diff --git a/.github/CODEOWNERS b/.github/CODEOWNERS
index b9badf8..1165bfc 100644
--- a/.github/CODEOWNERS
+++ b/.github/CODEOWNERS
@@ -1 +1,12 @@
 * @matt-mercer @nhsdigital/mesh-to-cloud-admins
+
+# unblock dependency and workflow files so dependabot PRs can be automatically approved and merged
+pyproject.toml *
+**/pyproject.toml *
+poetry.lock *
+requirements*.txt *
+**/requirements*.txt *
+package.json *
+package-lock.json *
+.github/workflows/*.yml *
+.github/workflows/*.yaml *