diff --git a/changelogs/fragments/55194-ec2_eip-required_together.yml b/changelogs/fragments/55194-ec2_eip-required_together.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..8b94a0b7826
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelogs/fragments/55194-ec2_eip-required_together.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+minor_changes:
+  - In ec2_eip, device_id is required when private_ip_address is set, but the reverse is not true (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/55194).
diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/cloud/amazon/ec2_eip.py b/lib/ansible/modules/cloud/amazon/ec2_eip.py
index f8474d483cc..b1ad5eb0b32 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/cloud/amazon/ec2_eip.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/cloud/amazon/ec2_eip.py
@@ -388,9 +388,9 @@ def main():
     module = AnsibleModule(
         argument_spec=argument_spec,
         supports_check_mode=True,
-        required_together=[
-            ['device_id', 'private_ip_address'],
-        ],
+        required_by={
+            'private_ip_address': ['device_id'],
+        },
     )
 
     if not HAS_BOTO: