diff --git a/.copywrite.hcl b/.copywrite.hcl
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f12ea14ccc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.copywrite.hcl
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+schema_version = 1
+
+project {
+  license        = "MPL-2.0"
+  copyright_year = 2018
+
+  # (OPTIONAL) A list of globs that should not have copyright/license headers.
+  # Supports doublestar glob patterns for more flexibility in defining which
+  # files or folders should be ignored
+  header_ignore = [
+
+    # ignoring charts templates as adding copyright headers breaks all tests
+    "charts/consul/templates/**",
+    # we don't own these and the tool that adds copyright headers breaks them
+    "control-plane/config/crd/external/**",
+
+  ]
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 92c4f42b56..8177219103 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -175,6 +175,7 @@ lint: cni-plugin-lint ## Run linter in the control-plane, cli, and acceptance di
 ctrl-manifests: get-controller-gen ## Generate CRD manifests.
 	cd control-plane; $(CONTROLLER_GEN) $(CRD_OPTIONS) rbac:roleName=manager-role webhook paths="./..." output:crd:artifacts:config=config/crd/bases
 	make copy-crds-to-chart
+	make add-copyright-header
 
 .PHONY: get-controller-gen
 get-controller-gen: ## Download controller-gen program needed for operator SDK.
@@ -192,6 +193,14 @@ else
 CONTROLLER_GEN=$(shell which controller-gen)
 endif
 
+.PHONY: add-copyright-header
+add-copyright-header: ## Add copyright header to all files in the project
+ifeq (, $(shell which copywrite))
+	@echo "Installing copywrite"
+	@go install github.com/hashicorp/copywrite@latest
+endif
+	@copywrite headers --spdx "MPL-2.0"
+
 ##@ CI Targets
 
 .PHONY: ci.aws-acceptance-test-cleanup