxLearners,
 		})
@@ -634,6 +636,7 @@ type MemberConfig struct {
 	UseTCP                      bool
 	EnableLeaseCheckpoint       bool
 	LeaseCheckpointInterval     time.Duration
+	LeaseCheckpointPersist      bool
 	WatchProgressNotifyInterval time.Duration
 	ExperimentalMaxLearners     int
 }
@@ -733,6 +736,7 @@ func MustNewMember(t testutil.TB, mcfg MemberConfig) *Member {
 	m.UseTCP = mcfg.UseTCP
 	m.EnableLeaseCheckpoint = mcfg.EnableLeaseCheckpoint
 	m.LeaseCheckpointInterval = mcfg.LeaseCheckpointInterval
+	m.LeaseCheckpointPersist = mcfg.LeaseCheckpointPersist
 
 	m.WatchProgressNotifyInterval = mcfg.WatchProgressNotifyInterval