diff --git a/.github/workflows/build.yml b/.github/workflows/build.yml
index 626301de..eebaa2b0 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build.yml
@@ -38,9 +38,7 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@c85c95e3d7251135ab7dc9ce3241c5835cc595a9 # v3.5.3
       - name: get product version
         id: get-product-version
-        run: |
-          make version
-          echo "product-version=$(make version)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+        uses: hashicorp/actions-set-product-version@v1
 
   generate-metadata-file:
     needs: get-product-version
diff --git a/.github/workflows/create-release-branch.yml b/.github/workflows/create-release-branch.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..cb6ed698
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/create-release-branch.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+name: create a release branch
+on: [workflow_dispatch]
+jobs:
+  create-branch:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@c85c95e3d7251135ab7dc9ce3241c5835cc595a9 # v3.5.3
+      - uses: hashicorp/actions-create-release-branch@v1
+        with:
+          token: ${{ secrets.ELEVATED_GITHUB_TOKEN }}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.release/ci.hcl b/.release/ci.hcl
index bf2f9ffe..b364f8c9 100644
--- a/.release/ci.hcl
+++ b/.release/ci.hcl
@@ -124,3 +124,12 @@ event "promote-production-packaging" {
     on = "always"
   }
 }
+
+event "bump-version" {
+  depends = ["promote-production-packaging"]
+  action "bump-version" {
+    organization = "hashicorp"
+    repository = "crt-workflows-common"
+    workflow = "bump-version"
+  }
+}
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index a9b86d3d..a6540bc3 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ PLATFORM = $(OS)/$(ARCH)
 DIST     = dist/$(PLATFORM)
 BIN      = $(DIST)/$(BIN_NAME)
 
-VERSION = $(shell ./build-scripts/version.sh pkg/version/version.go)
+VERSION = $(shell ./build-scripts/version.sh version/VERSION)
 
 GIT_COMMIT?=$(shell git rev-parse --short HEAD)
 GIT_DIRTY?=$(shell test -n "`git status --porcelain`" && echo "+CHANGES" || true)
diff --git a/build-scripts/version.sh b/build-scripts/version.sh
index 6affd155..93dc5b26 100755
--- a/build-scripts/version.sh
+++ b/build-scripts/version.sh
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@
 
 
 version_file=$1
-version=$(awk '$1 == "Version" && $2 == "=" { gsub(/"/, "", $3); print $3 }' < "${version_file}")
-prerelease=$(awk '$1 == "VersionPrerelease" && $2 == "=" { gsub(/"/, "", $3); print $3 }' < "${version_file}")
+version=$(awk -F- '{ print $1 }' < "${version_file}")
+prerelease=$(awk -F- '{ print $2 }' < "${version_file}")
 
 if [ -n "$prerelease" ]; then
     echo "${version}-${prerelease}"
diff --git a/cmd/consul-dataplane/main.go b/cmd/consul-dataplane/main.go
index ca74a195..dbd9d32c 100644
--- a/cmd/consul-dataplane/main.go
+++ b/cmd/consul-dataplane/main.go
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
+	"github.com/hashicorp/consul-dataplane/version"
 	"log"
 	"os"
 	"os/signal"
@@ -14,7 +15,6 @@ import (
 	"syscall"
 
 	"github.com/hashicorp/consul-dataplane/pkg/consuldp"
-	"github.com/hashicorp/consul-dataplane/pkg/version"
 )
 
 var (
diff --git a/version/VERSION b/version/VERSION
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b6bb93f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/version/VERSION
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+1.3.0-dev
diff --git a/pkg/version/fips_build.go b/version/fips_build.go
similarity index 100%
rename from pkg/version/fips_build.go
rename to version/fips_build.go
diff --git a/pkg/version/non_fips_build.go b/version/non_fips_build.go
similarity index 100%
rename from pkg/version/non_fips_build.go
rename to version/non_fips_build.go
diff --git a/pkg/version/version.go b/version/version.go
similarity index 75%
rename from pkg/version/version.go
rename to version/version.go
index aad29c18..ad77e3c1 100644
--- a/pkg/version/version.go
+++ b/version/version.go
@@ -1,9 +1,7 @@
-// Copyright (c) HashiCorp, Inc.
-// SPDX-License-Identifier: MPL-2.0
-
 package version
 
 import (
+	_ "embed"
 	"fmt"
 	"strings"
 )
@@ -14,15 +12,15 @@ var (
 	GitCommit string
 
 	// The main version number that is being run at the moment.
-	//
 	// Version must conform to the format expected by github.com/hashicorp/go-version
 	// for tests to work.
-	Version = "1.3.0"
-
-	// A pre-release marker for the version. If this is "" (empty string)
+	// VersionPrerelease is a pre-release marker for the version. If this is "" (empty string)
 	// then it means that it is a final release. Otherwise, this is a pre-release
 	// such as "dev" (in development), "beta", "rc1", etc.
-	VersionPrerelease = "dev"
+	// Version and VersionPrerelease info are now being embedded directly from the VERSION file.
+	//go:embed VERSION
+	fullVersion                   string
+	Version, VersionPrerelease, _ = strings.Cut(strings.TrimSpace(fullVersion), "-")
 )
 
 // GetHumanVersion composes the parts of the version in a way that's suitable