diff --git a/Changelog.rst b/Changelog.rst
index 2bee5eaa55..5b3e8d907c 100644
--- a/Changelog.rst
+++ b/Changelog.rst
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ Version NEXTVERSION
 * New methods to allow changing units in a chain: `cf.Field.to_units`,
   `cf.Data.to_units`
   (https://github.com/NCAS-CMS/cf-python/issues/874)
+* New dependency: ``distributed>=2025.5.1``
 
 ----
 
diff --git a/cf/__init__.py b/cf/__init__.py
index 74aaa73f89..97a24eadd6 100644
--- a/cf/__init__.py
+++ b/cf/__init__.py
@@ -209,6 +209,19 @@
             f"Got {dask.__version__} at {dask.__file__}"
         )
 
+try:
+    import distributed
+except ImportError as error1:
+    raise ImportError(_error0 + str(error1))
+else:
+    _minimum_vn = "2025.5.1"
+    if Version(distributed.__version__) < Version(_minimum_vn):
+        raise ValueError(
+            "Bad distributed version: cf requires "
+            f"distributed>={_minimum_vn}. "
+            f"Got {distributed.__version__} at {distributed.__file__}"
+        )
+
 try:
     import scipy
 except ImportError as error1:
diff --git a/cf/functions.py b/cf/functions.py
index 82799009ec..3bfdcb3a60 100644
--- a/cf/functions.py
+++ b/cf/functions.py
@@ -3171,6 +3171,7 @@ def environment(display=True, paths=True):
     s3fs: 2024.12.0 /home/miniconda3/lib/python3.12/site-packages/s3fs/__init__.py
     scipy: 1.15.1 /home/miniconda3/lib/python3.12/site-packages/scipy/__init__.py
     dask: 2025.5.1 /home/miniconda3/lib/python3.12/site-packages/dask/__init__.py
+    distributed: 2025.5.1 /home/miniconda3/lib/python3.12/site-packages/distributed/__init__.py
     cftime: 1.6.4.post1 /home/miniconda3/lib/python3.12/site-packages/cftime/__init__.py
     cfunits: 3.3.7 /home/miniconda3/lib/python3.12/site-packages/cfunits/__init__.py
     cfdm: 1.12.2.0 /home/miniconda3/lib/python3.12/site-packages/cfdm/__init__.py
@@ -3196,6 +3197,7 @@ def environment(display=True, paths=True):
     s3fs: 2024.12.0
     scipy: 1.15.1
     dask: 2025.5.1
+    distributed: 2025.5.1
     cftime: 1.6.4.post1
     cfunits: 3.3.7
     cfdm: 1.12.2.0
diff --git a/docs/source/installation.rst b/docs/source/installation.rst
index e9e6cf2e15..fc58d8664a 100644
--- a/docs/source/installation.rst
+++ b/docs/source/installation.rst
@@ -194,7 +194,10 @@ Required
 
 * `numpy <http://www.numpy.org>`_, versions 2.0.0 or newer.
 
-* `dask <https://pypi.org/project/dask>`_, version 2025.5.1.
+* `dask <https://pypi.org/project/dask>`_, version 2025.5.1 or newer.
+
+* `distributed <https://pypi.org/project/distributed>`_, version 2025.5.1 or
+  newer.
 
 * `netCDF4 <https://pypi.org/project/netcdf4/>`_, 1.7.2 or newer.
 
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 1bfcaec175..297589f029 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -5,5 +5,6 @@ cfdm>=1.12.2.0, <1.12.3.0
 psutil>=0.6.0
 cfunits>=3.3.7
 dask>=2025.5.1
+distributed>=2025.5.1
 packaging>=20.0
 scipy>=1.10.0