diff --git a/changelog.d/1184.infrastructure.md b/changelog.d/1184.infrastructure.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8f11562f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/1184.infrastructure.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Set the persistent integration-test bucket's SSE-B2 default explicitly so encryption-inheritance tests do not depend on the bucket's age.
diff --git a/test/integration/persistent_bucket.py b/test/integration/persistent_bucket.py
index 0ca62f42..f24e2e49 100644
--- a/test/integration/persistent_bucket.py
+++ b/test/integration/persistent_bucket.py
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@
 from b2sdk.v3.exception import DuplicateBucketName, NonExistentBucket
 from b2sdk.v3.testing import BUCKET_NAME_LENGTH, BucketManager
 
+from .helpers import SSE_B2_AES
+
 PERSISTENT_BUCKET_NAME_PREFIX = 'constst'
 
 
@@ -57,6 +59,8 @@ def get_or_create_persistent_bucket(bucket_manager: BucketManager) -> Bucket:
                 }
             ],
         )
+    if bucket.default_server_side_encryption != SSE_B2_AES:
+        bucket = bucket.update(default_server_side_encryption=SSE_B2_AES)
     return bucket