diff --git a/src/packagedcode/__init__.py b/src/packagedcode/__init__.py
index d3c48b6e25..4e16aa97d4 100644
--- a/src/packagedcode/__init__.py
+++ b/src/packagedcode/__init__.py
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@
 from packagedcode import opam
 from packagedcode import phpcomposer
 from packagedcode import pubspec
+from packagedcode import publiccode
 from packagedcode import pypi
 from packagedcode import readme
 from packagedcode import rpm
@@ -77,6 +78,8 @@
     conda.CondaMetaYamlHandler,
     conda.CondaYamlHandler,
 
+    publiccode.PubliccodeYmlHandler,
+
     conan.ConanFileHandler,
     conan.ConanDataHandler,
 
diff --git a/src/packagedcode/publiccode.py b/src/packagedcode/publiccode.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5a1d299da8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/packagedcode/publiccode.py
@@ -0,0 +1,151 @@
+#
+# Copyright (c) nexB Inc. and others. All rights reserved.
+# ScanCode is a trademark of nexB Inc.
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+# See http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 for the license text.
+# See https://github.com/nexB/scancode-toolkit for support or download.
+# See https://aboutcode.org for more information about nexB OSS projects.
+#
+
+import io
+
+import saneyaml
+
+from packagedcode import models
+
+"""
+Handle publiccode.yml metadata files.
+publiccode.yml is a metadata standard for public sector open source software.
+See https://github.com/publiccodeyml/publiccode.yml
+"""
+
+EXTRA_DATA_KEYS = (
+    'publiccodeYmlVersion',
+    'platforms',
+    'developmentStatus',
+    'softwareType',
+)
+
+
+class PubliccodeYmlHandler(models.DatafileHandler):
+    datasource_id = 'publiccode_yml'
+    path_patterns = ('*publiccode.yml', '*publiccode.yaml')
+    default_package_type = 'publiccode'
+    default_primary_language = None
+    description = 'publiccode.yml metadata file'
+    documentation_url = 'https://github.com/publiccodeyml/publiccode.yml'
+
+    @classmethod
+    def parse(cls, location, package_only=False):
+        with io.open(location, encoding='utf-8') as loc:
+            data = saneyaml.load(loc.read())
+
+        if not is_publiccode_yml_data(data):
+            return
+
+        package_data = dict(
+            datasource_id=cls.datasource_id,
+            type=cls.default_package_type,
+            name=data.get('name'),
+            version=data.get('softwareVersion'),
+            vcs_url=data.get('url'),
+            homepage_url=data.get('landingURL') or data.get('url'),
+            description=get_description(data),
+            extracted_license_statement=get_extracted_license_statement(data),
+            copyright=get_copyright_statement(data),
+            keywords=get_categories(data),
+            parties=get_parties(data),
+            extra_data=get_extra_data(data) or None,
+        )
+        yield models.PackageData.from_data(package_data, package_only)
+
+
+def is_publiccode_yml_data(data):
+    return isinstance(data, dict) and 'publiccodeYmlVersion' in data
+
+
+def get_description(data):
+    """
+    Extract the best available description from publiccode.yml's
+    multilingual 'description' block. Prefer English, fall back to
+    any available language. Returns longDescription, else shortDescription.
