diff --git a/NEWS.rst b/NEWS.rst
index feff1591909..71071a4c084 100644
--- a/NEWS.rst
+++ b/NEWS.rst
@@ -9,6 +9,16 @@
 
 .. towncrier release notes start
 
+20.3.1 (2020-12-03)
+===================
+
+Deprecations and Removals
+-------------------------
+
+- The --build-dir option has been restored as a no-op, to soften the transition
+  for tools that still used it. (`#9193 <https://github.com/pypa/pip/issues/9193>`_)
+
+
 20.3 (2020-11-30)
 =================
 
diff --git a/news/9193.removal.rst b/news/9193.removal.rst
deleted file mode 100644
index 5957a55836f..00000000000
--- a/news/9193.removal.rst
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,2 +0,0 @@
-The --build-dir option has been restored as a no-op, to soften the transition
-for tools that still used it.