diff --git a/.commitlintrc.json b/.commitlintrc.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..cc01e52a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.commitlintrc.json
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+{
+  "extends": [
+    "@commitlint/config-conventional"
+  ],
+  "rules": {
+    "header-max-length": [
+      2,
+      "always",
+      72
+    ],
+    "body-max-line-length": [
+      2,
+      "always",
+      72
+    ],
+    "body-leading-blank": [
+      2,
+      "always"
+    ],
+    "type-enum": [
+      2,
+      "always",
+      [
+        "build",
+        "chore",
+        "ci",
+        "deps",
+        "docs",
+        "feat",
+        "fix",
+        "perf",
+        "refactor",
+        "revert",
+        "style",
+        "test"
+      ]
+    ]
+  }
+}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 1b738e4e..9ac645cf 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ on:
   pull_request:
 
 env:
+  DEFAULT_PYTHON: 3.11
   SECRET_KEY: topsecret123
   FIELD_ENCRYPTION_KEYS: f164ec6bd6fbc4aef5647abc15199da0f9badcc1d2127bde2087ae0d794a9a0b
 
@@ -33,10 +34,10 @@ jobs:
       - name: Check out repository
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
-      - name: Set up Python 3.11
+      - name: Set up Python ${{ env.DEFAULT_PYTHON }}
         uses: actions/setup-python@v5
         with:
-          python-version: '3.11'
+          python-version: ${{ env.DEFAULT_PYTHON }}
 
       - name: Cache pip packages
         uses: actions/cache@v4
@@ -66,38 +67,54 @@ jobs:
       - name: Database sanitizer config
         run: ./manage.py check_sanitizerconfig
 
-  coding-style:
-    name: Coding style
+  commitlint:
+    name: Commitlint
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - name: Check commitlint
+        uses: wagoid/commitlint-github-action@0d749a1a91d4770e983a7b8f83d4a3f0e7e0874e  # v5.4.4
 
+  black:
+    name: Coding style - black
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
-      - name: Check out repository
-        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - name: Run black
+        uses: psf/black@stable
+        with:
+          options: "--check"
 
-      - name: Set up Python 3.11
+  flake8:
+    name: Coding style - flake8
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - name: Set up Python
         uses: actions/setup-python@v5
         with:
-          python-version: '3.11'
+          python-version: ${{ env.DEFAULT_PYTHON }}
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: pip install flake8 pep8-naming -c requirements-dev.txt
+      - name: Run flake8
+        uses: liskin/gh-problem-matcher-wrap@v3
+        with:
+          linters: flake8
+          run: flake8
 
-      - name: Cache pip packages
-        uses: actions/cache@v4
-        env:
-          cache-name: cache-pip-modules
+  isort:
+    name: Coding style - isort
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - name: Set up Python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
         with:
-          path: ~/.pip-cache
-          key: ${{ runner.os }}-build-${{ env.cache-name }}-${{ hashFiles('**/requirements.txt') }}-${{ hashFiles('**/requirements-dev.txt') }}
-          restore-keys: |
-            ${{ runner.os }}-build-${{ env.cache-name }}-
-            ${{ runner.os }}-build-
-            ${{ runner.os }}-
+          python-version: ${{ env.DEFAULT_PYTHON }}
       - name: Install dependencies
-        run: pip install -r requirements.txt -r requirements-dev.txt
-
-      - name: Linting
-        run: flake8
-
-      - name: Import sorting
-        run: isort . --check --diff
-
-      - name: Formatting
-        run: black --check .
+        run: pip install isort -c requirements-dev.txt
+      - name: Run isort
+        uses: liskin/gh-problem-matcher-wrap@v3
+        with:
+          linters: isort
+          run: isort -c .
diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish-image.yml b/.github/workflows/publish-image.yml
index a70ba4ef..b9f16437 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish-image.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/publish-image.yml
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ jobs:
 
     steps:
       - name: Checkout repository
-        uses: actions/checkout@v3
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
       - name: Log into registry ${{ env.REGISTRY }}
         uses: docker/login-action@v3
diff --git a/.pre-commit-config.yaml b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
index ba8b1a53..6f12e8f1 100644
--- a/.pre-commit-config.yaml
+++ b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 default_language_version:
     python: python3
+default_install_hook_types: [pre-commit, commit-msg]
+default_stages: [pre-commit, manual]
 repos:
   - repo: https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit-hooks
     rev: v4.5.0
@@ -25,3 +27,9 @@ repos:
     hooks:
       - id: isort
         exclude: "migrations|snapshots"
+  - repo: https://github.com/alessandrojcm/commitlint-pre-commit-hook
+    rev: v9.10.0
+    hooks:
+      - id: commitlint
+        stages: [commit-msg, manual]
+        additional_dependencies: ["@commitlint/config-conventional"]
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 943963b9..9cb5d4d2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -174,6 +174,15 @@ run all the formatting tools as git hooks automatically before a
 commit.
 
 
+## Commit message format
+
+New commit messages must adhere to the [Conventional Commits](https://www.conventionalcommits.org/)
+specification, and line length is limited to 72 characters.
+
+When [`pre-commit`](https://pre-commit.com/) is in use, [`commitlint`](https://github.com/conventional-changelog/commitlint)
+checks new commit messages for the correct format.
+
+
 ## Running tests
 
 The tests require a Postgres database to which to connect to. Here's one way to run the tests: