diff --git a/icu4c/source/common/ubrk.cpp b/icu4c/source/common/ubrk.cpp
index efea61107a7..a257998bc50 100644
--- a/icu4c/source/common/ubrk.cpp
+++ b/icu4c/source/common/ubrk.cpp
@@ -248,3 +248,10 @@ ubrk_isBoundary(UBreakIterator *bi, int32_t offset)
 {
     return ((BreakIterator *)bi)->isBoundary(offset);
 };
+
+
+U_CAPI  int32_t U_EXPORT2
+ubrk_getRuleStatus(UBreakIterator *bi)
+{
+    return ((RuleBasedBreakIterator *)bi)->getRuleStatus();
+};