diff --git a/openmc/data/photon.py b/openmc/data/photon.py
index 5ba5f105a2..61c903158b 100644
--- a/openmc/data/photon.py
+++ b/openmc/data/photon.py
@@ -667,7 +667,7 @@ class IncidentPhoton(EqualityMixin):
 
         """
         # Open file and write version
-        f = h5py.File(path, mode, libver='latest')
+        f = h5py.File(path, mode, libver=libver)
         f.attrs['filetype'] = np.string_('data_photon')
         if 'version' not in f.attrs:
             f.attrs['version'] = np.array(HDF5_VERSION)