diff --git a/pootle/constants.py b/pootle/constants.py
index c9b2ebd2f51..7c9d3b8cf42 100644
--- a/pootle/constants.py
+++ b/pootle/constants.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 # or later license. See the LICENSE file for a copy of the license and the
 # AUTHORS file for copyright and authorship information.
 
-VERSION = (2, 9, 0, 'beta', 4)
+VERSION = (2, 9, 0, 'rc', 1)
 
 # Minimum Django version required for Pootle to run.
 DJANGO_MINIMUM_REQUIRED_VERSION = (1, 10, 5)