diff --git a/src/java.base/share/classes/java/lang/classfile/ClassFileVersion.java b/src/java.base/share/classes/java/lang/classfile/ClassFileVersion.java
index 5a795b9486533..ff4d1fdae28d4 100644
--- a/src/java.base/share/classes/java/lang/classfile/ClassFileVersion.java
+++ b/src/java.base/share/classes/java/lang/classfile/ClassFileVersion.java
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 package java.lang.classfile;
 
 import java.lang.reflect.ClassFileFormatVersion;
+import java.util.Optional;
 
 import jdk.internal.classfile.impl.ClassFileVersionImpl;
 
@@ -76,6 +77,11 @@ public sealed interface ClassFileVersion
      */
     int minorVersion();
 
+    /**
+     * {@return a {@link ClassFileFormatVersion} element}.
+     */
+    Optional<ClassFileFormatVersion> formatVersion();
+
     /**
      * {@return a {@link ClassFileVersion} element}
      * @param majorVersion the major version
diff --git a/src/java.base/share/classes/jdk/internal/classfile/impl/ClassFileVersionImpl.java b/src/java.base/share/classes/jdk/internal/classfile/impl/ClassFileVersionImpl.java
index ba2605296cb69..0f9c9084182d2 100644
--- a/src/java.base/share/classes/jdk/internal/classfile/impl/ClassFileVersionImpl.java
+++ b/src/java.base/share/classes/jdk/internal/classfile/impl/ClassFileVersionImpl.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright (c) 2022, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
+ * Copyright (c) 2022, 2025, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
  * DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICES OR THIS FILE HEADER.
  *
  * This code is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
@@ -25,6 +25,8 @@
 package jdk.internal.classfile.impl;
 
 import java.lang.classfile.ClassFileVersion;
+import java.lang.reflect.ClassFileFormatVersion;
+import java.util.Optional;
 
 public final class ClassFileVersionImpl
         extends AbstractElement
@@ -46,6 +48,15 @@ public int minorVersion() {
         return minorVersion;
     }
 
+    @Override
+    public Optional<ClassFileFormatVersion> formatVersion() {
+        try {
+            return Optional.of(ClassFileFormatVersion.fromMajor(majorVersion));
+        } catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
+            return Optional.empty();
+        }
+    }
+
     @Override
     public void writeTo(DirectClassBuilder builder) {
         builder.setVersion(majorVersion, minorVersion);