diff --git a/pkg/pidfile/pidfile.go b/pkg/pidfile/pidfile.go
index 8017d9a784..cdf6f8f39e 100644
--- a/pkg/pidfile/pidfile.go
+++ b/pkg/pidfile/pidfile.go
@@ -12,19 +12,24 @@ import (
 	"github.com/docker/docker/pkg/process"
 )
 
-func checkPIDFileAlreadyExists(path string) error {
+// Read reads the "PID file" at path, and returns the PID if it contains a
+// valid PID of a running process, or 0 otherwise. It returns an error when
+// failing to read the file, or if the file doesn't exist, but malformed content
+// is ignored. Consumers should therefore check if the returned PID is a non-zero
+// value before use.
+func Read(path string) (pid int, err error) {
 	pidByte, err := os.ReadFile(path)
 	if err != nil {
-		if os.IsNotExist(err) {
-			return nil
-		}
-		return err
+		return 0, err
 	}
-	pid, err := strconv.Atoi(string(bytes.TrimSpace(pidByte)))
-	if err == nil && process.Alive(pid) {
-		return fmt.Errorf("pid file found, ensure docker is not running or delete %s", path)
+	pid, err = strconv.Atoi(string(bytes.TrimSpace(pidByte)))
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, nil
 	}
-	return nil
+	if pid != 0 && process.Alive(pid) {
+		return pid, nil
+	}
+	return 0, nil
 }
 
 // Write writes a "PID file" at the specified path. It returns an error if the
@@ -36,8 +41,12 @@ func Write(path string, pid int) error {
 		// but 0 or negative PIDs are not acceptable.
 		return fmt.Errorf("invalid PID (%d): only positive PIDs are allowed", pid)
 	}
-	if err := checkPIDFileAlreadyExists(path); err != nil {
+	oldPID, err := Read(path)
+	if err != nil && !os.IsNotExist(err) {
 		return err
 	}
+	if oldPID != 0 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("process with PID %d is still running", oldPID)
+	}
 	return os.WriteFile(path, []byte(strconv.Itoa(pid)), 0o644)
 }
diff --git a/pkg/pidfile/pidfile_test.go b/pkg/pidfile/pidfile_test.go
index 09996c6765..2179aa0d4b 100644
--- a/pkg/pidfile/pidfile_test.go
+++ b/pkg/pidfile/pidfile_test.go
@@ -1,8 +1,12 @@
 package pidfile // import "github.com/docker/docker/pkg/pidfile"
 
 import (
+	"errors"
 	"os"
+	"os/exec"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"runtime"
+	"strconv"
 	"testing"
 )
 
@@ -21,6 +25,119 @@ func TestWrite(t *testing.T) {
 
 	err = Write(path, os.Getpid())
 	if err == nil {
-		t.Fatal("Test file creation not blocked")
+		t.Error("Test file creation not blocked")
+	}
+
+	pid, err := Read(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Error(err)
+	}
+	if pid != os.Getpid() {
+		t.Errorf("expected pid %d, got %d", os.Getpid(), pid)
 	}
 }
+
+func TestRead(t *testing.T) {
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+
+	t.Run("non-existing pidFile", func(t *testing.T) {
+		_, err := Read(filepath.Join(tmpDir, "nosuchfile"))
+		if !errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) {
+			t.Errorf("expected an os.ErrNotExist, got: %+v", err)
+		}
+	})
+
+	// Verify that we ignore a malformed PID in the file.
+	t.Run("malformed pid", func(t *testing.T) {
+		// Not using Write here, to test Read in isolation.
+		pidFile := filepath.Join(tmpDir, "pidfile-malformed")
+		err := os.WriteFile(pidFile, []byte("something that's not an integer"), 0o644)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		pid, err := Read(pidFile)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Error(err)
+		}
+		if pid != 0 {
+			t.Errorf("expected pid %d, got %d", 0, pid)
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("zero pid", func(t *testing.T) {
+		// Not using Write here, to test Read in isolation.
+		pidFile := filepath.Join(tmpDir, "pidfile-zero")
+		err := os.WriteFile(pidFile, []byte(strconv.Itoa(0)), 0o644)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		pid, err := Read(pidFile)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Error(err)
+		}
+		if pid != 0 {
+			t.Errorf("expected pid %d, got %d", 0, pid)
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("negative pid", func(t *testing.T) {
+		// Not using Write here, to test Read in isolation.
+		pidFile := filepath.Join(tmpDir, "pidfile-negative")
+		err := os.WriteFile(pidFile, []byte(strconv.Itoa(-1)), 0o644)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		pid, err := Read(pidFile)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Error(err)
+		}
+		if pid != 0 {
+			t.Errorf("expected pid %d, got %d", 0, pid)
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("current process pid", func(t *testing.T) {
+		// Not using Write here, to test Read in isolation.
+		pidFile := filepath.Join(tmpDir, "pidfile")
+		err := os.WriteFile(pidFile, []byte(strconv.Itoa(os.Getpid())), 0o644)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		pid, err := Read(pidFile)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Error(err)
+		}
+		if pid != os.Getpid() {
+			t.Errorf("expected pid %d, got %d", os.Getpid(), pid)
+		}
+	})
+
+	// Verify that we don't return a PID if the process exited.
+	t.Run("exited process", func(t *testing.T) {
+		if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+			t.Skip("TODO: make this work on Windows")
+		}
+
+		// Get a PID of an exited process.
+		cmd := exec.Command("echo", "hello world")
+		err := cmd.Run()
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		exitedPID := cmd.ProcessState.Pid()
+
+		// Not using Write here, to test Read in isolation.
+		pidFile := filepath.Join(tmpDir, "pidfile-exited")
+		err = os.WriteFile(pidFile, []byte(strconv.Itoa(exitedPID)), 0o644)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		pid, err := Read(pidFile)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Error(err)
+		}
+		if pid != 0 {
+			t.Errorf("expected pid %d, got %d", 0, pid)
+		}
+	})
+}