diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 1af0bda5f02..94426d4b3a3 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-Paparazzi 5.3_devel
-===================
+Paparazzi 5.3.0_testing
+=======================
 
-currently ongoing development, changes so far (no particular order, nor complete)
+First release candidate for v5.4 stable release.
 
 General
 -------
diff --git a/paparazzi_version b/paparazzi_version
index e7b703d23c4..3b039260e12 100755
--- a/paparazzi_version
+++ b/paparazzi_version
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 
-DEF_VER=v5.3_devel
+DEF_VER=v5.3.0_testing
 
 # First try git describe (if running on a git repo),
 # then use default version from above (for release tarballs).