diff --git a/interface-definitions/include/vpp/acl_port_range.xml.i b/interface-definitions/include/vpp/acl_port_range.xml.i
index 26bd2de454..b011ce9a71 100644
--- a/interface-definitions/include/vpp/acl_port_range.xml.i
+++ b/interface-definitions/include/vpp/acl_port_range.xml.i
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
       <description>Numbered port range (e.g., 1001-1005)</description>
     </valueHelp>
     <constraint>
-     <validator name="port-range"/>
+     <validator name="port-range" argument="--numeric-only"/>
     </constraint>
   </properties>
 </leafNode>
diff --git a/src/validators/port-range b/src/validators/port-range
index 526c639adc..1a6fe0f059 100755
--- a/src/validators/port-range
+++ b/src/validators/port-range
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/python3
 
+import argparse
 import sys
 import re
 
@@ -22,7 +23,12 @@ def error(port_range):
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
     if len(sys.argv)>1:
-        port_range = sys.argv[1]
+        parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
+        parser.add_argument('--numeric-only', action='store_true', help='Check only numeric port and range')
+        parser.add_argument("port_range", help="Port, range or service name")
+        args = parser.parse_args()
+
+        port_range = args.port_range
         if re.match('^[0-9]{1,5}-[0-9]{1,5}$', port_range):
             port_1, port_2 = port_range.split('-')
             if int(port_1) not in range(1, 65536) or int(port_2) not in range(1, 65536):
@@ -31,9 +37,12 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
                 error(port_range)
         elif port_range.isnumeric() and int(port_range) not in range(1, 65536):
             error(port_range)
-        elif not port_range.isnumeric() and port_range not in get_services():
-            print(f'Error: {port_range} is not a valid service name')
-            sys.exit(1)
+        elif not port_range.isnumeric():
+            if args.numeric_only:
+                error(port_range)
+            elif port_range not in get_services():
+                print(f'Error: {port_range} is not a valid service name')
+                sys.exit(1)
     else:
         sys.exit(2)