diff --git a/.github/workflows/pr-rat-check.yml b/.github/workflows/pr-rat-check.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..44703af893d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/pr-rat-check.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+#
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+# or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+# distributed with this work for additional information
+# regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+# to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+# "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+# with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+# software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+# "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+# KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+# specific language governing permissions and limitations
+# under the License.
+#
+
+name: Run Apache RAT check
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    types: [opened, synchronize, reopened, ready_for_review]
+
+jobs:
+  apache-rat-check:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout code
+        uses: actions/checkout@v3
+
+      - name: Download Apache RAT
+        run: |
+          curl -LO https://repository.apache.org/content/repositories/snapshots/org/apache/rat/apache-rat/0.17-SNAPSHOT/apache-rat-0.17-20241115.065104-374.jar
+
+      - name: Run Apache RAT
+        run: |
+          java -jar apache-rat-0.17-20241115.065104-374.jar --input-exclude-file .rat-excludes -- . > .tmp-rat-check-output
+          cat .tmp-rat-check-output
+          grep "Files with unapproved licenses:" .tmp-rat-check-output && rm .tmp-rat-check-output && echo "There are files with missing or unapproved license headers." && exit 1 || rm .tmp-rat-check-output && echo "All files have correct license headers."
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 0fa740642fb..9b7817e7c6f 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -346,3 +346,7 @@ turbo.json
 # IntelliJ projects should be on _intellij-projects folder, never on specific packages.
 packages/*/.idea
 examples/*/.idea
+
+
+# Apache RAT check excludes file
+!.rat-excludes
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.rat-excludes b/.rat-excludes
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..319e0847d88
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.rat-excludes
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+### general excludes
+**/*.iml
+**/target/**
+**/.*
+*README*
+*readme*
+DISCLAIMER-WIP
+**/src/test/resources/**
+**/src/test/filtered-resources/**
+**/*integration-test*/src/main/resources/**
+**/**example**/**/resources/**
+**/META-INF/services/**
+**/META-INF/beans.xml
+**/licenses/**
+
+### kie-tools specific excludes
+**/patches/**
+**/node_modules/**
+**/dist/**
+**/dist-dev/**
+**/dist-tests/**
+**/dist-tests-e2e/**
+**/tests-data/**
+**/ts-gen/**
+**/python-venv/**
+*devbox.lock
+*pnpm-lock.yaml
+*pnpm-workspace.yaml
+**/*.d.ts
+**/examples/**
+**/tests/__fixtures__/**
+**/tests/**/__fixtures__/**
+**/tests/__snapshots__/**
+**/tests/**/__snapshots__/**
+**/e2e-tests/fixtures/**
+**/e2e-tests/**/fixtures/**
+**/e2e-tests/resources/**
+**/e2e-tests/**/resources/**
+**/tests-e2e/__fixtures__/**
+**/tests/inputFiles/**
+**/tests/expectedResults/**
+**/tests/test-workspace/**
+**/tests/**/resources/**
+**/test-resources/tests/**
+**/testdata/**
+**/__screenshots__/** 
+*.iml
+*.patch
+**/graph.dot
+*.wid
+**/Chart.lock
+*.base64png
+**/check-junit-report-results/tests/reports/empty.xml
+**/dev-deployment-upload-service/tests/test.zip
+**/dmn-editor/src/spec.txt
+**/drools-wb-scenario-simulation-editor-kogito-marshaller/src/main/java/**
+**/errai-ui/src/test/**/*.less
+**/errai-ui/src/test/**/*.html
+**/form-code-generator-bootstrap4-theme/src/resources/staticCode/**
+**/form-code-generator-bootstrap4-theme/src/resources/templates/**
+**/form-code-generator-patternfly-theme/src/resources/**
+**/fonts/OpenSans*
+**/fonts/fontawesome*
+**/generated-parser/*
+**/kie-editors-standalone/resources/**/*.template
+**/kie-wb-common-dmn/kie-wb-common-dmn-webapp-kogito-marshaller/src/main/java**
+**/kie-wb-common-stunner-bpmn-emf/**
+**/kie-sandbox-helm-chart/**/templates/**
+**/runtime-tools-consoles-helm-chart/**/templates/**
+**/serverless-workflow-standalone-editor/resources/**/*.template
+**/schemas/dmn*/*.xsd
+**/schemas/bpmn*/*.xsd
+**/templates/*.ftl
+**/third_party/gwtbootstrap3/**
+**/uniforms-bootstrap4-codegen/src/resources/staticCode/**
+**/uniforms-bootstrap4-codegen/src/resources/templates/**
+**/uniforms-patternfly-codegen/src/resources/**
+**/vscode-java-code-completion-extension-plugin-core/src/main/resources/templates/**
+**/xml-parser-ts-codegen/**/*.xsd