diff --git a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
index 76c56060819..6dcf387f470 100644
--- a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
+++ b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
@@ -1,17 +1,22 @@
 ## 🗒️ Description
 <!-- Brief description of the changes introduced by this PR -->
+<!-- Don't submit this PR if it could expose a mainnet bug, see SECURITY.md in the repo root for details -->
 
-## 🔗 Related Issues
-<!-- Reference any related issues using the GitHub issue number (e.g., Fixes #123) -->
+## 🔗 Related Issues or PRs
+<!-- Reference any related issues using the GitHub issue number (e.g., Fixes #123). Default is N/A. -->
+N/A.
 
 ## ✅ Checklist
+<!-- Please check off all required items. For those that don't apply remove them accordingly. -->
 
-- [ ] All: Set appropriate labels for the changes.
-- [ ] All: Considered squashing commits to improve commit history.
-- [ ] All: Added an entry to [CHANGELOG.md](/ethereum/execution-spec-tests/blob/main/docs/CHANGELOG.md).
+- [ ] All: Ran fast `tox` checks to avoid unnecessary CI fails, see also [Code Standards](https://eest.ethereum.org/main/getting_started/code_standards/) and [Enabling Pre-commit Checks](https://eest.ethereum.org/main/dev/precommit/):
+    ```console
+    uvx --with=tox-uv tox -e lint,typecheck,spellcheck,markdownlint
+    ```
+- [ ] All: PR title adheres to the [repo standard](https://eest.ethereum.org/main/getting_started/contributing/?h=contri#commit-messages-issue-and-pr-titles) - it will be used as the squash commit message and should start `type(scope):`.
+- [ ] All: Considered adding an entry to [CHANGELOG.md](/ethereum/execution-spec-tests/blob/main/docs/CHANGELOG.md).
 - [ ] All: Considered updating the online docs in the [./docs/](/ethereum/execution-spec-tests/blob/main/docs/) directory.
-- [ ] Tests: All converted JSON/YML tests from [ethereum/tests](/ethereum/tests)/[tests/static](/ethereum/execution-spec-tests/blob/main/tests/static) have been assigned @ported_from marker.
-- [ ] Tests: A PR with removal of converted JSON/YML blockchain tests from [ethereum/tests](/ethereum/tests) have been opened.
-- [ ] Tests: Included the type and version of evm t8n tool used to locally execute test cases:  e.g., ref with commit hash or geth 1.13.1-stable-3f40e65.
+- [ ] All: Set appropriate labels for the changes (only maintainers can apply labels).
 - [ ] Tests: Ran `mkdocs serve` locally and verified the auto-generated docs for new tests in the [Test Case Reference](https://eest.ethereum.org/main/tests/) are correctly formatted.
 - [ ] Tests: For PRs implementing a missed test case, update the [post-mortem document](/ethereum/execution-spec-tests/blob/main/docs/writing_tests/post_mortems.md) to add an entry the list.
+- [ ] Ported Tests: All converted JSON/YML tests from [ethereum/tests](/ethereum/tests) or [tests/static](/ethereum/execution-spec-tests/blob/main/tests/static) have been assigned `@ported_from` marker.