diff --git a/test/integration/integration.cfg b/test/integration/integration.cfg
index e69de29bb2..f0ce19704b 100644
--- a/test/integration/integration.cfg
+++ b/test/integration/integration.cfg
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+[defaults]
+# allow cleanup handlers to run when tests fail
+force_handlers = True
diff --git a/test/integration/network-integration.cfg b/test/integration/network-integration.cfg
index ca29c1839f..c75544c04e 100644
--- a/test/integration/network-integration.cfg
+++ b/test/integration/network-integration.cfg
@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@
 host_key_checking = False
 log_path = /tmp/ansible-test.out
 
+# allow cleanup handlers to run when tests fail
+force_handlers = True
+
 [ssh_connection]
 ssh_args = '-o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null'
 
diff --git a/test/integration/windows-integration.cfg b/test/integration/windows-integration.cfg
index e69de29bb2..f0ce19704b 100644
--- a/test/integration/windows-integration.cfg
+++ b/test/integration/windows-integration.cfg
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+[defaults]
+# allow cleanup handlers to run when tests fail
+force_handlers = True