diff --git a/sdk/python/feast/errors.py b/sdk/python/feast/errors.py
index f6a66bea5a..615069e579 100644
--- a/sdk/python/feast/errors.py
+++ b/sdk/python/feast/errors.py
@@ -103,14 +103,16 @@ def __init__(self, feature_server_type: str):
 
 
 class FeastModuleImportError(Exception):
-    def __init__(self, module_name: str, module_type: str):
-        super().__init__(f"Could not import {module_type} module '{module_name}'")
+    def __init__(self, module_name: str, class_name: str):
+        super().__init__(
+            f"Could not import module '{module_name}' while attempting to load class '{class_name}'"
+        )
 
 
 class FeastClassImportError(Exception):
-    def __init__(self, module_name, class_name, class_type="provider"):
+    def __init__(self, module_name: str, class_name: str):
         super().__init__(
-            f"Could not import {class_type} '{class_name}' from module '{module_name}'"
+            f"Could not import class '{class_name}' from module '{module_name}'"
         )
 
 
@@ -168,11 +170,10 @@ def __init__(self, online_store_class_name: str):
         )
 
 
-class FeastClassInvalidName(Exception):
+class FeastInvalidBaseClass(Exception):
     def __init__(self, class_name: str, class_type: str):
         super().__init__(
-            f"Config Class '{class_name}' "
-            f"should end with the string `{class_type}`.'"
+            f"Class '{class_name}' should have `{class_type}` as a base class."
         )
 
 
diff --git a/sdk/python/feast/importer.py b/sdk/python/feast/importer.py
index 5dcd7c71c1..bbd592101a 100644
--- a/sdk/python/feast/importer.py
+++ b/sdk/python/feast/importer.py
@@ -1,28 +1,47 @@
 import importlib
 
-from feast import errors
+from feast.errors import (
+    FeastClassImportError,
+    FeastInvalidBaseClass,
+    FeastModuleImportError,
+)
 
 
-def get_class_from_type(module_name: str, class_name: str, class_type: str):
-    if not class_name.endswith(class_type):
-        raise errors.FeastClassInvalidName(class_name, class_type)
+def import_class(module_name: str, class_name: str, class_type: str = None):
+    """
+    Dynamically loads and returns a class from a module.
 
-    # Try importing the module that contains the custom provider
+    Args:
+        module_name: The name of the module.
+        class_name: The name of the class.
+        class_type: Optional name of a base class of the class.
+
+    Raises:
+        FeastInvalidBaseClass: If the class name does not end with the specified suffix.
+        FeastModuleImportError: If the module cannot be imported.
+        FeastClassImportError: If the class cannot be imported.
+    """
+    # Try importing the module.
     try:
         module = importlib.import_module(module_name)
     except Exception as e:
         # The original exception can be anything - either module not found,
         # or any other kind of error happening during the module import time.
         # So we should include the original error as well in the stack trace.
-        raise errors.FeastModuleImportError(module_name, class_type) from e
+        raise FeastModuleImportError(module_name, class_name) from e
 
-    # Try getting the provider class definition
+    # Try getting the class.
     try:
         _class = getattr(module, class_name)
     except AttributeError:
         # This can only be one type of error, when class_name attribute does not exist in the module
         # So we don't have to include the original exception here
-        raise errors.FeastClassImportError(
-            module_name, class_name, class_type=class_type
-        ) from None
+        raise FeastClassImportError(module_name, class_name) from None
+
+    # Check if the class is a subclass of the base class.
+    if class_type and not any(
+        base_class.__name__ == class_type for base_class in _class.mro()
+    ):
+        raise FeastInvalidBaseClass(class_name, class_type)
+
     return _class
diff --git a/sdk/python/feast/infra/infra_object.py b/sdk/python/feast/infra/infra_object.py
index f1eda19581..3cd00899fe 100644
--- a/sdk/python/feast/infra/infra_object.py
+++ b/sdk/python/feast/infra/infra_object.py
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 from dataclasses import dataclass, field
 from typing import Any, List
 
