diff --git a/spacy/lang/fr/lemmatizer.py b/spacy/lang/fr/lemmatizer.py
index 0dd782cc4..bb5a270ab 100644
--- a/spacy/lang/fr/lemmatizer.py
+++ b/spacy/lang/fr/lemmatizer.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-from typing import List, Dict
+from typing import List, Tuple
 
 from ...pipeline import Lemmatizer
 from ...tokens import Token
@@ -15,17 +15,10 @@ class FrenchLemmatizer(Lemmatizer):
     """
 
     @classmethod
-    def get_lookups_config(cls, mode: str) -> Dict:
+    def get_lookups_config(cls, mode: str) -> Tuple[List[str], List[str]]:
         if mode == "rule":
-            return {
-                "required_tables": [
-                    "lemma_lookup",
-                    "lemma_rules",
-                    "lemma_exc",
-                    "lemma_index",
-                ],
-                "optional_tables": [],
-            }
+            required = ["lemma_lookup", "lemma_rules", "lemma_exc", "lemma_index"]
+            return (required, [])
         else:
             return super().get_lookups_config(mode)
 
diff --git a/spacy/lang/nl/lemmatizer.py b/spacy/lang/nl/lemmatizer.py
index 42b97a862..6c025dcf6 100644
--- a/spacy/lang/nl/lemmatizer.py
+++ b/spacy/lang/nl/lemmatizer.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-from typing import List, Dict
+from typing import List, Tuple
 
 from ...pipeline import Lemmatizer
 from ...tokens import Token
@@ -6,16 +6,10 @@ from ...tokens import Token
 
 class DutchLemmatizer(Lemmatizer):
     @classmethod
-    def get_lookups_config(cls, mode: str) -> Dict:
+    def get_lookups_config(cls, mode: str) -> Tuple[List[str], List[str]]:
         if mode == "rule":
-            return {
-                "required_tables": [
-                    "lemma_lookup",
-                    "lemma_rules",
-                    "lemma_exc",
-                    "lemma_index",
-                ],
-            }
+            required = ["lemma_lookup", "lemma_rules", "lemma_exc", "lemma_index"]
+            return (required, [])
         else:
             return super().get_lookups_config(mode)
 
diff --git a/spacy/lang/pl/lemmatizer.py b/spacy/lang/pl/lemmatizer.py
index 406ef9e4a..059d0609a 100644
--- a/spacy/lang/pl/lemmatizer.py
+++ b/spacy/lang/pl/lemmatizer.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-from typing import List, Dict
+from typing import List, Dict, Tuple
 
 from ...pipeline import Lemmatizer
 from ...tokens import Token
@@ -11,21 +11,16 @@ class PolishLemmatizer(Lemmatizer):
     # lemmatization, as well as case-sensitive lemmatization for nouns.
 
     @classmethod
-    def get_lookups_config(cls, mode: str) -> Dict:
+    def get_lookups_config(cls, mode: str) -> Tuple[List[str], List[str]]:
         if mode == "pos_lookup":
-            return {
-                "required_tables": [
-                    "lemma_lookup_adj",
-                    "lemma_lookup_adp",
-                    "lemma_lookup_adv",
-                    "lemma_lookup_aux",
-                    "lemma_lookup_noun",
-                    "lemma_lookup_num",
-                    "lemma_lookup_part",
-                    "lemma_lookup_pron",
-                    "lemma_lookup_verb",
-                ]
-            }
+            # fmt: off
+            required = [
+                "lemma_lookup_adj", "lemma_lookup_adp", "lemma_lookup_adv",
+                "lemma_lookup_aux", "lemma_lookup_noun", "lemma_lookup_num",
+                "lemma_lookup_part", "lemma_lookup_pron", "lemma_lookup_verb"
+            ]
+            # fmt: on
+            return (required, [])
         else:
             return super().get_lookups_config(mode)
 
diff --git a/spacy/tests/lang/test_lemmatizers.py b/spacy/tests/lang/test_lemmatizers.py
index 5f45664eb..a49d70d6b 100644
--- a/spacy/tests/lang/test_lemmatizers.py
+++ b/spacy/tests/lang/test_lemmatizers.py
@@ -23,8 +23,9 @@ def test_lemmatizer_initialize(lang, capfd):
         lookups.add_table("lemma_rules", {"verb": [["ing", ""]]})
         return lookups
 
+    lang_cls = get_lang_class(lang)
     # Test that languages can be initialized
-    nlp = get_lang_class(lang)()
+    nlp = lang_cls()
     lemmatizer = nlp.add_pipe("lemmatizer", config={"mode": "lookup"})
     assert not lemmatizer.lookups.tables
     nlp.config["initialize"]["components"]["lemmatizer"] = {
@@ -41,7 +42,13 @@ def test_lemmatizer_initialize(lang, capfd):
     assert doc[0].lemma_ == "y"
 
     # Test initialization by calling .initialize() directly
-    nlp = get_lang_class(lang)()
+    nlp = lang_cls()
     lemmatizer = nlp.add_pipe("lemmatizer", config={"mode": "lookup"})
     lemmatizer.initialize(lookups=lemmatizer_init_lookups())
     assert nlp("x")[0].lemma_ == "y"
+
+    # Test lookups config format
+    for mode in ("rule", "lookup", "pos_lookup"):
+        required, optional = lemmatizer.get_lookups_config(mode)
+        assert isinstance(required, list)
+        assert isinstance(optional, list)
diff --git a/website/docs/api/lemmatizer.md b/website/docs/api/lemmatizer.md
index 27ea04432..e838c75b2 100644
--- a/website/docs/api/lemmatizer.md
+++ b/website/docs/api/lemmatizer.md
@@ -190,23 +190,10 @@ lemmatization entirely.
 Returns the lookups configuration settings for a given mode for use in
 [`Lemmatizer.load_lookups`](/api/lemmatizer#load_lookups).
 
-| Name        | Description                                                                                                                                                                       |
-| ----------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
-| `mode`      | The lemmatizer mode. ~~str~~                                                                                                                                                      |
-| **RETURNS** | The lookups configuration settings for this mode. Includes the keys `"required_tables"` and `"optional_tables"`, mapped to a list of table string names. ~~Dict[str, List[str]]~~ |
-
-## Lemmatizer.load_lookups {#load_lookups tag="classmethod"}
-
-Load and validate lookups tables. If the provided lookups is `None`, load the
-default lookups tables according to the language and mode settings. Confirm that
-all required tables for the language and mode are present.
-
-| Name        | Description                                                                                        |
-| ----------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
-| `lang`      | The language. ~~str~~                                                                              |
-| `mode`      | The lemmatizer mode. ~~str~~                                                                       |
-| `lookups`   | The provided lookups, may be `None` if the default lookups should be loaded. ~~Optional[Lookups]~~ |
-| **RETURNS** | The lookups. ~~Lookups~~                                                                           |
+| Name        | Description                                                                            |
+| ----------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| `mode`      | The lemmatizer mode. ~~str~~                                                           |
+| **RETURNS** | The required table names and the optional table names. ~~Tuple[List[str], List[str]]~~ |
 
 ## Lemmatizer.to_disk {#to_disk tag="method"}