+    """
+    description_block = data.get('description') or {}
+    if not description_block:
+        return
+
+    lang_data = None
+    for language, localized_description in description_block.items():
+        primary_language = language.lower().split('-')[0]
+        if primary_language == 'en':
+            lang_data = localized_description
+            break
+
+    if not lang_data:
+        lang_data = next(iter(description_block.values()), None)
+
+    if not lang_data:
+        return
+
+    long_desc = lang_data.get('longDescription', '').strip()
+    short_desc = lang_data.get('shortDescription', '').strip()
+
+    return long_desc or short_desc or None
+
+
+def get_extracted_license_statement(data):
+    legal = data.get('legal') or {}
+    return legal.get('license')
+
+
+def get_copyright_statement(data):
+    legal = data.get('legal') or {}
+    copyright_holders = []
+
+    for key in ('mainCopyrightOwner', 'repoOwner'):
+        value = legal.get(key)
+        if value and value not in copyright_holders:
+            copyright_holders.append(value)
+
+    return '\n'.join(copyright_holders) or None
+
+
+def get_categories(data):
+    categories = data.get('categories') or []
+    if isinstance(categories, str):
+        return [categories]
+    return categories
+
+
+def get_parties(data):
+    parties = []
+    maintenance = data.get('maintenance') or {}
+
+    for contact in maintenance.get('contacts') or []:
+        contact_name = contact.get('name')
+        contact_email = contact.get('email')
+
+        if not (contact_name or contact_email):
+            continue
+
+        parties.append(
+            models.Party(
+                type=models.party_person,
+                name=contact_name,
+                email=contact_email,
+                role='maintainer',
+            )
+        )
+
+    return parties
+
+
+def get_extra_data(data):
+    extra_data = {}
+
+    for key in EXTRA_DATA_KEYS:
+        value = data.get(key)
+        if value:
+            extra_data[key] = value
+
+    return extra_data
diff --git a/tests/packagedcode/data/publiccode/publiccode.yml b/tests/packagedcode/data/publiccode/publiccode.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d7b7a28e76
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/packagedcode/data/publiccode/publiccode.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+# Hand-crafted publiccode.yml test fixture based on examples from:
+# https://github.com/publiccodeyml/publiccode.yml/blob/main/docs/standard/schema.core.rst
+publiccodeYmlVersion: "0.4"
+
+name: Medusa
+url: "https://example.com/italia/medusa.git"
+landingURL: "https://example.com/medusa"
+softwareVersion: "1.0.3"
+
+platforms:
+  - web
+  - linux
+
+categories:
+  - financial-reporting
+  - accounting
+
+developmentStatus: stable
+softwareType: "standalone/desktop"
+
+description:
+  en:
+    shortDescription: >
+      A short description of this software.
+    longDescription: >
+      A very long description of this software. It explains what it does,
+      who it is for, and why you might want to use it in a public
+      administration context.
+    features:
+      - Feature one
+      - Feature two
+
+legal:
+  license: AGPL-3.0-or-later
+  mainCopyrightOwner: City of Example
+  repoOwner: City of Example
+
+maintenance:
+  type: "contract"
+  contacts:
+    - name: Francesco Rossi
+      email: f.rossi@example.com
+      affiliation: City of Example
+
+localisation:
+  localisationReady: true
+  availableLanguages:
+    - en
+    - it
diff --git a/tests/packagedcode/data/publiccode/publiccode.yml-expected.json b/tests/packagedcode/data/publiccode/publiccode.yml-expected.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f1c4811efd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/packagedcode/data/publiccode/publiccode.yml-expected.json
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+[
+  {
+    "type": "publiccode",
+    "namespace": null,
+    "name": "Medusa",
+    "version": "1.0.3",
+    "qualifiers": {},
+    "subpath": null,
+    "primary_language": null,
