diff --git a/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/actor/testkit/typed/javadsl/ActorTestKit.scala b/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/actor/testkit/typed/javadsl/ActorTestKit.scala
index 0f5f5ac6c8..4ed6e3606f 100644
--- a/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/actor/testkit/typed/javadsl/ActorTestKit.scala
+++ b/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/actor/testkit/typed/javadsl/ActorTestKit.scala
@@ -27,6 +27,10 @@ object ActorTestKit {
    * e.g. threads will include the name.
    * When the test has completed you should terminate the `ActorSystem` and
    * the testkit with [[ActorTestKit#shutdownTestKit]].
+   *
+   * Config loaded from `application-test.conf` if that exists, otherwise
+   * using default configuration from the reference.conf resources that ship with the Akka libraries.
+   * The application.conf of your project is not used in this case.
    */
   def create(): ActorTestKit =
     new ActorTestKit(scaladsl.ActorTestKit(TestKitUtils.testNameFromCallStack(classOf[ActorTestKit])))
@@ -38,10 +42,26 @@ object ActorTestKit {
    * e.g. threads will include the name.
    * When the test has completed you should terminate the `ActorSystem` and
    * the testkit with [[ActorTestKit#shutdownTestKit]].
+   *
+   * Config loaded from `application-test.conf` if that exists, otherwise
+   * using default configuration from the reference.conf resources that ship with the Akka libraries.
+   * The application.conf of your project is not used in this case.
    */
   def create(name: String): ActorTestKit =
     new ActorTestKit(scaladsl.ActorTestKit(name))
 
+  /**
+   * Create a testkit named from the class that is calling this method,
+   * and use a custom config for the actor system.
+   *
+   * It will create an [[akka.actor.typed.ActorSystem]] with this name,
+   * e.g. threads will include the name.
+   * When the test has completed you should terminate the `ActorSystem` and
+   * the testkit with [[ActorTestKit#shutdownTestKit]].
+   */
+  def create(customConfig: Config): ActorTestKit =
+    new ActorTestKit(scaladsl.ActorTestKit(TestKitUtils.testNameFromCallStack(classOf[ActorTestKit]), customConfig))
+
   /**
    * Create a named testkit, and use a custom config for the actor system.
    *
@@ -95,6 +115,11 @@ object ActorTestKit {
     shutdown(system, settings.DefaultActorSystemShutdownTimeout.asJava, settings.ThrowOnShutdownTimeout)
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Config loaded from `application-test.conf`, which is used if no specific config is given.
+   */
+  def applicationTestConfig: Config = scaladsl.ActorTestKit.ApplicationTestConfig
+
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/actor/testkit/typed/javadsl/TestKitJunitResource.scala b/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/actor/testkit/typed/javadsl/TestKitJunitResource.scala
index b6238cde9f..952a98f376 100644
--- a/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/actor/testkit/typed/javadsl/TestKitJunitResource.scala
+++ b/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/actor/testkit/typed/javadsl/TestKitJunitResource.scala
@@ -39,9 +39,19 @@ import org.junit.rules.ExternalResource
  *   }
  * }
  * }}}
+ *
+ * By default config is loaded from `application-test.conf` if that exists, otherwise
+ * using default configuration from the reference.conf resources that ship with the Akka libraries.
+ * The application.conf of your project is not used in this case.
+ * A specific configuration can be passed as constructor parameter.
  */
 final class TestKitJunitResource(_kit: ActorTestKit) extends ExternalResource {
 
+  /**
+   * Config loaded from `application-test.conf` if that exists, otherwise
+   * using default configuration from the reference.conf resources that ship with the Akka libraries.
+   * The application.conf of your project is not used in this case.
+   */
   def this() = this(ActorTestKit.create(TestKitUtils.testNameFromCallStack(classOf[TestKitJunitResource])))
 
   /**
diff --git a/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/actor/testkit/typed/scaladsl/ActorTestKit.scala b/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/actor/testkit/typed/scaladsl/ActorTestKit.scala
index df3151f7b1..f8819da131 100644
--- a/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/actor/testkit/typed/scaladsl/ActorTestKit.scala
+++ b/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/actor/testkit/typed/scaladsl/ActorTestKit.scala
@@ -32,11 +32,15 @@ object ActorTestKit {
    * e.g. threads will include the name.
    * When the test has completed you should terminate the `ActorSystem` and
    * the testkit with [[ActorTestKit#shutdownTestKit]].
+   *
+   * Config loaded from `application-test.conf` if that exists, otherwise
+   * using default configuration from the reference.conf resources that ship with the Akka libraries.
+   * The application.conf of your project is not used in this case.
    */
   def apply(): ActorTestKit =
     new ActorTestKit(
       name = TestKitUtils.testNameFromCallStack(classOf[ActorTestKit]),
-      config = noConfigSet,
+      config = ApplicationTestConfig,
       settings = None)
 
