diff --git a/clang-tools-extra/clang-tidy/add_new_check.py b/clang-tools-extra/clang-tidy/add_new_check.py
--- a/clang-tools-extra/clang-tidy/add_new_check.py
+++ b/clang-tools-extra/clang-tidy/add_new_check.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env python
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
 #
 #===- add_new_check.py - clang-tidy check generator ---------*- python -*--===#
 #
diff --git a/clang-tools-extra/clang-tidy/rename_check.py b/clang-tools-extra/clang-tidy/rename_check.py
--- a/clang-tools-extra/clang-tidy/rename_check.py
+++ b/clang-tools-extra/clang-tidy/rename_check.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env python
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
 #
 #===- rename_check.py - clang-tidy check renamer ------------*- python -*--===#
 #
diff --git a/clang-tools-extra/docs/ReleaseNotes.rst b/clang-tools-extra/docs/ReleaseNotes.rst
--- a/clang-tools-extra/docs/ReleaseNotes.rst
+++ b/clang-tools-extra/docs/ReleaseNotes.rst
@@ -96,6 +96,9 @@
 Improvements to clang-tidy
 --------------------------
 
+- Change to Python 3 in the shebang of `add_new_check.py` and `rename_check.py`,
+  as the existing code is not compatible with Python 2.
+
 New checks
 ^^^^^^^^^^