+    "description": "A very long description of this software. It explains what it does, who it is for, and why you might want to use it in a public administration context.",
+    "release_date": null,
+    "parties": [
+      {
+        "type": "person",
+        "role": "maintainer",
+        "name": "Francesco Rossi",
+        "email": "f.rossi@example.com",
+        "url": null
+      }
+    ],
+    "keywords": [
+      "financial-reporting",
+      "accounting"
+    ],
+    "homepage_url": "https://example.com/medusa",
+    "download_url": null,
+    "size": null,
+    "sha1": null,
+    "md5": null,
+    "sha256": null,
+    "sha512": null,
+    "bug_tracking_url": null,
+    "code_view_url": null,
+    "vcs_url": "https://example.com/italia/medusa.git",
+    "copyright": "City of Example",
+    "holder": "City of Example",
+    "declared_license_expression": "agpl-3.0-plus",
+    "declared_license_expression_spdx": "AGPL-3.0-or-later",
+    "license_detections": [
+      {
+        "license_expression": "agpl-3.0-plus",
+        "license_expression_spdx": "AGPL-3.0-or-later",
+        "matches": [
+          {
+            "license_expression": "agpl-3.0-plus",
+            "license_expression_spdx": "AGPL-3.0-or-later",
+            "from_file": null,
+            "start_line": 1,
+            "end_line": 1,
+            "matcher": "1-hash",
+            "score": 100.0,
+            "matched_length": 5,
+            "match_coverage": 100.0,
+            "rule_relevance": 100,
+            "rule_identifier": "spdx_license_id_agpl-3.0-or-later_for_agpl-3.0-plus.RULE",
+            "rule_url": "https://github.com/nexB/scancode-toolkit/tree/develop/src/licensedcode/data/rules/spdx_license_id_agpl-3.0-or-later_for_agpl-3.0-plus.RULE",
+            "matched_text": "AGPL-3.0-or-later"
+          }
+        ],
+        "identifier": "agpl_3_0_plus-a0f62d44-7e99-852b-0b1c-0bc5e1c9f6d0"
+      }
+    ],
+    "other_license_expression": null,
+    "other_license_expression_spdx": null,
+    "other_license_detections": [],
+    "extracted_license_statement": "AGPL-3.0-or-later",
+    "notice_text": null,
+    "source_packages": [],
+    "file_references": [],
+    "is_private": false,
+    "is_virtual": false,
+    "extra_data": {
+      "publiccodeYmlVersion": "0.4",
+      "platforms": [
+        "web",
+        "linux"
+      ],
+      "developmentStatus": "stable",
+      "softwareType": "standalone/desktop"
+    },
+    "dependencies": [],
+    "repository_homepage_url": null,
+    "repository_download_url": null,
+    "api_data_url": null,
+    "datasource_id": "publiccode_yml",
+    "purl": "pkg:publiccode/Medusa@1.0.3"
+  }
+]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/packagedcode/data/publiccode/publiccode.yml-scancode.json b/tests/packagedcode/data/publiccode/publiccode.yml-scancode.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b5c9f8359e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/packagedcode/data/publiccode/publiccode.yml-scancode.json
@@ -0,0 +1,193 @@
+{
+  "packages": [
+    {
+      "type": "publiccode",
+      "namespace": null,
+      "name": "Medusa",
+      "version": "1.0.3",
+      "qualifiers": {},
+      "subpath": null,
+      "primary_language": null,
+      "description": "A very long description of this software. It explains what it does, who it is for, and why you might want to use it in a public administration context.",
+      "release_date": null,
+      "parties": [
+        {
+          "type": "person",
+          "role": "maintainer",
+          "name": "Francesco Rossi",
+          "email": "f.rossi@example.com",
+          "url": null
+        }
+      ],
+      "keywords": [
+        "financial-reporting",
+        "accounting"
+      ],
+      "homepage_url": "https://example.com/medusa",
+      "download_url": null,
+      "size": null,
+      "sha1": null,
+      "md5": null,
+      "sha256": null,
+      "sha512": null,
+      "bug_tracking_url": null,
+      "code_view_url": null,
+      "vcs_url": "https://example.com/italia/medusa.git",
+      "copyright": "City of Example",
+      "holder": "City of Example",
+      "declared_license_expression": "agpl-3.0-plus",
+      "declared_license_expression_spdx": "AGPL-3.0-or-later",
