THIS WEEK: Upcoming Code Freeze and Test Freeze Deadlines for Kubernetes v1.36

Hi Kubernetes Community! 👋

This is a gentle reminder about the Code Freeze and Test Freeze deadlines set for  Wednesday 18th March 2026 (Anywhere-on-Earth) / Thursday 19th March 2026, 12:00 UTC .

Please make sure your kubernetes/kubernetes pull requests for KEPs and any major changes targeting v1.36 are merged by then.

[  🚥  Regarding Exception Requests ]

If you think you may miss the deadline, you are highly encouraged to file an exception request ahead of time. We have already had some delayed exception requests in this release, where we had to reject as not meeting the guidelines.

Please keep in mind how KubeCon EU 2026 is taking place next week, and thus the schedule may feel even tighter than usual. When submitting an exception request, please factor in limited availability of reviewer and approver during the conference. If you could provide clear details and send us requests early, we will look to accept longer extended deadlines.

Pull requests that have the "approved" label at the deadline will *not need* to file exceptions.

Please reach out to us on Slack in the #sig-release channel if you have any questions!

Cheers,

Ryota Sawada

Kubernetes v1.36 Release Lead, on behalf of the Release Team