diff --git a/RELEASE_NOTES b/RELEASE_NOTES
index 7695567dd4..56537ab76e 100644
--- a/RELEASE_NOTES
+++ b/RELEASE_NOTES
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-Release 0.9.0 (Draft)
-=====================
+Release 0.9.0
+=============
 
 Changes
 -------
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..899f24fc75
--- /dev/null
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+0.9.0
\ No newline at end of file