diff --git a/json-schemas/interface-methods/protocol-rule-set.json b/json-schemas/interface-methods/protocol-rule-set.json
index 4e8309648..ca00717ab 100644
--- a/json-schemas/interface-methods/protocol-rule-set.json
+++ b/json-schemas/interface-methods/protocol-rule-set.json
@@ -112,13 +112,13 @@
       "minProperties": 1,
       "properties": {
         "$requiredTags": {
-            "type": "array",
-            "items": {
-                "type": "string"
-            }
+          "type": "array",
+          "items": {
+            "type": "string"
+          }
         },
         "$allowUndefinedTags": {
-            "type": "boolean"
+          "type": "boolean"
         }
       },
       "patternProperties": {
@@ -127,13 +127,23 @@
           "additionalProperties": false,
           "properties": {
             "type": {
-              "enum": ["string", "number", "integer", "boolean", "array"]
+              "enum": [
+                "string",
+                "number",
+                "integer",
+                "boolean",
+                "array"
+              ]
             },
             "items": {
               "type": "object",
               "properties": {
                 "type": {
-                  "enum": ["string", "number", "integer"]
+                  "enum": [
+                    "string",
+                    "number",
+                    "integer"
+                  ]
                 }
               },
               "patternProperties": {
@@ -144,7 +154,11 @@
               "type": "object",
               "properties": {
                 "type": {
-                  "enum": ["string", "number", "integer"]
+                  "enum": [
+                    "string",
+                    "number",
+                    "integer"
+                  ]
                 }
               },
               "patternProperties": {
@@ -153,11 +167,39 @@
             }
           },
           "patternProperties": {
-            "^(enum|minimum|maximum|exclusiveMinimum|exclusiveMaximum|minLength|maxLength|minItems|maxItems|uniqueItems|minContains|maxContains)$": {
-            }
+            "^(enum|minimum|maximum|exclusiveMinimum|exclusiveMaximum|minLength|maxLength|minItems|maxItems|uniqueItems|minContains|maxContains)$": {}
           }
         }
       }
+    },
+    "$expiration": {
+      "type": "object",
+      "additionalProperties": false,
+      "properties": {
+        "oneOf": [
+          {
+            "required": [
+              "amount"
+            ],
+            "type": "object",
+            "properties": {
+              "amount": {
+                "type": "number",
+                "minimum": 1,
+                "$comment": "If only amount is set without unit, represents amount of milliseconds to wait from the record.dateCreated before records expire."
+              },
+              "unit": {
+                "type": "string",
+                "$comment": "Single character signaling how to interpret the given 'amount'. If present, must be one of: s (seconds), m (minutes), h (hours), d (days), y (years). E.g. 100s, 75m, 2d, 4y",
+                "patternProperties": {
+                  "^(s|m|d|y)$": {}
+                }
+              }
+            },
+            "$comment": "Amount is used to calculate an expiration date. Amount and unit are used to calculate a millisecond duration, which is then used to calculate an expiration date. Expiration is relative to `record.dateCreated`."
+          }
+        ]
+      }
     }
   },
   "patternProperties": {
diff --git a/src/core/dwn-error.ts b/src/core/dwn-error.ts
index 5cab8075f..b182bdb0c 100644
--- a/src/core/dwn-error.ts
+++ b/src/core/dwn-error.ts
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ export enum DwnErrorCode {
   PrivateKeySignerUnsupportedCurve = 'PrivateKeySignerUnsupportedCurve',
   ProtocolAuthorizationActionNotAllowed = 'ProtocolAuthorizationActionNotAllowed',
   ProtocolAuthorizationActionRulesNotFound = 'ProtocolAuthorizationActionRulesNotFound',
+  ProtocolAuthorizationExpirationPassed = 'ProtocolAuthorizationExpirationPassed',
   ProtocolAuthorizationIncorrectDataFormat = 'ProtocolAuthorizationIncorrectDataFormat',
   ProtocolAuthorizationIncorrectContextId = 'ProtocolAuthorizationIncorrectContextId',
   ProtocolAuthorizationIncorrectProtocolPath = 'ProtocolAuthorizationIncorrectProtocolPath',
@@ -73,6 +74,10 @@ export enum DwnErrorCode {
   ProtocolAuthorizationQueryWithoutRole = 'ProtocolAuthorizationQueryWithoutRole',
   ProtocolAuthorizationRoleMissingRecipient = 'ProtocolAuthorizationRoleMissingRecipient',
   ProtocolAuthorizationTagsInvalidSchema = 'ProtocolAuthorizationTagsInvalidSchema',
+  ProtocolsAuthorizationExpirationMissing = 'ProtocolsAuthorizationExpirationMissing',
+  ProtocolsAuthorizationExpirationInvalid = 'ProtocolsAuthorizationExpirationInvalid',
+  ProtocolsAuthorizationExpirationAmountInvalid = 'ProtocolsAuthorizationExpirationAmountInvalid',
+  ProtocolsAuthorizationExpirationUnitInvalid = 'ProtocolsAuthorizationExpirationUnitInvalid',
   ProtocolsConfigureDuplicateActorInRuleSet = 'ProtocolsConfigureDuplicateActorInRuleSet',
   ProtocolsConfigureDuplicateRoleInRuleSet = 'ProtocolsConfigureDuplicateRoleInRuleSet',
   ProtocolsConfigureInvalidSize = 'ProtocolsConfigureInvalidSize',
diff --git a/src/core/protocol-authorization.ts b/src/core/protocol-authorization.ts
index 8d4c3a554..117e51601 100644
--- a/src/core/protocol-authorization.ts
+++ b/src/core/protocol-authorization.ts
@@ -161,6 +161,9 @@ export class ProtocolAuthorization {
       ancestorMessageChain,
       messageStore,
     );
+
+    // Verify expiry
+    ProtocolAuthorization.verifyExpiration(incomingMessage, ruleSet);
   }
 
   public static async authorizeQueryOrSubscribe(
@@ -726,6 +729,67 @@ export class ProtocolAuthorization {
     }
   }
 