-from feast.importer import get_class_from_type
+from feast.importer import import_class
 from feast.protos.feast.core.InfraObject_pb2 import Infra as InfraProto
 from feast.protos.feast.core.InfraObject_pb2 import InfraObject as InfraObjectProto
 
@@ -106,4 +106,4 @@ def from_proto(cls, infra_proto: InfraProto):
 
 def _get_infra_object_class_from_type(infra_object_class_type: str):
     module_name, infra_object_class_name = infra_object_class_type.rsplit(".", 1)
-    return get_class_from_type(module_name, infra_object_class_name, "Object")
+    return import_class(module_name, infra_object_class_name)
diff --git a/sdk/python/feast/infra/offline_stores/offline_utils.py b/sdk/python/feast/infra/offline_stores/offline_utils.py
index 6debe14ca0..0b60c3493d 100644
--- a/sdk/python/feast/infra/offline_stores/offline_utils.py
+++ b/sdk/python/feast/infra/offline_stores/offline_utils.py
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-import importlib
 import uuid
 from dataclasses import asdict, dataclass
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta
@@ -12,11 +11,10 @@
 import feast
 from feast.errors import (
     EntityTimestampInferenceException,
-    FeastClassImportError,
     FeastEntityDFMissingColumnsError,
-    FeastModuleImportError,
 )
 from feast.feature_view import FeatureView
+from feast.importer import import_class
 from feast.infra.offline_stores.offline_store import OfflineStore
 from feast.infra.provider import _get_requested_feature_views_to_features_dict
 from feast.registry import Registry
@@ -204,27 +202,10 @@ def get_temp_entity_table_name() -> str:
     return "feast_entity_df_" + uuid.uuid4().hex
 
 
-def get_offline_store_from_config(offline_store_config: Any,) -> OfflineStore:
-    """Get the offline store from offline store config"""
-
+def get_offline_store_from_config(offline_store_config: Any) -> OfflineStore:
+    """Creates an offline store corresponding to the given offline store config."""
     module_name = offline_store_config.__module__
     qualified_name = type(offline_store_config).__name__
-    store_class_name = qualified_name.replace("Config", "")
-    try:
-        module = importlib.import_module(module_name)
-    except Exception as e:
-        # The original exception can be anything - either module not found,
-        # or any other kind of error happening during the module import time.
-        # So we should include the original error as well in the stack trace.
-        raise FeastModuleImportError(module_name, "OfflineStore") from e
-
-    # Try getting the provider class definition
-    try:
-        offline_store_class = getattr(module, store_class_name)
-    except AttributeError:
-        # This can only be one type of error, when class_name attribute does not exist in the module
-        # So we don't have to include the original exception here
-        raise FeastClassImportError(
-            module_name, store_class_name, class_type="OfflineStore"
-        ) from None
+    class_name = qualified_name.replace("Config", "")
+    offline_store_class = import_class(module_name, class_name, "OfflineStore")
     return offline_store_class()
diff --git a/sdk/python/feast/infra/online_stores/helpers.py b/sdk/python/feast/infra/online_stores/helpers.py
index 5e01ddb263..b206c08b7c 100644
--- a/sdk/python/feast/infra/online_stores/helpers.py
+++ b/sdk/python/feast/infra/online_stores/helpers.py
@@ -1,10 +1,9 @@
-import importlib
 import struct
 from typing import Any, List
 
 import mmh3
 
-from feast import errors
+from feast.importer import import_class
 from feast.infra.key_encoding_utils import (
     serialize_entity_key,
     serialize_entity_key_prefix,
@@ -13,29 +12,12 @@
 from feast.protos.feast.types.EntityKey_pb2 import EntityKey as EntityKeyProto
 
