diff --git a/lib/ansible/module_utils/aws/core.py b/lib/ansible/module_utils/aws/core.py
index e4199fb14a0..41d4e15f6a9 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/module_utils/aws/core.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/module_utils/aws/core.py
@@ -60,11 +60,13 @@ don't need to be wrapped in the backoff decorator.
 
 """
 
+import traceback
 from functools import wraps
+from distutils.version import LooseVersion
+
 from ansible.module_utils.basic import AnsibleModule
 from ansible.module_utils._text import to_native
 from ansible.module_utils.ec2 import HAS_BOTO3, camel_dict_to_snake_dict, ec2_argument_spec, boto3_conn, get_aws_connection_info
-import traceback
 
 # We will also export HAS_BOTO3 so end user modules can use it.
 __all__ = ('AnsibleAWSModule', 'HAS_BOTO3',)
@@ -193,6 +195,30 @@ class AnsibleAWSModule(object):
         return dict(boto3_version=boto3.__version__,
                     botocore_version=botocore.__version__)
 
+    def boto3_at_least(self, desired):
+        """Check if the available boto3 version is greater than or equal to a desired version.
+
+        Usage:
+            if module.params.get('assign_ipv6_address') and not module.boto3_at_least('1.4.4'):
+                # conditionally fail on old boto3 versions if a specific feature is not supported
+                module.fail_json(msg="Boto3 can't deal with EC2 IPv6 addresses before version 1.4.4.")
+        """
+        existing = self._gather_versions()
+        return LooseVersion(existing['boto3_version']) >= LooseVersion(desired)
+
+    def botocore_at_least(self, desired):
+        """Check if the available botocore version is greater than or equal to a desired version.
+
+        Usage:
+            if not module.botocore_at_least('1.2.3'):
+                module.fail_json(msg='The Serverless Elastic Load Compute Service is not in botocore before v1.2.3')
+            if not module.botocore_at_least('1.5.3'):
+                module.warn('Botocore did not include waiters for Service X before 1.5.3. '
+                            'To wait until Service X resources are fully available, update botocore.')
+        """
+        existing = self._gather_versions()
+        return LooseVersion(existing['botocore_version']) >= LooseVersion(desired)
+
 
 class _RetryingBotoClientWrapper(object):
     __never_wait = (
diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/cloud/amazon/ec2_vpc_subnet.py b/lib/ansible/modules/cloud/amazon/ec2_vpc_subnet.py
index 891c41ccfef..19a4a50ded7 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/cloud/amazon/ec2_vpc_subnet.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/cloud/amazon/ec2_vpc_subnet.py
@@ -205,7 +205,6 @@ subnet:
 
 import time
 import traceback
-from distutils.version import LooseVersion
 
 try:
     import botocore
@@ -255,7 +254,7 @@ def describe_subnets_with_backoff(client, **params):
 
 
 def waiter_params(module, params, start_time):
-    if LooseVersion(botocore.__version__) >= "1.7.0":
+    if not module.botocore_at_least("1.7.0"):
         remaining_wait_timeout = int(module.params['wait_timeout'] + start_time - time.time())
         params['WaiterConfig'] = {'Delay': 5, 'MaxAttempts': remaining_wait_timeout // 5}
     return params
@@ -578,7 +577,7 @@ def main():
     if module.params.get('assign_instances_ipv6') and not module.params.get('ipv6_cidr'):
         module.fail_json(msg="assign_instances_ipv6 is True but ipv6_cidr is None or an empty string")
 
-    if LooseVersion(botocore.__version__) < "1.7.0":
+    if not module.botocore_at_least("1.7.0"):
         module.warn("botocore >= 1.7.0 is required to use wait_timeout for custom wait times")
 
     region, ec2_url, aws_connect_params = get_aws_connection_info(module, boto3=True)