diff --git a/.github/pull_request_template.md b/.github/pull_request_template.md
index 26a3cc5fc..a12aeb012 100644
--- a/.github/pull_request_template.md
+++ b/.github/pull_request_template.md
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ Please convert it to a draft if any of the following conditions are not met. Rev
 
 - [ ] Added tests for the changes
 - [ ] Changed lines covered in coverage report
-- [ ] Change log has been added to `changes/{ce,ee}/(feat|perf|fix)-<PR-id>.en.md` files
+- [ ] Change log has been added to `changes/(ce|ee)/(feat|perf|fix)-<PR-id>.en.md` files
 - [ ] For internal contributor: there is a jira ticket to track this change
 - [ ] If there should be document changes, a PR to emqx-docs.git is sent, or a jira ticket is created to follow up
 - [ ] Schema changes are backward compatible
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 272a602e9..6337034eb 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 
 You are welcome to submit any bugs, issues and feature requests on this repository.
 
-
 ## Commit Message Guidelines
 
 We have very precise rules over how our git commit messages can be formatted. This leads to **more readable messages** that are easy to follow when looking through the **project history**.
@@ -80,3 +79,14 @@ Just as in the **subject**, use the imperative, present tense: "change" not "cha
 The footer should contain any information about **Breaking Changes** and is also the place to reference GitHub issues that this commit **Closes**.
 
 **Breaking Changes** should start with the word `BREAKING CHANGE:` with a space or two newlines. The rest of the commit message is then used for this.
+
+## Changelog
+
+Changes affecting EMQX functionality shall be described in a separate markdown file under `changes` directory.
+
+File name pattern: `changes/(ce|ee)/(feat|perf|fix)-<PR-id>.en.md`, where:
+
+- `ce,ee`: Indicates whether given change affects community and enterprise edition (`ce`), or enterprise edition only (`ee`); for any change only one file is needed as enterprise edition absorbs all changes from the community edition automatically. When in doubts, one could consult [documentation](https://www.emqx.io/docs/en/latest/). Enterprise features have a corresponding "Tip" banner, see for example [here](https://www.emqx.io/docs/en/v5.1/data-integration/data-bridge-influxdb.html).
+- `feat|perf|fix`: Whether the change is a new functionality (`feat`), performance improvement (`perf`), or a bug fix (`fix`).
+- `PR-id`: Github pull request id. Since pull request id cannot be known before the PR is actually created, it's common to add change log entry in a separate commit.
+- `en`: ISO 639-1 language code indicating the language the change log entry is written in. Right now we are only accepting entries in English.