diff --git a/nova/conf/cert.py b/nova/conf/cert.py
index c85b0b18b2b8..9bc6cbc37b04 100644
--- a/nova/conf/cert.py
+++ b/nova/conf/cert.py
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-# needs:check_deprecation_status
-
 # Copyright 2016 IBM Corp.
 # Copyright 2016 OpenStack Foundation
 # All Rights Reserved.
@@ -20,6 +18,12 @@ from oslo_config import cfg
 
 cert_opts = [
     cfg.StrOpt("cert_topic",
+        deprecated_for_removal=True,
+        deprecated_reason="""
+Since the nova-cert service is marked for deprecation, the feature to change
+RPC topic that cert nodes listen may be removed as early as the 15.0.0
+Ocata release.
+""",
         default="cert",
         help="""
 Determines the RPC topic that the cert nodes listen on. For most deployments
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/deprecate_os_cert-f0aa07bab1a229aa.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/deprecate_os_cert-f0aa07bab1a229aa.yaml
index e673eefd7d86..23229aae96f5 100644
--- a/releasenotes/notes/deprecate_os_cert-f0aa07bab1a229aa.yaml
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/deprecate_os_cert-f0aa07bab1a229aa.yaml
@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@
 deprecations:
 
   - The ``/os-certificates`` API is deprecated, as well as the
-    ``nova-cert`` service which powers it. This is a vestigial part of
+    ``nova-cert`` service which powers it. The related config option
+    ``cert_topic`` is also now marked for deprecation and may be removed as
+    early as 15.0.0 Ocata release. This is a vestigial part of
     the Nova API that existed only for EC2 support, which is now
     maintained out of tree. It does not interact with any of the rest
     of nova, and should not just be used as a certificates as a