diff --git a/MANIFEST.in b/MANIFEST.in
index c14d3fcbc..aaca35be5 100644
--- a/MANIFEST.in
+++ b/MANIFEST.in
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-include *.py CONTRIBUTORS LICENSE README.rst VERSION
+include *.py CONTRIBUTORS LICENSE README.rst
 recursive-include juju *.py
 recursive-include examples *.py
 recursive-include docs *.rst
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index c2c25a304..ffa0a3b88 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 BIN := .tox/py3/bin
 PY := $(BIN)/python3
 PIP := $(BIN)/pip3
-VERSION=$(shell cat VERSION)
+VERSION := $(shell $(PY) -c "from juju.version import CLIENT_VERSION; print(CLIENT_VERSION)")
 
 .PHONY: clean
 clean:
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
deleted file mode 100644
index 7266d5bcd..000000000
--- a/VERSION
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-3.3.1.0
diff --git a/docs/conf.py b/docs/conf.py
index 87c54f91b..417179595 100644
--- a/docs/conf.py
+++ b/docs/conf.py
@@ -21,13 +21,16 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 
 here = Path(__file__).absolute().parent
-version = (here.parent / 'VERSION').read_text().strip()
+
 
 # If extensions (or modules to document with autodoc) are in another directory,
 # add these directories to sys.path here. If the directory is relative to the
 # documentation root, use os.path.abspath to make it absolute, like shown here.
 sys.path.insert(0, os.path.abspath('..'))
 
+from juju.version import CLIENT_VERSION
+version = CLIENT_VERSION
+
 # -- General configuration ------------------------------------------------
 
 # If your documentation needs a minimal Sphinx version, state it here.
diff --git a/docs/requirements.txt b/docs/requirements.txt
index cb80e25f2..cf690bbf3 100644
--- a/docs/requirements.txt
+++ b/docs/requirements.txt
@@ -12,4 +12,5 @@ paramiko
 macaroonbakery
 toposort
 python-dateutil
-kubernetes
\ No newline at end of file
+kubernetes
+packaging
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/juju/version.py b/juju/version.py
index e4289b46b..e9b48bf59 100644
--- a/juju/version.py
+++ b/juju/version.py
@@ -1,19 +1,8 @@
 # Copyright 2023 Canonical Ltd.
 # Licensed under the Apache V2, see LICENCE file for details.
 
-import pathlib
-import re
-
 LTS_RELEASES = ["jammy", "focal", "bionic", "xenial", "trusty", "precise"]
 
 DEFAULT_ARCHITECTURE = 'amd64'
 
-# CLIENT_VERSION (that's read from the VERSION file) is the highest Juju server
-# version that this client supports.
-# Note that this is a ceiling. CLIENT_VERSION <= juju-controller-version works.
-# For CLIENT_VERSION < juju-controller-version (strictly smaller), we emit a warning
-# to update the client to the latest.
-# However, for any CLIENT_VERSION > juju-controller-version, a "client incompatible
-# with server" will be returned by the juju controller.
-VERSION_FILE_PATH = pathlib.Path(__file__).parent.parent / 'VERSION'
-CLIENT_VERSION = re.search(r'\d+\.\d+\.\d+', open(VERSION_FILE_PATH).read().strip()).group()
+CLIENT_VERSION = "3.3.1.0"
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 1a10222af..a2e8ee94b 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@
 
 from setuptools import find_packages, setup
 
+from juju.version import CLIENT_VERSION
+
 here = Path(__file__).absolute().parent
 readme = here / 'docs' / 'readme.rst'
 changelog = here / 'docs' / 'changelog.rst'
@@ -13,11 +15,10 @@
     changelog.read_text()
 )
 long_description_content_type = 'text/x-rst'
-version = here / 'VERSION'
 
 setup(
     name='juju',
-    version=version.read_text().strip(),
+    version=CLIENT_VERSION.strip(),
     packages=find_packages(
         exclude=["*.tests", "*.tests.*", "tests.*", "tests"]),
     package_data={'juju': ['py.typed']},
@@ -32,6 +33,7 @@
         'typing_inspect>=0.6.0',
         'kubernetes>=12.0.1',
         'hvac',
+        'packaging',
     ],
     include_package_data=True,
     maintainer='Juju Ecosystem Engineering',
diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index 132b804f1..69a9bceca 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ deps =
     websockets
     kubernetes
     hvac
+    packaging
 
 [testenv:docs]
 deps =