   /**
@@ -46,9 +50,28 @@ object ActorTestKit {
    * e.g. threads will include the name.
    * When the test has completed you should terminate the `ActorSystem` and
    * the testkit with [[ActorTestKit#shutdownTestKit]].
+   *
+   * Config loaded from `application-test.conf` if that exists, otherwise
+   * using default configuration from the reference.conf resources that ship with the Akka libraries.
+   * The application.conf of your project is not used in this case.
    */
   def apply(name: String): ActorTestKit =
-    new ActorTestKit(name = TestKitUtils.scrubActorSystemName(name), config = noConfigSet, settings = None)
+    new ActorTestKit(name = TestKitUtils.scrubActorSystemName(name), config = ApplicationTestConfig, settings = None)
+
+  /**
+   * Create a testkit named from the class that is calling this method,
+   * and use a custom config for the actor system.
+   *
+   * It will create an [[akka.actor.typed.ActorSystem]] with this name,
+   * e.g. threads will include the name.
+   * When the test has completed you should terminate the `ActorSystem` and
+   * the testkit with [[ActorTestKit#shutdownTestKit]].
+   */
+  def apply(customConfig: Config): ActorTestKit =
+    new ActorTestKit(
+      name = TestKitUtils.testNameFromCallStack(classOf[ActorTestKit]),
+      config = customConfig,
+      settings = None)
 
   /**
    * Create a named testkit, and use a custom config for the actor system.
@@ -89,9 +112,10 @@ object ActorTestKit {
   def shutdown(system: ActorSystem[_], timeout: Duration, throwIfShutdownFails: Boolean = false): Unit =
     TestKitUtils.shutdown(system, timeout, throwIfShutdownFails)
 
-  // place holder for no custom config specified to avoid the boilerplate
-  // of an option for config in the trait
-  private val noConfigSet = ConfigFactory.parseString("")
+  /**
+   * Config loaded from `application-test.conf`, which is used if no specific config is given.
+   */
+  val ApplicationTestConfig: Config = ConfigFactory.load("application-test")
 
 }
 
@@ -116,8 +140,7 @@ final class ActorTestKit private[akka] (val name: String, val config: Config, se
    * INTERNAL API
    */
   @InternalApi private[akka] val internalSystem: ActorSystem[ActorTestKitGuardian.TestKitCommand] =
-    if (config eq ActorTestKit.noConfigSet) ActorSystem(ActorTestKitGuardian.testKitGuardian, name)
-    else ActorSystem(ActorTestKitGuardian.testKitGuardian, name, config)
+    ActorSystem(ActorTestKitGuardian.testKitGuardian, name, config)
 
   implicit def system: ActorSystem[Nothing] = internalSystem
 
diff --git a/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/actor/testkit/typed/scaladsl/ScalaTestWithActorTestKit.scala b/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/actor/testkit/typed/scaladsl/ScalaTestWithActorTestKit.scala
index 8f0ec56cc5..c73bd419bd 100644
--- a/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/actor/testkit/typed/scaladsl/ScalaTestWithActorTestKit.scala
+++ b/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/actor/testkit/typed/scaladsl/ScalaTestWithActorTestKit.scala
@@ -19,6 +19,11 @@ import org.scalatest.time.Span
  *
  * Note that ScalaTest is not provided as a transitive dependency of the testkit module but must be added explicitly
  * to your project to use this.
+ *
+ * By default config is loaded from `application-test.conf` if that exists, otherwise
+ * using default configuration from the reference.conf resources that ship with the Akka libraries.
+ * The application.conf of your project is not used in this case.
+ * A specific configuration can be passed as constructor parameter.
  */
 abstract class ScalaTestWithActorTestKit(testKit: ActorTestKit)
     extends ActorTestKitBase(testKit)
@@ -28,6 +33,11 @@ abstract class ScalaTestWithActorTestKit(testKit: ActorTestKit)
     with ScalaFutures
     with Eventually {
 
+  /**
+   * Config loaded from `application-test.conf` if that exists, otherwise
+   * using default configuration from the reference.conf resources that ship with the Akka libraries.
+   * The application.conf of your project is not used in this case.
+   */
   def this() = this(ActorTestKit(ActorTestKitBase.testNameFromCallStack()))
 
