diff --git a/include/drivers/emul.h b/include/drivers/emul.h
index 02edc75ff55..0a07d7e0d6f 100644
--- a/include/drivers/emul.h
+++ b/include/drivers/emul.h
@@ -98,6 +98,20 @@ extern const struct emul __emul_list_end[];
 int emul_init_for_bus_from_list(const struct device *dev,
 				const struct emul_list_for_bus *list);
 
+/**
+ * @brief Retrieve the emul structure for an emulator by name
+ *
+ * @details Emulator objects are created via the EMUL_DEFINE() macro and placed in memory by the
+ * linker. If the emulator structure is needed for custom API calls, it can be retrieved by the name
+ * that the emulator exposes to the system (this is the devicetree node's label by default).
+ *
+ * @param name Emulator name to search for.  A null pointer, or a pointer to an
+ * empty string, will cause NULL to be returned.
+ *
+ * @return pointer to emulator structure; NULL if not found or cannot be used.
+ */
+const struct emul *emul_get_binding(const char *name);
+
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }
 #endif /* __cplusplus */
diff --git a/subsys/emul/emul.c b/subsys/emul/emul.c
index 75001bbfdeb..c0e578b7f5b 100644
--- a/subsys/emul/emul.c
+++ b/subsys/emul/emul.c
@@ -13,20 +13,13 @@ LOG_MODULE_REGISTER(emul);
 #include <drivers/emul.h>
 #include <string.h>
 
-/**
- * Find a an emulator using its link information
- *
- * @param emul Emulator info to find
- * @return pointer to emulator, or NULL if not found
- */
-static const struct emul *
-emul_find_by_link(const struct emul_link_for_bus *emul)
+const struct emul *emul_get_binding(const char *name)
 {
-	const struct emul *erp;
+	const struct emul *emul_it;
 
-	for (erp = __emul_list_start; erp < __emul_list_end; erp++) {
-		if (strcmp(erp->dev_label, emul->label) == 0) {
-			return erp;
+	for (emul_it = __emul_list_start; emul_it < __emul_list_end; emul_it++) {
+		if (strcmp(emul_it->dev_label, name) == 0) {
+			return emul_it;
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -49,7 +42,7 @@ int emul_init_for_bus_from_list(const struct device *dev,
 	LOG_INF("Registering %d emulator(s) for %s", cfg->num_children,
 		dev->name);
 	for (elp = cfg->children; elp < end; elp++) {
-		const struct emul *emul = emul_find_by_link(elp);
+		const struct emul *emul = emul_get_binding(elp->label);
 
 		__ASSERT(emul, "Cannot find emulator for '%s'", elp->label);