diff --git a/neutron_lib/plugins/ml2/api.py b/neutron_lib/plugins/ml2/api.py
index c6883c901..d559ed785 100644
--- a/neutron_lib/plugins/ml2/api.py
+++ b/neutron_lib/plugins/ml2/api.py
@@ -76,6 +76,17 @@ class MechanismDriver(object, metaclass=abc.ABCMeta):
         called prior to this method being called.
         """
 
+    def start_rpc_listeners(self):
+        """Start RPC listeners.
+
+        Create and start RPC listeners required by this driver. To be used in
+        cases where the driver has an agent that requires extra RPC methods to
+        acquire some data. It is preferred to initialize RPC listeners here
+        instead of in initialize() to support the split between RPC and API
+        workers. It works similar to NeutronPluginBaseV2.start_rpc_listeners().
+        """
+        return []
+
     def create_network_precommit(self, context):
         """Allocate resources for a new network.
 
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/allow-ml2-plugins-to-start-own-rpc-listeners-54f05910ac3f336a.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/allow-ml2-plugins-to-start-own-rpc-listeners-54f05910ac3f336a.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e2d04ffef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/allow-ml2-plugins-to-start-own-rpc-listeners-54f05910ac3f336a.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+other:
+  - |
+    MechanismDrivers can now start their own RPC listeners by implementing
+    start_rpc_listeners(). It is preferred to use this method instead of
+    initialize() for this task to support the split between RPC and
+    API workers.