diff --git a/scripts/tag-release.sh b/scripts/tag-release.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..8259435
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/tag-release.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Release tagging script for hawk-core-contracts.
+# Ensures git status is clean, runs checks, updates VERSION, and creates a semver tag.
+set -euo pipefail
+
+if [ $# -ne 1 ]; then
+  echo "Usage: $0 <version>"
+  echo "Example: $0 v0.1.0"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+VERSION="$1"
+
+if [[ ! "$VERSION" =~ ^v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+(-[a-zA-Z0-9.]+)?$ ]]; then
+  echo "Error: Version must follow semver format (e.g. v0.1.0 or v1.0.0-rc.1)"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+if [ -n "$(git status --porcelain)" ]; then
+  echo "Error: Working directory is dirty. Commit or stash changes before tagging."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "Running pre-tag release checks..."
+make test || exit 1
+
+# Strip leading 'v' for VERSION file
+RAW_VERSION="${VERSION#v}"
+echo "$RAW_VERSION" > VERSION
+
+if [ -f "version.go" ]; then
+  sed -i '' "s/Version = \".*\"/Version = \"$RAW_VERSION\"/" version.go || true
+fi
+
+git add VERSION version.go 2>/dev/null || git add VERSION
+git commit -m "chore(release): prepare $VERSION"
+git tag -a "$VERSION" -m "Release $VERSION"
+
+echo "Successfully tagged $VERSION!"
+echo "Push release with: git push origin main --tags"