diff --git a/.github/workflows/cla.yml b/.github/workflows/cla.yml
index c0e1544..0639336 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cla.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cla.yml
@@ -6,6 +6,13 @@ on:
   pull_request_target:
     types: [opened,closed,synchronize]
 
+# explicit so the bot works regardless of the repo's default workflow token permissions
+permissions:
+  actions: write
+  contents: read
+  pull-requests: write
+  statuses: write
+
 jobs:
   cla-check:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest