diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..db1e4e56a8d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+## Welcome!
+
+We're so glad you're thinking about contributing to a U.S. Tax Court open source project! If you're unsure about anything, just ask — or submit the issue or pull request anyway. The worst that can happen is you'll be politely asked to change something. We love all friendly contributions.
+
+We want to ensure a welcoming environment for all of our projects. Our staff follows the [18F Code of Conduct](https://github.com/18F/code-of-conduct/blob/master/code-of-conduct.md) and all contributors should do the same.
+
+We encourage you to read this project's CONTRIBUTING policy (you are here), its [LICENSE](LICENSE.md), and its [README](README.md).
+
+If you have any questions or want to read more, check out the [18F Open Source Policy GitHub repository](https://github.com/18f/open-source-policy), or just [shoot us an email](mailto:18f@gsa.gov).
+
+## Public domain
+
+This project is in the public domain within the United States, and
+copyright and related rights in the work worldwide are waived through
+the [CC0 1.0 Universal public domain dedication](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/).
+
+All contributions to this project will be released under the CC0
+dedication. By submitting a pull request, you are agreeing to comply
+with this waiver of copyright interest.
diff --git a/LICENSE.md b/LICENSE.md
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..ada8cd9a1e7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE.md
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+As a work of the United States government, this project is in the
+public domain within the United States.
+
+Additionally, we waive copyright and related rights in the work
+worldwide through the CC0 1.0 Universal public domain dedication.
+
+## CC0 1.0 Universal summary
+
+This is a human-readable summary of the [Legal Code (read the full text)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode).
+
+### No copyright
+
+The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to
+the public domain by waiving all of his or her rights to the work worldwide
+under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the
+extent allowed by law.
+
+You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial
+purposes, all without asking permission.
+
+### Other information
+
+In no way are the patent or trademark rights of any person affected by CC0,
+nor are the rights that other persons may have in the work or in how the
+work is used, such as publicity or privacy rights.
+
+Unless expressly stated otherwise, the person who associated a work with
+this deed makes no warranties about the work, and disclaims liability for
+all uses of the work, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.
+When using or citing the work, you should not imply endorsement by the
+author or the affirmer.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f4eb8c823e9..847c837d7d8 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,2 +1,14 @@
-# ef-cms
-An Electronic Filing / Case Management System.
+# Electronic Filing / Case Management System
+
+An as-yet-unnamed project by the [U.S. Tax Court](https://ustaxcourt.gov/), creating an open-source EF-CMS. Work begins in autumn 2018.
+
+## Contributing
+See [CONTRIBUTING](CONTRIBUTING.md) for additional information.
+
+## Public domain
+
+This project is in the worldwide [public domain](LICENSE.md). As stated in [CONTRIBUTING](CONTRIBUTING.md):
+
+> This project is in the public domain within the United States, and copyright and related rights in the work worldwide are waived through the [CC0 1.0 Universal public domain dedication](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/).
+>
+> All contributions to this project will be released under the CC0 dedication. By submitting a pull request, you are agreeing to comply with this waiver of copyright interest.