diff --git a/docker-compose.test.yml b/docker-compose.test.yml
index b5d10d97..50cf03d3 100644
--- a/docker-compose.test.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.test.yml
@@ -30,6 +30,10 @@ services:
     volumes:
      - ep-mysql-volume:/var/lib/mysql
      - /srv/initdb/etherpad:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD", "mysqladmin", "ping", "-h", "localhost"]
+      timeout: 20s
+      retries: 20
   etherpad:
     image: etherpad/etherpad
     container_name: test_etherpad
@@ -44,7 +48,8 @@ services:
       TRUST_PROXY: "true"
       REQUIRE_SESSION: "true"   
     depends_on:
-      - etherpadsql
+      etherpadsql:
+        condition: service_healthy
     volumes:
       - /srv/APIKEY.txt:/opt/etherpad-lite/APIKEY.txt
 #     - ./deployment/mysql.cnf:/etc/mysql/conf.d