diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 9ce56f03..10637794 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,10 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/).
 
 ## v4.6.1, unreleased
 
+### Added
+
+- Added `wwctl overlay import --overwrite` to overwrite existing overlay file.
+
 ### Fixed
 
 - Fixed panic in warewulfd if node netdev is only defined in a profile. #1817
diff --git a/internal/app/wwctl/overlay/imprt/main.go b/internal/app/wwctl/overlay/imprt/main.go
index 335ab673..ef948fe7 100644
--- a/internal/app/wwctl/overlay/imprt/main.go
+++ b/internal/app/wwctl/overlay/imprt/main.go
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ func CobraRunE(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) (err error) {
 		dest = path.Join(dest, path.Base(source))
 	}
 
-	if util.IsFile(overlay_.File(dest)) {
+	if !OverwriteFile && util.IsFile(overlay_.File(dest)) {
 		return fmt.Errorf("a file with that name already exists in the overlay: %s", overlayName)
 	}
 
diff --git a/internal/app/wwctl/overlay/imprt/root.go b/internal/app/wwctl/overlay/imprt/root.go
index 8d54521e..c3958d86 100644
--- a/internal/app/wwctl/overlay/imprt/root.go
+++ b/internal/app/wwctl/overlay/imprt/root.go
@@ -24,12 +24,14 @@ var (
 			}
 		},
 	}
+	OverwriteFile   bool
 	NoOverlayUpdate bool
 	CreateDirs      bool
 	Workers         int
 )
 
 func init() {
+	baseCmd.PersistentFlags().BoolVarP(&OverwriteFile, "overwrite", "o", false, "Overwrite file if exists")
 	baseCmd.PersistentFlags().BoolVarP(&NoOverlayUpdate, "noupdate", "n", false, "Don't update overlays")
 	baseCmd.PersistentFlags().BoolVarP(&CreateDirs, "parents", "p", false, "Create any necessary parent directories")
 	baseCmd.PersistentFlags().IntVar(&Workers, "workers", 0, "The number of parallel workers building overlays (<=0 indicates 1 worker per CPU)")