diff --git a/src/systems/abstractsystem.jl b/src/systems/abstractsystem.jl
index 90d461aa87..12b0532043 100644
--- a/src/systems/abstractsystem.jl
+++ b/src/systems/abstractsystem.jl
@@ -734,17 +734,15 @@ function isinitial(p)
 end
 
 """
-$(TYPEDSIGNATURES)
-
-Mark a system as completed. A completed system is a system which is done being
-defined/modified and is ready for structural analysis or other transformations.
-This allows for analyses and optimizations to be performed which require knowing
-the global structure of the system.
+Allow systems to dispatch `complete` but still get at the underlying functionality it
+implements in a uniform way.
 
-One property to note is that if a system is complete, the system will no longer
-namespace its subsystems or variables, i.e. `isequal(complete(sys).v.i, v.i)`.
+Notes:
+- `allow_additional_ps = true` is used to allow additional parameters to be added to the
+  system during completion (such as initial conditions). 
 """
-function complete(sys::AbstractSystem; split = true, flatten = true)
+function _complete(sys::AbstractSystem; split = true, flatten = true, 
+        allow_additional_ps = true)
     newunknowns = OrderedSet()
     newparams = OrderedSet()
     iv = has_iv(sys) ? get_iv(sys) : nothing
@@ -765,7 +763,9 @@ function complete(sys::AbstractSystem; split = true, flatten = true)
             @set! newsys.parent = complete(sys; split = false, flatten = false)
         end
         sys = newsys
-        sys = add_initialization_parameters(sys)
+        if allow_additional_ps
+            sys = add_initialization_parameters(sys)
+        end
     end
     if split && has_index_cache(sys)
         @set! sys.index_cache = IndexCache(sys)
@@ -801,6 +801,21 @@ function complete(sys::AbstractSystem; split = true, flatten = true)
     isdefined(sys, :complete) ? (@set! sys.complete = true) : sys
 end
 
+"""
+$(TYPEDSIGNATURES)
+
+Mark a system as completed. A completed system is a system which is done being
+defined/modified and is ready for structural analysis or other transformations.
+This allows for analyses and optimizations to be performed which require knowing
+the global structure of the system.
+
+One property to note is that if a system is complete, the system will no longer
+namespace its subsystems or variables, i.e. `isequal(complete(sys).v.i, v.i)`.
+"""
+function complete(sys::AbstractSystem; split = true, flatten = true)
+    _complete(sys; split, flatten)
+end
+
 """
     $(TYPEDSIGNATURES)
 
diff --git a/test/odesystem.jl b/test/odesystem.jl
index 970a9afaad..c6c460a032 100644
--- a/test/odesystem.jl
+++ b/test/odesystem.jl
@@ -1736,3 +1736,13 @@ end
     @test obsfn_expr_oop isa Expr
     @test obsfn_expr_iip isa Expr
 end
+
+@testset "`complete` with and without initial conditions" begin
+    @variables x(t)
+    @parameters p
+    @mtkbuild sys = ODESystem(D(x) ~ p * t, t)
+    @test issetequal(ModelingToolkit.get_ps(sys), [p, Initial(x)])
+    @named sys2 = ODESystem(D(x) ~ p * t, t)
+    sys2 = ModelingToolkit._complete(sys2; allow_additional_ps = false)
+    @test issetequal(ModelingToolkit.get_ps(sys2), [p]) 
+end