+  /**
+    * Verifies that queries and reads adhere to the $expiration constraint if provided
+    * @throws {Error} if typeof $expiration != number | {}
+    * @throws {Error} if typeof $expiration === {} and amount | unit === undefined
+    *
+    */
+  private static verifyExpiration(
+    incomingMessage: RecordsWrite,
+    ruleSet: ProtocolRuleSet
+  ): void {
+    const ruleExpiration = ruleSet?.$expiration;
+    if (!ruleExpiration) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    const incomingExpiration = incomingMessage.message.descriptor.expiration;
+    if (!incomingExpiration) {
+      throw new DwnError(DwnErrorCode.ProtocolsAuthorizationExpirationMissing,
+        `missing expiration descriptor: protocol ruleset requires $expiration`);
+    }
+
+    const { amount, unit } = incomingExpiration || {};
+    if (!(amount && unit)) {
+      throw new DwnError(DwnErrorCode.ProtocolsAuthorizationExpirationAmountInvalid,
+        `invalid expiration descriptor: if set, $expiration must be type object with properties amount and/or unit`);
+    }
+
+    if (!amount) {
+      throw new DwnError(DwnErrorCode.ProtocolsAuthorizationExpirationAmountInvalid,
+        `invalid expiration descriptor: if set, $expiration.amount ${amount} cannot be null`);
+    }
+
+    if (typeof amount !== 'number') {
+      throw new DwnError(DwnErrorCode.ProtocolsAuthorizationExpirationAmountInvalid,
+        `invalid expiration property: $expiration.amount ${amount} type = ${typeof amount}, must be number`);
+    }
+
+    if (isNaN(amount)) {
+      throw new DwnError(DwnErrorCode.ProtocolsAuthorizationExpirationAmountInvalid,
+        `invalid expiration property: $expiration.amount ${amount} cannot be NaN`);
+    }
+
+    if (amount <= 0) {
+      throw new DwnError(DwnErrorCode.ProtocolsAuthorizationExpirationAmountInvalid,
+        `invalid expiration property: $expiration.amount ${amount} must be greater than 0`);
+    }
+
+    if (typeof unit !== 'string') {
+      throw new DwnError(DwnErrorCode.ProtocolsAuthorizationExpirationUnitInvalid,
+        `invalid expiration property: $expiration.unit ${unit} type ${typeof unit} must be string`);
+    }
+
+
+    const validUnits = ['s', 'm', 'h', 'd', 'y'];
+    if (!validUnits.some(validUnit => unit === validUnit)) {
+      throw new DwnError(DwnErrorCode.ProtocolsAuthorizationExpirationUnitInvalid,
+        `invalid property: expiration.unit ${unit} must be one of ${validUnits.join()}`);
+    }
+
+  };
+
   /**
    * If the given RecordsWrite is not a role record, this method does nothing and succeeds immediately.
    *
diff --git a/src/interfaces/protocols-configure.ts b/src/interfaces/protocols-configure.ts
index 61fa569df..8af234da2 100644
--- a/src/interfaces/protocols-configure.ts
+++ b/src/interfaces/protocols-configure.ts
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ export class ProtocolsConfigure extends AbstractMessage<ProtocolsConfigureMessag
   ): void {
     const { ruleSet, ruleSetProtocolPath, recordTypes, roles } = input;
 
-    // Validate $actions in the rule set
+    // Validate $size in the rule set
     if (ruleSet.$size !== undefined) {
       const { min = 0, max } = ruleSet.$size;
 
diff --git a/src/types/protocols-types.ts b/src/types/protocols-types.ts
index d536638c9..c95f26cdc 100644
--- a/src/types/protocols-types.ts
+++ b/src/types/protocols-types.ts
@@ -140,6 +140,8 @@ export type ProtocolRuleSet = {
     [key: string]: any;
   }
 
+  $expiration?: { amount: number, unit: string };
+
   // JSON Schema verifies that properties other than properties prefixed with $ will actually have type ProtocolRuleSet
   [key: string]: any;
 };
diff --git a/src/types/records-types.ts b/src/types/records-types.ts
index 340d60378..c124cfc88 100644
--- a/src/types/records-types.ts
+++ b/src/types/records-types.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,13 @@ export type RecordsWriteTags = {
 
 export type RecordsWriteTagsFilter = StartsWithFilter | RangeFilter | string | number | boolean;
 
+export type ExpirationFilter = {
+  duration?: string | number;
+};
+
+export type RecordsWriteExpiration = { amount: number; unit: string };
+
+
 export type RecordsWriteDescriptor = {
   interface: DwnInterfaceName.Records;
   method: DwnMethodName.Write;
@@ -32,6 +39,7 @@ export type RecordsWriteDescriptor = {
   parentId?: string;
   dataCid: string;
   dataSize: number;
+  expiration?: RecordsWriteExpiration;
   dateCreated: string;
   messageTimestamp: string;
   published?: boolean;
@@ -152,6 +160,7 @@ export type RecordsFilter = {
   parentId?: string;
   dataFormat?: string;
   dataSize?: RangeFilter;
+  expiration?: ExpirationFilter;
   dataCid?: string;
   dateCreated?: RangeCriterion;
   datePublished?: RangeCriterion;