   /**
diff --git a/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/test/java/jdocs/akka/actor/testkit/typed/javadsl/TestConfigExample.java b/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/test/java/jdocs/akka/actor/testkit/typed/javadsl/TestConfigExample.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6608362176
--- /dev/null
+++ b/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/test/java/jdocs/akka/actor/testkit/typed/javadsl/TestConfigExample.java
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2019 Lightbend Inc. <https://www.lightbend.com>
+ */
+
+package jdocs.akka.actor.testkit.typed.javadsl;
+
+// #default-application-conf
+import com.typesafe.config.ConfigFactory;
+
+// #default-application-conf
+
+public class TestConfigExample {
+
+  void illustrateApplicationConfig() {
+
+    // #default-application-conf
+    ConfigFactory.load()
+    // #default-application-conf
+    ;
+
+    // #parse-string
+    ConfigFactory.parseString("akka.loglevel = DEBUG \n" + "akka.log-config-on-start = on \n")
+    // #parse-string
+    ;
+
+    // #fallback-application-conf
+    ConfigFactory.parseString("akka.loglevel = DEBUG \n" + "akka.log-config-on-start = on \n")
+        .withFallback(ConfigFactory.load())
+    // #fallback-application-conf
+    ;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/test/resources/application-test.conf b/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/test/resources/application-test.conf
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b52f74104b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/test/resources/application-test.conf
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+# used by ActorTestKitSpec
+test.from-application-test = yes
diff --git a/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/test/resources/application.conf b/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/test/resources/application.conf
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c557fa2abc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/test/resources/application.conf
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+# used by ActorTestKitSpec
+test.from-application = yes
diff --git a/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/test/scala/akka/actor/testkit/typed/scaladsl/ActorTestKitSpec.scala b/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/test/scala/akka/actor/testkit/typed/scaladsl/ActorTestKitSpec.scala
index 1934756671..78fd001a4b 100644
--- a/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/test/scala/akka/actor/testkit/typed/scaladsl/ActorTestKitSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/test/scala/akka/actor/testkit/typed/scaladsl/ActorTestKitSpec.scala
@@ -5,9 +5,10 @@
 package akka.actor.testkit.typed.scaladsl
 
 import akka.Done
-
 import scala.concurrent.Promise
+
 import akka.actor.typed.scaladsl.Behaviors
+import com.typesafe.config.ConfigFactory
 import org.scalatest.BeforeAndAfterAll
 import org.scalatest.Matchers
 import org.scalatest.WordSpec
@@ -62,6 +63,29 @@ class ActorTestKitSpec extends ScalaTestWithActorTestKit with WordSpecLike {
       testkit2.shutdownTestKit()
       testkit2.system.whenTerminated.futureValue shouldBe a[Done]
     }
+
+    "load application-test.conf by default" in {
+      testKit.config.getString("test.from-application-test") should ===("yes")
+      testKit.system.settings.config.getString("test.from-application-test") should ===("yes")
+      testKit.system.settings.config.hasPath("test.from-application") should ===(false)
+    }
+
+    "not load application-test.conf if specific Config given" in {
+      val testKit2 = ActorTestKit(ConfigFactory.parseString("test.specific-config = yes"))
+      testKit2.config.getString("test.specific-config") should ===("yes")
+      testKit2.system.settings.config.getString("test.specific-config") should ===("yes")
+      testKit2.config.hasPath("test.from-application-test") should ===(false)
+      testKit2.system.settings.config.hasPath("test.from-application-test") should ===(false)
+      testKit2.system.settings.config.hasPath("test.from-application") should ===(false)
+
+      // same if via ScalaTestWithActorTestKit
+      val scalaTestWithActorTestKit2 = new ScalaTestWithActorTestKit("test.specific-config = yes") {}
+      scalaTestWithActorTestKit2.testKit.config.getString("test.specific-config") should ===("yes")
+      scalaTestWithActorTestKit2.testKit.config.hasPath("test.from-application-test") should ===(false)
+      scalaTestWithActorTestKit2.system.settings.config.hasPath("test.from-application-test") should ===(false)
+      scalaTestWithActorTestKit2.testKit.system.settings.config.hasPath("test.from-application") should ===(false)
+    }
+
   }
 
