diff --git a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
index e7be47467ea..879bd24a622 100644
--- a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
+++ b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ if you have questions about contributing.
 
 <!-- Please give a short brief about these changes. -->
 
+- [ ] commit message follows format outlined [here](https://modin.readthedocs.io/en/latest/contributing.html)
 - [ ] passes `flake8 modin`
 - [ ] passes `black --check modin`
 - [ ] signed commit with `git commit -s` <!-- you can amend your commit with a signature via `git commit -amend -s` -->
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 808c3d8e902..9da547594df 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -1,6 +1,24 @@
 name: ci
 on: pull_request
 jobs:
+  lint-commit:
+    name: lint (commit)
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    env:
+      GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN}}
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+      - uses: actions/setup-node@v1
+        with:
+          node-version: "10.x"
+      - run: npm install --save-dev @commitlint/{config-conventional,cli} commitlint-plugin-jira-rules commitlint-config-jira
+      - name: Add dependencies for commitlint action
+        run: echo "::set-env name=NODE_PATH::$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/node_modules"
+      - run: git remote add upstream https://github.com/modin-project/modin.git
+      - run: git fetch upstream
+      - run: npx commitlint --from upstream/master --to HEAD --verbose
   lint-black:
     name: lint (black)
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
@@ -68,7 +86,7 @@ jobs:
       - run: pip install -r requirements.txt
       - run: python -m pytest modin/test/test_publisher.py modin/data_management/test/test_dispatcher.py
   test-all:
-    needs: [lint-flake8, lint-black, test-api, test-headers]
+    needs: [lint-commit, lint-flake8, lint-black, test-api, test-headers]
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     strategy:
       matrix:
@@ -108,7 +126,7 @@ jobs:
         if: matrix.part == 3
       - run: bash <(curl -s https://codecov.io/bash)
   test-windows:
-    needs: [lint-flake8, lint-black, test-api, test-headers]
+    needs: [lint-commit, lint-flake8, lint-black, test-api, test-headers]
     runs-on: windows-latest
     strategy:
       matrix:
@@ -144,7 +162,7 @@ jobs:
       - run: choco install codecov
       - run: codecov -f .\coverage.xml -t ${{secrets.CODECOV_TOKEN}}
   test-pyarrow:
-    needs: [lint-flake8, lint-black, test-api, test-headers]
+    needs: [lint-commit, lint-flake8, lint-black, test-api, test-headers]
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     strategy:
       matrix:
diff --git a/commitlint.config.js b/commitlint.config.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c022602cab7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/commitlint.config.js
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+module.exports = {
+	plugins: ['commitlint-plugin-jira-rules'],
+	extends: ['jira'],
+	rules: {
+		"header-max-length": [2, "always", 50],
+		"signed-off-by": [2, "always", "Signed-off-by"],
+		"jira-task-id-max-length": [0, "always", 10],
+		"jira-task-id-project-key": [2, "always", ["FEAT", "DOCS", "FIX", "REFACTOR", "TEST"]],
+	}
+}
diff --git a/docs/contributing.rst b/docs/contributing.rst
index c157bc4be88..ff7f73a0ab2 100644
--- a/docs/contributing.rst
+++ b/docs/contributing.rst
@@ -80,6 +80,30 @@ commits and push them to GitHub.
 If you've pushed your changes to GitHub already you'll need to force push your branch
 after this with ``git push -f``.
 
+Commit Message formatting
+-------------------------
+To ensure that all commit messages in the master branch follow a specific format, we
+enforce that all commit messages must follow the following format:
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+  FEAT-#9999: Add `DataFrame.rolling` functionality, to enable rolling window operations
+
+The ``FEAT`` component represents the type of commit. This component of the commit
+message can be one of the following:
+
+* FEAT: A new feature that is added
+* DOCS: Documentation improvements or updates
+* FIX: A bugfix contribution
+* REFACTOR: Moving or removing code without change in functionality
+* TEST: Test updates or improvements
+
+The ``#9999`` component of the commit message should be the issue number in the Modin
+GitHub issue tracker: https://github.com/modin-project/modin/issues. This is important
+because it links commits to their issues.
+
+The commit message should follow a colon (:) and be descriptive and succinct.
+
 Development Dependencies
 ------------------------