+      "license_detections": [
+        {
+          "license_expression": "agpl-3.0-plus",
+          "license_expression_spdx": "AGPL-3.0-or-later",
+          "matches": [
+            {
+              "license_expression": "agpl-3.0-plus",
+              "license_expression_spdx": "AGPL-3.0-or-later",
+              "from_file": "publiccode.yml",
+              "start_line": 1,
+              "end_line": 1,
+              "matcher": "1-hash",
+              "score": 100.0,
+              "matched_length": 5,
+              "match_coverage": 100.0,
+              "rule_relevance": 100,
+              "rule_identifier": "spdx_license_id_agpl-3.0-or-later_for_agpl-3.0-plus.RULE",
+              "rule_url": "https://github.com/nexB/scancode-toolkit/tree/develop/src/licensedcode/data/rules/spdx_license_id_agpl-3.0-or-later_for_agpl-3.0-plus.RULE",
+              "matched_text": "AGPL-3.0-or-later"
+            }
+          ],
+          "identifier": "agpl_3_0_plus-a0f62d44-7e99-852b-0b1c-0bc5e1c9f6d0"
+        }
+      ],
+      "other_license_expression": null,
+      "other_license_expression_spdx": null,
+      "other_license_detections": [],
+      "extracted_license_statement": "AGPL-3.0-or-later",
+      "notice_text": null,
+      "source_packages": [],
+      "is_private": false,
+      "is_virtual": false,
+      "extra_data": {
+        "publiccodeYmlVersion": "0.4",
+        "platforms": [
+          "web",
+          "linux"
+        ],
+        "developmentStatus": "stable",
+        "softwareType": "standalone/desktop"
+      },
+      "repository_homepage_url": null,
+      "repository_download_url": null,
+      "api_data_url": null,
+      "package_uid": "pkg:publiccode/Medusa@1.0.3?uuid=fixed-uid-done-for-testing-5642512d1758",
+      "datafile_paths": [
+        "publiccode.yml"
+      ],
+      "datasource_ids": [
+        "publiccode_yml"
+      ],
+      "purl": "pkg:publiccode/Medusa@1.0.3"
+    }
+  ],
+  "dependencies": [],
+  "files": [
+    {
+      "path": "publiccode.yml",
+      "type": "file",
+      "package_data": [
+        {
+          "type": "publiccode",
+          "namespace": null,
+          "name": "Medusa",
+          "version": "1.0.3",
+          "qualifiers": {},
+          "subpath": null,
+          "primary_language": null,
+          "description": "A very long description of this software. It explains what it does, who it is for, and why you might want to use it in a public administration context.",
+          "release_date": null,
+          "parties": [
+            {
+              "type": "person",
+              "role": "maintainer",
+              "name": "Francesco Rossi",
+              "email": "f.rossi@example.com",
+              "url": null
+            }
+          ],
+          "keywords": [
+            "financial-reporting",
+            "accounting"
+          ],
+          "homepage_url": "https://example.com/medusa",
+          "download_url": null,
+          "size": null,
+          "sha1": null,
+          "md5": null,
+          "sha256": null,
+          "sha512": null,
+          "bug_tracking_url": null,
+          "code_view_url": null,
+          "vcs_url": "https://example.com/italia/medusa.git",
+          "copyright": "City of Example",
+          "holder": "City of Example",
+          "declared_license_expression": "agpl-3.0-plus",
+          "declared_license_expression_spdx": "AGPL-3.0-or-later",
+          "license_detections": [
+            {
+              "license_expression": "agpl-3.0-plus",
+              "license_expression_spdx": "AGPL-3.0-or-later",
+              "matches": [
+                {
+                  "license_expression": "agpl-3.0-plus",
+                  "license_expression_spdx": "AGPL-3.0-or-later",
+                  "from_file": "publiccode.yml",
+                  "start_line": 1,
+                  "end_line": 1,
+                  "matcher": "1-hash",
+                  "score": 100.0,
+                  "matched_length": 5,
+                  "match_coverage": 100.0,
+                  "rule_relevance": 100,
+                  "rule_identifier": "spdx_license_id_agpl-3.0-or-later_for_agpl-3.0-plus.RULE",
