diff --git a/libs/hwui/Properties.cpp b/libs/hwui/Properties.cpp
index 475fd700ccc9d..bcfe9c3ecab4b 100644
--- a/libs/hwui/Properties.cpp
+++ b/libs/hwui/Properties.cpp
@@ -90,6 +90,8 @@ bool Properties::enableWebViewOverlays = true;
 
 StretchEffectBehavior Properties::stretchEffectBehavior = StretchEffectBehavior::ShaderHWUI;
 
+DrawingEnabled Properties::drawingEnabled = DrawingEnabled::NotInitialized;
+
 bool Properties::load() {
     bool prevDebugLayersUpdates = debugLayersUpdates;
     bool prevDebugOverdraw = debugOverdraw;
@@ -143,6 +145,9 @@ bool Properties::load() {
 
     enableWebViewOverlays = base::GetBoolProperty(PROPERTY_WEBVIEW_OVERLAYS_ENABLED, true);
 
+    // call isDrawingEnabled to force loading of the property
+    isDrawingEnabled();
+
     return (prevDebugLayersUpdates != debugLayersUpdates) || (prevDebugOverdraw != debugOverdraw);
 }
 
@@ -212,5 +217,19 @@ void Properties::overrideRenderPipelineType(RenderPipelineType type, bool inUnit
     sRenderPipelineType = type;
 }
 
+void Properties::setDrawingEnabled(bool newDrawingEnabled) {
+    drawingEnabled = newDrawingEnabled ? DrawingEnabled::On : DrawingEnabled::Off;
+    enableRTAnimations = newDrawingEnabled;
+}
+
+bool Properties::isDrawingEnabled() {
+    if (drawingEnabled == DrawingEnabled::NotInitialized) {
+        bool drawingEnabledProp = base::GetBoolProperty(PROPERTY_DRAWING_ENABLED, true);
+        drawingEnabled = drawingEnabledProp ? DrawingEnabled::On : DrawingEnabled::Off;
+        enableRTAnimations = drawingEnabledProp;
+    }
+    return drawingEnabled == DrawingEnabled::On;
+}
+
 }  // namespace uirenderer
 }  // namespace android
diff --git a/libs/hwui/Properties.h b/libs/hwui/Properties.h
index d224a547ab4d2..2f8c67903a8b1 100644
--- a/libs/hwui/Properties.h
+++ b/libs/hwui/Properties.h
@@ -187,6 +187,12 @@ enum DebugLevel {
  */
 #define PROPERTY_WEBVIEW_OVERLAYS_ENABLED "debug.hwui.webview_overlays_enabled"
 
+/**
+ * Property for globally GL drawing state. Can be overridden per process with
+ * setDrawingEnabled.
+ */
+#define PROPERTY_DRAWING_ENABLED "debug.hwui.drawing_enabled"
+
 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 // Misc
 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
@@ -208,6 +214,8 @@ enum class StretchEffectBehavior {
     UniformScale  // Uniform scale stretch everywhere
 };
 
+enum class DrawingEnabled { NotInitialized, On, Off };
+
 /**
  * Renderthread-only singleton which manages several static rendering properties. Most of these
  * are driven by system properties which are queried once at initialization, and again if init()
@@ -302,6 +310,11 @@ public:
         stretchEffectBehavior = behavior;
     }
 
+    // Represents if drawing is enabled. Should only be Off in headless testing environments
+    static DrawingEnabled drawingEnabled;
+    static bool isDrawingEnabled();
+    static void setDrawingEnabled(bool enable);
+
 private:
     static StretchEffectBehavior stretchEffectBehavior;
     static ProfileType sProfileType;