diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a6082d4..b505cb5 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -73,6 +73,17 @@ To get the data from the step by step calculations for the FGS countrate and mag
 fgs.band_dataframe
 ```
 
+Versioning
+----------
+This repository follows the principles of ["Semantic Versioning"](https://semver.org/), such that
+
+> Given a version number MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH, increment the:
+> 1. MAJOR version when you make incompatible API changes,
+> 2. MINOR version when you add functionality in a backwards compatible manner, and
+> 3. PATCH version when you make backwards compatible bug fixes.
+
+When releasing a new version, developers should change the version number in `setup.py`, merge this change in a PR, and then release the package via the GitHub interface.
+
 License
 -------
 
diff --git a/fgscountrate/__init__.py b/fgscountrate/__init__.py
index 8c09087..f667cda 100644
--- a/fgscountrate/__init__.py
+++ b/fgscountrate/__init__.py
@@ -6,17 +6,28 @@
 from ._astropy_init import *
 # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+import os
 import sys
-from pkg_resources import get_distribution, DistributionNotFound
+import pkg_resources
+
+module_path = pkg_resources.resource_filename('fgscountrate', '')
+setup_path = os.path.normpath(os.path.join(module_path, '../setup.py'))
 
 try:
-    __version__ = get_distribution(__name__).version
-except DistributionNotFound:
-    # package is not installed
-    __version__ = "unknown"
+    with open(setup_path) as f:
+        data = f.readlines()
+
+    for line in data:
+        if 'VERSION =' in line:
+            __version__ = line.split(' ')[-1].replace("'", "").strip()
+
+except FileNotFoundError:
+    print('Could not determine fgscountrate version')
+    __version__ = '0.0.0'
 
 __minimum_python_version__ = "3.5"
 
+
 class UnsupportedPythonError(Exception):
     pass
 
@@ -25,4 +36,4 @@ class UnsupportedPythonError(Exception):
 
 from .fgs_countrate_core import *
 from .utils import *
-from .conversions import *
\ No newline at end of file
+from .conversions import *
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 9281c8b..b15a042 100755
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@
 
 from setuptools import setup, find_packages
 
+VERSION = '1.0.0'
+
 INSTALL_REQUIRES = [
     'numpy',
     'pytest',
@@ -16,7 +18,7 @@
 ]
 
 setup(name='fgscountrate',
-      version='0.0',
+      version=VERSION,
       description='JWST FGS countrate estimation',
       long_description='JWST FGS countrate and magnitude estimation and related functionality.',
       classifiers=[