diff --git a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
index 5b0edf7063..1f265efb6a 100644
--- a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
+++ b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
@@ -18,3 +18,4 @@ detail.  Why is this change required?  What problem does it solve?-->
 - [ ] Document any new features, update documentation for changes made.
 - [ ] Make sure the copyright notice on any files you modified is up to date.
 - [ ] After creating a pull request, note it in the CHANGELOG.md file
+- [ ] If preparing for a new release, update the version in cmake.
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 0e19074fa7..ee7666e327 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,7 +2,22 @@
 
 ## Current develop
 
-### Updated `hdf5` handling in the build
+### Fixed (Repair bugs, etc)
+
+### Added (new features/APIs/variables/...)
+
+### Changed (changing behavior/API/variables/...)
+
+### Fixed (not changing behavior/API/variables/...)
+
+### Infrastructure (changes irrelevant to downstream codes)
+
+### Removed (removing behavior/API/varaibles/...)
+
+### Added (modifiers with python bindings)
+
+## Release 1.7.0
+Date: 12/14/2022
 
 ### Fixed (Repair bugs, etc)
 
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 93949b4de5..1ed22fe02a 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 
 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.14)
 
-project(singularity-eos VERSION 1.6.2 LANGUAGES NONE)
+project(singularity-eos VERSION 1.7.0 LANGUAGES NONE)
 
 list(APPEND CMAKE_MODULE_PATH "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/cmake")