diff --git a/.github/pull_request_template.md b/.github/pull_request_template.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..afcc22b98a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/pull_request_template.md
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+<!--
+Thanks for opening a pull request!
+-->
+
+<!-- In the case this PR will resolve an issue, please replace ${GITHUB_ISSUE_ID} below with the actual Github issue id. -->
+<!-- Closes #${GITHUB_ISSUE_ID} -->
+
+# Rationale for this change
+
+# Are these changes tested?
+
+# Are there any user-facing changes?
+
+<!-- In the case of user-facing changes, please add the changelog label. -->
diff --git a/dev/.rat-excludes b/dev/.rat-excludes
index e93e25b69e..084c53d2c4 100644
--- a/dev/.rat-excludes
+++ b/dev/.rat-excludes
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+.github/*
 .rat-excludes
 build
 .git
diff --git a/mkdocs/docs/how-to-release.md b/mkdocs/docs/how-to-release.md
index 4af3a212fe..1747c08348 100644
--- a/mkdocs/docs/how-to-release.md
+++ b/mkdocs/docs/how-to-release.md
@@ -379,6 +379,8 @@ Then, select the previous release version as the **Previous tag** to use the dif
 
 **Set as the latest release** and **Publish**.
 
+Make sure to check the `changelog` label on GitHub to see if anything needs to be highlighted.
+
 ### Release the docs
 
 Run the [`Release Docs` Github Action](https://github.com/apache/iceberg-python/actions/workflows/python-release-docs.yml).