diff --git a/arango/client.py b/arango/client.py
index f7a47171..dc2045bd 100644
--- a/arango/client.py
+++ b/arango/client.py
@@ -45,8 +45,13 @@ class ArangoClient:
         the de-serialized object. If not given, ``json.loads`` is used by
         default.
     :type deserializer: callable
-    :param verify_certificate: Verify TLS certificates.
-    :type verify_certificate: bool
+    :param verify_override: Override TLS certificate verification. This will
+       override the verify method of the underlying HTTP client.
+       None: Do not change the verification behavior of the underlying HTTP client.
+       True: Verify TLS certificate using the system CA certificates.
+       False: Do not verify TLS certificate.
+       str: Path to a custom CA bundle file or directory.
+    :type verify_override: Union[bool, str, None]
     """
 
     def __init__(
@@ -57,7 +62,7 @@ def __init__(
         http_client: Optional[HTTPClient] = None,
         serializer: Callable[..., str] = lambda x: dumps(x),
         deserializer: Callable[[str], Any] = lambda x: loads(x),
-        verify_certificate: bool = True,
+        verify_override: Union[bool, str, None] = None,
     ) -> None:
         if isinstance(hosts, str):
             self._hosts = [host.strip("/") for host in hosts.split(",")]
@@ -79,9 +84,10 @@ def __init__(
         self._deserializer = deserializer
         self._sessions = [self._http.create_session(h) for h in self._hosts]
 
-        # set flag for SSL/TLS certificate verification
-        for session in self._sessions:
-            session.verify = verify_certificate
+        # override SSL/TLS certificate verification if provided
+        if verify_override is not None:
+            for session in self._sessions:
+                session.verify = verify_override
 
     def __repr__(self) -> str:
         return f"<ArangoClient {','.join(self._hosts)}>"
diff --git a/docs/certificates.rst b/docs/certificates.rst
index 5dde7191..6440df20 100644
--- a/docs/certificates.rst
+++ b/docs/certificates.rst
@@ -9,13 +9,20 @@ By default, self-signed certificates will cause trouble when connecting.
 
     client = ArangoClient(hosts="https://localhost:8529")
 
-In order to make connections work even when using self-signed certificates, the
-`verify_certificates` option can be disabled when creating the `ArangoClient`
-instance:
+To make connections work even when using self-signed certificates, you can
+provide the certificate CA bundle or turn the verification off.
+
+If you want to have fine-grained control over the HTTP connection, you should define
+your HTTP client as described in the :ref:`HTTPClients` section.
+
+The ``ArangoClient`` class provides an option to override the verification behavior,
+no matter what has been defined in the underlying HTTP session.
+You can use this option to disable verification or provide a custom CA bundle without
+defining a custom HTTP Client.
 
 .. code-block:: python
 
-    client = ArangoClient(hosts="https://localhost:8529", verify_certificate=False)
+    client = ArangoClient(hosts="https://localhost:8529", verify_override=False)
 
 This will allow connecting, but the underlying `urllib3` library may still issue
 warnings due to the insecurity of using self-signed certificates.
@@ -26,5 +33,4 @@ application:
 .. code-block:: python
 
     import requests
-    requests.packages.urllib3.disable_warnings() 
-
+    requests.packages.urllib3.disable_warnings()
diff --git a/docs/http.rst b/docs/http.rst
index 652d1025..44ff1724 100644
--- a/docs/http.rst
+++ b/docs/http.rst
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+.. _HTTPClients:
+
 HTTP Clients
 ------------
 
diff --git a/tests/test_client.py b/tests/test_client.py
index 042779ff..0a170b90 100644
--- a/tests/test_client.py
+++ b/tests/test_client.py
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 import json
+from typing import Union
 
 import pytest
 from pkg_resources import get_distribution
+from requests import Session
 
 from arango.client import ArangoClient
 from arango.database import StandardDatabase
@@ -108,3 +110,54 @@ def send_request(
     # Set verify to True to send a test API call on initialization.
     client.db(db.name, username, password, verify=True)
     assert http_client.counter == 1
+
+
+def test_client_override_validate() -> None:
+    # custom http client that manipulates the underlying session
+    class MyHTTPClient(DefaultHTTPClient):
+        def __init__(self, verify: Union[None, bool, str]) -> None:
+            super().__init__()
+            self.verify = verify
+
+        def create_session(self, host: str) -> Session:
+            session = super().create_session(host)
+            session.verify = self.verify
+            return session
+
+    def assert_verify(
+        http_client_verify: Union[None, str, bool],
+        arango_override: Union[None, str, bool],
+        expected_result: Union[None, str, bool],
+    ) -> None:
+        http_client = MyHTTPClient(verify=http_client_verify)
+        client = ArangoClient(
+            hosts="http://127.0.0.1:8529",
+            http_client=http_client,
+            verify_override=arango_override,
+        )
+        # make sure there is at least 1 session
+        assert len(client._sessions) > 0
+        for session in client._sessions:
+            # make sure the final session.verify has expected value
+            assert session.verify == expected_result
+
+    assert_verify(None, None, None)
+    assert_verify(None, True, True)
+    assert_verify(None, False, False)
+    assert_verify(None, "test", "test")
+
+    assert_verify(True, None, True)
+    assert_verify(True, True, True)
+    assert_verify(True, "test", "test")
+    assert_verify(True, False, False)
+
+    assert_verify(False, None, False)
+    assert_verify(False, True, True)
+    assert_verify(False, "test", "test")
+    assert_verify(False, False, False)
+
+    assert_verify("test", None, "test")
+    assert_verify("test", True, True)
+    assert_verify("test", False, False)
+    assert_verify("test", False, False)
+    assert_verify("test", "foo", "foo")