 }
diff --git a/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/test/scala/docs/akka/actor/testkit/typed/scaladsl/TestConfigExample.scala b/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/test/scala/docs/akka/actor/testkit/typed/scaladsl/TestConfigExample.scala
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5118abf4c0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/test/scala/docs/akka/actor/testkit/typed/scaladsl/TestConfigExample.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2019 Lightbend Inc. <https://www.lightbend.com>
+ */
+
+package docs.akka.actor.testkit.typed.scaladsl
+
+object TestConfigExample {
+
+  def illustrateApplicationConfig(): Unit = {
+
+    //#default-application-conf
+    import com.typesafe.config.ConfigFactory
+
+    ConfigFactory.load()
+    //#default-application-conf
+
+    //#parse-string
+    ConfigFactory.parseString("""
+      akka.loglevel = DEBUG
+      akka.log-config-on-start = on
+      """)
+    //#parse-string
+
+    //#fallback-application-conf
+    ConfigFactory.parseString("""
+      akka.loglevel = DEBUG
+      akka.log-config-on-start = on
+      """).withFallback(ConfigFactory.load())
+    //#fallback-application-conf
+  }
+}
diff --git a/akka-docs/src/main/paradox/general/configuration.md b/akka-docs/src/main/paradox/general/configuration.md
index 252fa995ae..57c077be3e 100644
--- a/akka-docs/src/main/paradox/general/configuration.md
+++ b/akka-docs/src/main/paradox/general/configuration.md
@@ -58,7 +58,8 @@ to `application`—may be overridden using the `config.resource` property
 If you are writing an Akka application, keep your configuration in
 `application.conf` at the root of the class path. If you are writing an
 Akka-based library, keep its configuration in `reference.conf` at the root
-of the JAR file.
+of the JAR file. It's not supported to override a config property owned by
+one library in a `reference.conf` of another library.
 
 @@@
 
diff --git a/akka-docs/src/main/paradox/typed/testing.md b/akka-docs/src/main/paradox/typed/testing.md
index d1cb69b230..f5b4a9458f 100644
--- a/akka-docs/src/main/paradox/typed/testing.md
+++ b/akka-docs/src/main/paradox/typed/testing.md
@@ -166,6 +166,50 @@ Scala
 Java
 :  @@snip [AsyncTestingExampleTest.java](/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/test/java/jdocs/akka/actor/testkit/typed/javadsl/JunitIntegrationExampleTest.java) { #junit-integration }
 
+### Configuration
+
+By default the `ActorTestKit` loads configuration from `application-test.conf` if that exists, otherwise
+it is using default configuration from the reference.conf resources that ship with the Akka libraries. The
+application.conf of your project is not used in this case.
+A specific configuration can be given as parameter when creating the TestKit.
+
+If you prefer to use `application.conf` you can pass that as the configuration parameter to the TestKit.
+It's loaded with:
+
+Scala
+:  @@snip [TestConfigExample.scala](/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/test/scala/docs/akka/actor/testkit/typed/scaladsl/TestConfigExample.scala) { #default-application-conf }
+
+Java
+:  @@snip [TestConfigExample.java](/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/test/java/jdocs/akka/actor/testkit/typed/javadsl/TestConfigExample.java) { #default-application-conf }
+
+It's often convenient to define configuration for a specific test as a `String` in the test itself and
+use that as the configuration parameter to the TestKit. `ConfigFactory.parseString` can be used for that:
+
+Scala
+:  @@snip [TestConfigExample.scala](/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/test/scala/docs/akka/actor/testkit/typed/scaladsl/TestConfigExample.scala) { #parse-string }
+
+Java
+:  @@snip [TestConfigExample.java](/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/test/java/jdocs/akka/actor/testkit/typed/javadsl/TestConfigExample.java) { #parse-string }
+
+Combining those approaches using `withFallback`:
+
+Scala
+:  @@snip [TestConfigExample.scala](/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/test/scala/docs/akka/actor/testkit/typed/scaladsl/TestConfigExample.scala) { #fallback-application-conf }
+
+Java
+:  @@snip [TestConfigExample.java](/akka-actor-testkit-typed/src/test/java/jdocs/akka/actor/testkit/typed/javadsl/TestConfigExample.java) { #fallback-application-conf }
+
+
+More information can be found in the [documentation of the configuration library](https://github.com/lightbend/config#using-the-library).
+
+@@@ note
+
+Note that `reference.conf` files are intended for libraries to define default values and shouldn't be used
+in an application. It's not supported to override a config property owned by one library in a `reference.conf`
+of another library.
+
+@@@
+
 ### Controlling the scheduler
 
 It can be hard to reliably unit test specific scenario's when your actor relies on timing: