diff --git a/VERSION.txt b/VERSION.txt
index f6cdf409..88f18119 100644
--- a/VERSION.txt
+++ b/VERSION.txt
@@ -1 +1 @@
-4.7.0
+4.8.0
diff --git a/debian/changelog b/debian/changelog
index deb11f03..45ef1a36 100644
--- a/debian/changelog
+++ b/debian/changelog
@@ -1,3 +1,14 @@
+pywps (4.8.0) trusty; urgency=medium
+
+  * Tests that require specific optional libraries have been marked as such (#699).
+  * Packaging now uses pyprojec.toml and adheres to PEPs 517 and 621 (#701).
+  * Now supports explicit path validation for complex inputs (#704).
+  * LAS/LAZ point cloud formats now better supported (#702).
+  * CI testing now uses explicit commit hashes for Actions and Python CI dependencies (#703).
+  * Project now uses Trusted Publisher for deploying packages to PyPI. (#709).
+
+ -- Trevor James Smith <smith.trevorj@ouranos.ca>  Mon, 14 Sep 2026 21:00:00 +0000
+
 pywps (4.7.0) trusty; urgency=medium
 
   * Skipped support for Python 3.8 and 3.9.
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 6d7168da..ba8a8768 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ s3 = ["boto3"]
 joblauncher = "pywps.processing.job:launcher"
 
 [tool.bumpversion]
-current_version = "4.7.0"
+current_version = "4.8.0"
 commit = false
 tag = false
 parse = "(?P<major>\\d+)\\.(?P<minor>\\d+)\\.(?P<patch>\\d+)"
diff --git a/pywps/__init__.py b/pywps/__init__.py
index 444fd584..35642197 100644
--- a/pywps/__init__.py
+++ b/pywps/__init__.py
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 
 from lxml.builder import ElementMaker
 
-__version__ = "4.7.0"
+__version__ = "4.8.0"
 
 LOGGER = logging.getLogger('PYWPS')
 LOGGER.debug('setting core variables')
diff --git a/tests/validator/test_complexvalidators.py b/tests/validator/test_complexvalidators.py
index 5c01ff6a..f6265826 100644
--- a/tests/validator/test_complexvalidators.py
+++ b/tests/validator/test_complexvalidators.py
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
 from pywps.inout.basic import SOURCE_TYPE
 import tempfile
 import os
+import requests
 
 
 HAS_NETCDF4 = bool(ilu.find_spec("netCDF4"))
@@ -211,7 +212,12 @@ def test_dods_validator(self):
         self.assertTrue(validatedods(opendap_input, MODE.NONE), 'NONE validation')
         self.assertTrue(validatedods(opendap_input, MODE.SIMPLE), 'SIMPLE validation')
 
-        self.assertTrue(validatedods(opendap_input, MODE.STRICT), 'STRICT validation')
+        r = requests.head(opendap_input.url)
+        if r.status_code == 200:
+            self.assertTrue(validatedods(opendap_input, MODE.STRICT), 'STRICT validation')
+        else:
+            pass # site unavailable
+
         opendap_input.url = 'Faulty url'
         self.assertFalse(validatedods(opendap_input, MODE.STRICT))