 
-def get_online_store_from_config(online_store_config: Any,) -> OnlineStore:
-    """Get the online store from online store config"""
-
+def get_online_store_from_config(online_store_config: Any) -> OnlineStore:
+    """Creates an online store corresponding to the given online store config."""
     module_name = online_store_config.__module__
     qualified_name = type(online_store_config).__name__
-    store_class_name = qualified_name.replace("Config", "")
-    try:
-        module = importlib.import_module(module_name)
-    except Exception as e:
-        # The original exception can be anything - either module not found,
-        # or any other kind of error happening during the module import time.
-        # So we should include the original error as well in the stack trace.
-        raise errors.FeastModuleImportError(module_name, "OnlineStore") from e
-
-    # Try getting the provider class definition
-    try:
-        online_store_class = getattr(module, store_class_name)
-    except AttributeError:
-        # This can only be one type of error, when class_name attribute does not exist in the module
-        # So we don't have to include the original exception here
-        raise errors.FeastClassImportError(
-            module_name, store_class_name, class_type="OnlineStore"
-        ) from None
+    class_name = qualified_name.replace("Config", "")
+    online_store_class = import_class(module_name, class_name, "OnlineStore")
     return online_store_class()
 
 
diff --git a/sdk/python/feast/infra/provider.py b/sdk/python/feast/infra/provider.py
index 32bca8f7d7..3c761f1195 100644
--- a/sdk/python/feast/infra/provider.py
+++ b/sdk/python/feast/infra/provider.py
@@ -8,9 +8,10 @@
 import pyarrow
 from tqdm import tqdm
 
-from feast import errors, importer
+from feast import errors
 from feast.entity import Entity
 from feast.feature_view import DUMMY_ENTITY_ID, FeatureView
+from feast.importer import import_class
 from feast.infra.offline_stores.offline_store import RetrievalJob
 from feast.on_demand_feature_view import OnDemandFeatureView
 from feast.protos.feast.types.EntityKey_pb2 import EntityKey as EntityKeyProto
@@ -172,7 +173,7 @@ def get_provider(config: RepoConfig, repo_path: Path) -> Provider:
     # For example, provider 'foo.bar.MyProvider' will be parsed into 'foo.bar' and 'MyProvider'
     module_name, class_name = provider.rsplit(".", 1)
 
-    cls = importer.get_class_from_type(module_name, class_name, "Provider")
+    cls = import_class(module_name, class_name, "Provider")
 
     return cls(config)
 
diff --git a/sdk/python/feast/registry.py b/sdk/python/feast/registry.py
index d5c4c08048..0c058a0d46 100644
--- a/sdk/python/feast/registry.py
+++ b/sdk/python/feast/registry.py
@@ -23,7 +23,6 @@
 from google.protobuf.json_format import MessageToDict
 from proto import Message
 
-from feast import importer
 from feast.base_feature_view import BaseFeatureView
 from feast.diff.FcoDiff import (
     FcoDiff,
@@ -42,6 +41,7 @@
 )
 from feast.feature_service import FeatureService
 from feast.feature_view import FeatureView
+from feast.importer import import_class
 from feast.infra.infra_object import Infra
 from feast.on_demand_feature_view import OnDemandFeatureView
 from feast.protos.feast.core.Registry_pb2 import Registry as RegistryProto
@@ -75,9 +75,7 @@ def get_registry_store_class_from_type(registry_store_type: str):
         registry_store_type = REGISTRY_STORE_CLASS_FOR_TYPE[registry_store_type]
     module_name, registry_store_class_name = registry_store_type.rsplit(".", 1)
 
-    return importer.get_class_from_type(
-        module_name, registry_store_class_name, "RegistryStore"
-    )
+    return import_class(module_name, registry_store_class_name, "RegistryStore")
 
 
 def get_registry_store_class_from_scheme(registry_path: str):
diff --git a/sdk/python/feast/repo_config.py b/sdk/python/feast/repo_config.py
index 70e64c845c..26309fe9d7 100644
--- a/sdk/python/feast/repo_config.py
+++ b/sdk/python/feast/repo_config.py
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
     FeastFeatureServerTypeSetError,
     FeastProviderNotSetError,
 )
-from feast.importer import get_class_from_type
+from feast.importer import import_class
 from feast.usage import log_exceptions
 
