diff --git a/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc b/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc
index 4e8a363ef01..55de0e08f3b 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc
+++ b/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc
@@ -74,6 +74,7 @@ https://github.com/elastic/beats/compare/v7.0.0-alpha2...master[Check the HEAD d
 - Fix concurrency issues in convert processor when used in the global context. {pull}17032[17032]
 - Fix bug with `monitoring.cluster_uuid` setting not always being exposed via GET /state Beats API. {issue}16732[16732] {pull}17420[17420]
 - Fix building on FreeBSD by removing build flags from `add_cloudfoundry_metadata` processor. {pull}17486[17486]
+- Do not rotate log files on startup when interval is configured and rotateonstartup is disabled. {pull}17613[17613]
 
 *Auditbeat*
 
diff --git a/libbeat/common/file/interval_rotator.go b/libbeat/common/file/interval_rotator.go
index b531acca237..2fb9f89aee8 100644
--- a/libbeat/common/file/interval_rotator.go
+++ b/libbeat/common/file/interval_rotator.go
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ package file
 import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"os"
 	"sort"
 	"strconv"
 	"time"
@@ -45,7 +46,7 @@ func (realClock) Now() time.Time {
 	return time.Now()
 }
 
-func newIntervalRotator(interval time.Duration) (*intervalRotator, error) {
+func newIntervalRotator(log Logger, interval time.Duration, rotateOnStartup bool, filename string) (*intervalRotator, error) {
 	if interval == 0 {
 		return nil, nil
 	}
@@ -54,11 +55,11 @@ func newIntervalRotator(interval time.Duration) (*intervalRotator, error) {
 	}
 
 	ir := &intervalRotator{interval: (interval / time.Second) * time.Second} // drop fractional seconds
-	ir.initialize()
+	ir.initialize(log, rotateOnStartup, filename)
 	return ir, nil
 }
 
-func (r *intervalRotator) initialize() error {
+func (r *intervalRotator) initialize(log Logger, rotateOnStartup bool, filename string) {
 	r.clock = realClock{}
 
 	switch r.interval {
@@ -93,7 +94,17 @@ func (r *intervalRotator) initialize() error {
 			return lastInterval != currentInterval
 		}
 	}
-	return nil
+
+	if !rotateOnStartup {
+		fi, err := os.Stat(filename)
+		if err != nil {
+			if log != nil {
+				log.Debugw("Not attempting to find last rotated time, configured logs dir cannot be opened: %v", err)
+			}
+			return
+		}
+		r.lastRotate = fi.ModTime()
+	}
 }
 
 func (r *intervalRotator) LogPrefix(filename string, modTime time.Time) string {
diff --git a/libbeat/common/file/interval_rotator_test.go b/libbeat/common/file/interval_rotator_test.go
index fda516d8627..b31592677d6 100644
--- a/libbeat/common/file/interval_rotator_test.go
+++ b/libbeat/common/file/interval_rotator_test.go
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 func TestSecondRotator(t *testing.T) {
-	a, err := newIntervalRotator(time.Second)
+	a, err := newMockIntervalRotator(time.Second)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ func TestSecondRotator(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestMinuteRotator(t *testing.T) {
-	a, err := newIntervalRotator(time.Minute)
+	a, err := newMockIntervalRotator(time.Minute)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ func TestMinuteRotator(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestHourlyRotator(t *testing.T) {
-	a, err := newIntervalRotator(time.Hour)
+	a, err := newMockIntervalRotator(time.Hour)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ func TestHourlyRotator(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestDailyRotator(t *testing.T) {
-	a, err := newIntervalRotator(24 * time.Hour)
+	a, err := newMockIntervalRotator(24 * time.Hour)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ func TestDailyRotator(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestWeeklyRotator(t *testing.T) {
-	a, err := newIntervalRotator(7 * 24 * time.Hour)
+	a, err := newMockIntervalRotator(7 * 24 * time.Hour)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ func TestWeeklyRotator(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestMonthlyRotator(t *testing.T) {
-	a, err := newIntervalRotator(30 * 24 * time.Hour)
+	a, err := newMockIntervalRotator(30 * 24 * time.Hour)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ func TestMonthlyRotator(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestYearlyRotator(t *testing.T) {
-	a, err := newIntervalRotator(365 * 24 * time.Hour)
+	a, err := newMockIntervalRotator(365 * 24 * time.Hour)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ func TestYearlyRotator(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestArbitraryIntervalRotator(t *testing.T) {
-	a, err := newIntervalRotator(3 * time.Second)
+	a, err := newMockIntervalRotator(3 * time.Second)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ func TestArbitraryIntervalRotator(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestIntervalIsTruncatedToSeconds(t *testing.T) {
-	a, err := newIntervalRotator(2345 * time.Millisecond)
+	a, err := newMockIntervalRotator(2345 * time.Millisecond)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -261,7 +261,7 @@ func TestIntervalIsTruncatedToSeconds(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestZeroIntervalIsNil(t *testing.T) {
-	a, err := newIntervalRotator(0)
+	a, err := newMockIntervalRotator(0)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -275,3 +275,7 @@ type testClock struct {
 func (t testClock) Now() time.Time {
 	return t.time
 }
+
+func newMockIntervalRotator(interval time.Duration) (*intervalRotator, error) {
+	return newIntervalRotator(nil, interval, false, "foo")
+}
diff --git a/libbeat/common/file/rotator.go b/libbeat/common/file/rotator.go
index fa4b5114b2b..0e8e369ff5f 100644
--- a/libbeat/common/file/rotator.go
+++ b/libbeat/common/file/rotator.go
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ func NewFileRotator(filename string, options ...RotatorOption) (*Rotator, error)
 		return nil, errors.Errorf("file rotator permissions mask of %o is invalid", r.permissions)
 	}
 	var err error
-	r.intervalRotator, err = newIntervalRotator(r.interval)
+	r.intervalRotator, err = newIntervalRotator(r.log, r.interval, r.rotateOnStartup, r.filename)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}