+                  "rule_url": "https://github.com/nexB/scancode-toolkit/tree/develop/src/licensedcode/data/rules/spdx_license_id_agpl-3.0-or-later_for_agpl-3.0-plus.RULE",
+                  "matched_text": "AGPL-3.0-or-later"
+                }
+              ],
+              "identifier": "agpl_3_0_plus-a0f62d44-7e99-852b-0b1c-0bc5e1c9f6d0"
+            }
+          ],
+          "other_license_expression": null,
+          "other_license_expression_spdx": null,
+          "other_license_detections": [],
+          "extracted_license_statement": "AGPL-3.0-or-later",
+          "notice_text": null,
+          "source_packages": [],
+          "file_references": [],
+          "is_private": false,
+          "is_virtual": false,
+          "extra_data": {
+            "publiccodeYmlVersion": "0.4",
+            "platforms": [
+              "web",
+              "linux"
+            ],
+            "developmentStatus": "stable",
+            "softwareType": "standalone/desktop"
+          },
+          "dependencies": [],
+          "repository_homepage_url": null,
+          "repository_download_url": null,
+          "api_data_url": null,
+          "datasource_id": "publiccode_yml",
+          "purl": "pkg:publiccode/Medusa@1.0.3"
+        }
+      ],
+      "for_packages": [
+        "pkg:publiccode/Medusa@1.0.3?uuid=fixed-uid-done-for-testing-5642512d1758"
+      ],
+      "scan_errors": []
+    }
+  ]
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/packagedcode/test_publiccode.py b/tests/packagedcode/test_publiccode.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c1b09a3b9f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/packagedcode/test_publiccode.py
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+#
+# Copyright (c) nexB Inc. and others. All rights reserved.
+# ScanCode is a trademark of nexB Inc.
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+#
+
+import os
+
+from packagedcode import publiccode
+from packages_test_utils import PackageTester
+from scancode.cli_test_utils import check_json_scan
+from scancode.cli_test_utils import run_scan_click
+from scancode_config import REGEN_TEST_FIXTURES
+
+
+class TestPubliccode(PackageTester):
+    test_data_dir = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'data')
+
+    def test_publiccode_yml_is_datafile(self):
+        test_file = self.get_test_loc('publiccode/publiccode.yml')
+        assert publiccode.PubliccodeYmlHandler.is_datafile(test_file)
+
+    def test_parse_publiccode_yml(self):
+        test_file = self.get_test_loc('publiccode/publiccode.yml')
+        packages = publiccode.PubliccodeYmlHandler.parse(test_file)
+        expected_loc = self.get_test_loc(
+            'publiccode/publiccode.yml-expected.json',
+            must_exist=False,
+        )
+        self.check_packages_data(
+            packages_data=packages,
+            expected_loc=expected_loc,
+            must_exist=False,
+            regen=REGEN_TEST_FIXTURES,
+        )
+
+    def test_scan_cli_works(self):
+        test_file = self.get_test_loc('publiccode/publiccode.yml')
+        expected_file = self.get_test_loc(
+            'publiccode/publiccode.yml-scancode.json',
+            must_exist=False,
+        )
+        result_file = self.get_temp_file('results.json')
+        run_scan_click(['--package', test_file, '--json', result_file])
+        check_json_scan(
+            expected_file=expected_file,
+            result_file=result_file,
+            remove_uuid=True,
+            regen=REGEN_TEST_FIXTURES,
+        )
+
+    def test_publiccode_yml_no_version_key_returns_nothing(self):
+        test_file = self.get_temp_file(extension='yml', file_name='publiccode')
+        with open(test_file, 'w') as temp_file:
+            temp_file.write('name: something\nversion: 1.0\n')
+
+        packages = list(publiccode.PubliccodeYmlHandler.parse(test_file))
+        assert packages == []
+
+    def test_publiccode_yml_path_patterns(self):
+        assert publiccode.PubliccodeYmlHandler.path_patterns == (
+            '*publiccode.yml',
+            '*publiccode.yaml',
+        )