 # These dict exists so that:
@@ -302,7 +302,7 @@ def __repr__(self) -> str:
 
 def get_data_source_class_from_type(data_source_type: str):
     module_name, config_class_name = data_source_type.rsplit(".", 1)
-    return get_class_from_type(module_name, config_class_name, "Source")
+    return import_class(module_name, config_class_name, "DataSource")
 
 
 def get_online_config_from_type(online_store_type: str):
@@ -313,7 +313,7 @@ def get_online_config_from_type(online_store_type: str):
     module_name, online_store_class_type = online_store_type.rsplit(".", 1)
     config_class_name = f"{online_store_class_type}Config"
 
-    return get_class_from_type(module_name, config_class_name, config_class_name)
+    return import_class(module_name, config_class_name, config_class_name)
 
 
 def get_offline_config_from_type(offline_store_type: str):
@@ -324,7 +324,7 @@ def get_offline_config_from_type(offline_store_type: str):
     module_name, offline_store_class_type = offline_store_type.rsplit(".", 1)
     config_class_name = f"{offline_store_class_type}Config"
 
-    return get_class_from_type(module_name, config_class_name, config_class_name)
+    return import_class(module_name, config_class_name, config_class_name)
 
 
 def get_feature_server_config_from_type(feature_server_type: str):
@@ -334,7 +334,7 @@ def get_feature_server_config_from_type(feature_server_type: str):
 
     feature_server_type = FEATURE_SERVER_CONFIG_CLASS_FOR_TYPE[feature_server_type]
     module_name, config_class_name = feature_server_type.rsplit(".", 1)
-    return get_class_from_type(module_name, config_class_name, config_class_name)
+    return import_class(module_name, config_class_name, config_class_name)
 
 
 def load_repo_config(repo_path: Path) -> RepoConfig:
diff --git a/sdk/python/tests/integration/registration/test_cli.py b/sdk/python/tests/integration/registration/test_cli.py
index f05674ea5c..0fe73316ad 100644
--- a/sdk/python/tests/integration/registration/test_cli.py
+++ b/sdk/python/tests/integration/registration/test_cli.py
@@ -211,14 +211,14 @@ def test_3rd_party_providers() -> None:
         return_code, output = runner.run_with_output(["apply"], cwd=repo_path)
         assertpy.assert_that(return_code).is_equal_to(1)
         assertpy.assert_that(output).contains(
-            b"Could not import Provider module 'feast_foo'"
+            b"Could not import module 'feast_foo' while attempting to load class 'Provider'"
         )
     # Check with incorrect third-party provider name (with dots)
     with setup_third_party_provider_repo("foo.FooProvider") as repo_path:
         return_code, output = runner.run_with_output(["apply"], cwd=repo_path)
         assertpy.assert_that(return_code).is_equal_to(1)
         assertpy.assert_that(output).contains(
-            b"Could not import Provider 'FooProvider' from module 'foo'"
+            b"Could not import class 'FooProvider' from module 'foo'"
         )
     # Check with correct third-party provider name
     with setup_third_party_provider_repo("foo.provider.FooProvider") as repo_path:
@@ -243,14 +243,14 @@ def test_3rd_party_registry_store() -> None:
         return_code, output = runner.run_with_output(["apply"], cwd=repo_path)
         assertpy.assert_that(return_code).is_equal_to(1)
         assertpy.assert_that(output).contains(
-            b"Could not import RegistryStore module 'feast_foo'"
+            b"Could not import module 'feast_foo' while attempting to load class 'RegistryStore'"
         )
     # Check with incorrect third-party registry store name (with dots)
     with setup_third_party_registry_store_repo("foo.FooRegistryStore") as repo_path:
         return_code, output = runner.run_with_output(["apply"], cwd=repo_path)
         assertpy.assert_that(return_code).is_equal_to(1)
         assertpy.assert_that(output).contains(
-            b"Could not import RegistryStore 'FooRegistryStore' from module 'foo'"
+            b"Could not import class 'FooRegistryStore' from module 'foo'"
         )
     # Check with correct third-party registry store name
     with setup_third_party_registry_store_repo(