diff --git a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
index b9423a022..45e8b89d0 100644
--- a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
+++ b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ Checklist
 ---------
 
 - [ ] The PR targets the `rc` branch (**not** `master`).
-- [ ] Commit messages are prefixed with one of the prefixes outlined in the [commit syntax checker][commit-syntax] (see `pattern` field).
 - [ ] The above description motivates these changes.
 - [ ] There is a unit test that covers these changes.
 - [ ] All new and existing tests pass locally and on the PR's checks.
@@ -22,7 +21,6 @@ Checklist
 [auto-close]: https://help.github.com/en/articles/closing-issues-using-keywords
 [black]: https://black.readthedocs.io/en/stable/index.html
 [changelog]: https://github.com/rigetti/pyquil/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md
-[commit-syntax]: https://github.com/rigetti/pyquil/blob/master/.github/workflows/commit_syntax.yml
 [contributing]: https://github.com/rigetti/pyquil/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md
 [docs]: https://pyquil.readthedocs.io
 [flake8]: http://flake8.pycqa.org
diff --git a/.github/workflows/commit_syntax.yml b/.github/workflows/commit_syntax.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index f1fac5315..000000000
--- a/.github/workflows/commit_syntax.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,23 +0,0 @@
-name: 'Commit Message Check'
-on:
-  push:
-    branches: [ master, rc ]
-  pull_request:
-    branches: [ master, rc ]
-  workflow_dispatch:
-
-jobs:
-  check-commit-message:
-    name: Check Commit Message
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      - name: Check Commit Type
-        uses: gsactions/commit-message-checker@v1
-        with:
-          pattern: '^((Breaking|Update|Fix|New|Upgrade|No code):|Release v.*)'
-          flags: ''
-          error: 'Your commit message should start with a valid semantic release verb as defined in package.json. You may also prepend "No code:" to indicate the commit does not contain changes to the released code.'
-          checkAllCommitMessages: true
-          excludeDescription: true
-          excludeTitle: true
-          accessToken: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }} # github access token is only required if checkAllCommitMessages is true