diff --git a/test/common/README.md b/test/common/README.md
index 2b8f852a3b74dd..1db6d15a0d9cee 100644
--- a/test/common/README.md
+++ b/test/common/README.md
@@ -194,7 +194,12 @@ Indicates whether OpenSSL is available.
 ### hasFipsCrypto
 * [<boolean>]
 
-Indicates `hasCrypto` and `crypto` with fips.
+Indicates that Node.js has been linked with a FIPS compatible OpenSSL library,
+and that FIPS as been enabled using `--enable-fips`.
+
+To only detect if the OpenSSL library is FIPS compatible, regardless if it has
+been enabled or not, then `process.config.variables.openssl_is_fips` can be
+used to determine that situation.
 
 ### hasIntl
 * [<boolean>]
diff --git a/test/parallel/test-process-env-allowed-flags-are-documented.js b/test/parallel/test-process-env-allowed-flags-are-documented.js
index bb203d94d370d8..79c9abe65f96d8 100644
--- a/test/parallel/test-process-env-allowed-flags-are-documented.js
+++ b/test/parallel/test-process-env-allowed-flags-are-documented.js
@@ -46,7 +46,14 @@ const conditionalOpts = [
       return ['--openssl-config', '--tls-cipher-list', '--use-bundled-ca',
               '--use-openssl-ca' ].includes(opt);
     } },
-  { include: common.hasFipsCrypto,
+  {
+    // We are using openssl_is_fips from the configuration because it could be
+    // the case that OpenSSL is FIPS compatible but fips has not been enabled
+    // (starting node with --enable-fips). If we use common.hasFipsCrypto
+    // that would only tells us if fips has been enabled, but in this case we
+    // want to check options which will be available regardless of whether fips
+    // is enabled at runtime or not.
+    include: process.config.variables.openssl_is_fips,
     filter: (opt) => opt.includes('-fips') },
   { include: common.hasIntl,
     filter: (opt) => opt === '--icu-data-dir' },