diff --git a/src/pip/__init__.py b/src/pip/__init__.py
index 7b2bc25ff..e8bb5c837 100644
--- a/src/pip/__init__.py
+++ b/src/pip/__init__.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 from typing import List, Optional
 
-__version__ = "21.2.1"
+__version__ = "21.3.dev0"
 
 
 def main(args: Optional[List[str]] = None) -> int: