diff --git a/docs/config_coding.html b/docs/config_coding.html
index 1a600174f..ff5cce2fa 100644
--- a/docs/config_coding.html
+++ b/docs/config_coding.html
@@ -70,6 +70,9 @@
         <li>
           <a href="#NestedTryDepth">NestedTryDepth</a>
         </li>
+        <li>
+          <a href="#PackageDeclaration">PackageDeclaration</a>
+        </li>
         <li>
           <a href="#RedundantThrows">RedundantThrows</a>
         </li>
@@ -1015,7 +1018,6 @@ return !valid();
       <a href="config.html#treewalker">TreeWalker</a>
       </p>
 
-
       <!-- --> <a name="IllegalCatch"></a> <h2>IllegalCatch</h2> <h4>Description</h4>
       <p class="body">
       Catching java.lang.Exception, java.lang.Error or java.lang.RuntimeException
@@ -1060,6 +1062,32 @@ return !valid();
       <a href="config.html#treewalker">TreeWalker</a>
       </p>
 
+      <!-- --> <a name="PackageDeclaration"></a> <h2>PackageDeclaration</h2> 
+      <h4>Description</h4>
+      <p class="body">
+      Ensure a class is has a package declaration.
+      </p>
+      <p class="body">
+      Rationale: Classes that live in the null package cannot be
+      imported. Many novice developers are not aware of this.
+      </p>
+
+      <h4>Examples</h4>
+      <p class="body">
+      To configure the check:
+      </p>
+      <pre class="body">
+&lt;module name=&quot;PackageDeclaration&quot;/&gt;
+      </pre>
+      <h4>Package</h4>
+      <p class="body">
+      com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.checks.coding
+      </p>
+      <h4>Parent Module</h4>
+      <p class="body">
+      <a href="config.html#treewalker">TreeWalker</a>
+      </p>
+
     </td>
   </tr>
 </table>
diff --git a/docs/releasenotes.html b/docs/releasenotes.html
index 209d98c8d..445a1aa76 100644
--- a/docs/releasenotes.html
+++ b/docs/releasenotes.html
@@ -143,6 +143,8 @@
 
         <li class="body">Added IllegalCatch check. (request 750746).</li>
 
+        <li class="body">Added PackageDeclaration check. (request 750753).</li>
+
       </ul>
 
       <p class="body">
diff --git a/src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/checks/coding/PackageDeclarationCheck.java b/src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/checks/coding/PackageDeclarationCheck.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b7032b697
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/checks/coding/PackageDeclarationCheck.java
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+// checkstyle: Checks Java source code for adherence to a set of rules.
+// Copyright (C) 2001-2003  Oliver Burn
+//
+// This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+// modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+// License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+// version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+//
+// This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+// Lesser General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+// License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
+// Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA
+////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+package com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.checks.coding;
+
+import com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.api.Check;
+import com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.api.DetailAST;
+import com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.api.TokenTypes;
+
+/**
+ * Ensures there is a package declaration.
+ * Rationale: Classes that live in the null package cannot be
+ * imported. Many novice developers are not aware of this.
+ *
+ * @author <a href="mailto:simon@redhillconsulting.com.au">Simon Harris</a>
+ */
+public final class PackageDeclarationCheck extends Check
+{
+    /** is package defined. */
+    private boolean mDefined;
+
+    /** @see Check */
+    public int[] getDefaultTokens()
+    {
+        return new int[] {TokenTypes.PACKAGE_DEF};
+    }
+
+    /** @see Check */
+    public int[] getRequiredTokens()
+    {
+        return getDefaultTokens();
+    }
+
+    /** @see Check */
+    public void beginTree(DetailAST aAST)
+    {
+        mDefined = false;
+    }
+
+    /** @see Check */
+    public void finishTree(DetailAST aAST)
+    {
+        if (!mDefined) {
+            log(aAST.getLineNo(), "missing.package.declaration");
+        }
+    }
+
+    /** @see Check */
+    public void visitToken(DetailAST aAST)
+    {
+        mDefined = true;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/checks/coding/messages.properties b/src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/checks/coding/messages.properties
index 47792a74c..6a4fa5f1a 100644
--- a/src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/checks/coding/messages.properties
+++ b/src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/checks/coding/messages.properties
@@ -37,3 +37,4 @@ nested.try.depth=Nested try depth is {0,number,integer} (max allowed is {1,numbe
 string.literal.equality=Literal Strings should be compared using equals(), not ''{0}''.
 
 illegal.catch=Catching ''{0}'' is not allowed.
+missing.package.declaration=Missing package declaration.
diff --git a/src/testinputs/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/coding/InputNoPackage.java b/src/testinputs/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/coding/InputNoPackage.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b791af5c7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/testinputs/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/coding/InputNoPackage.java
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+/**
+ * No package here.
+ */
+public class InputNoPackage {
+}
diff --git a/src/tests/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/AllTests.java b/src/tests/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/AllTests.java
index 3aa21ec0d..f7c71783b 100644
--- a/src/tests/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/AllTests.java
+++ b/src/tests/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/AllTests.java
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ import com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.checks.coding.MagicNumberCheckTest;
 import com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.checks.coding.MissingSwitchDefaultCheckTest;
 import com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.checks.coding.NestedIfDepthCheckTest;
 import com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.checks.coding.NestedTryDepthCheckTest;
+import com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.checks.coding.PackageDeclarationCheckTest;
 import com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.checks.coding.RedundantThrowsCheckTest;
 import com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.checks.coding.SimplifyBooleanExpressionCheckTest;
 import com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.checks.coding.SimplifyBooleanReturnCheckTest;
@@ -169,6 +170,7 @@ public class AllTests {
         suite.addTest(new TestSuite(NoWhitespaceBeforeCheckTest.class));
         suite.addTest(new TestSuite(OperatorWrapCheckTest.class));
         suite.addTest(new TestSuite(OptionTest.class));
+        suite.addTest(new TestSuite(PackageDeclarationCheckTest.class));
         suite.addTest(new TestSuite(PackageHtmlCheckTest.class));
         suite.addTest(new TestSuite(PackageNameCheckTest.class));
         suite.addTest(new TestSuite(PackageNamesLoaderTest.class));
diff --git a/src/tests/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/checks/coding/PackageDeclarationCheckTest.java b/src/tests/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/checks/coding/PackageDeclarationCheckTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..eec190c73
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/tests/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/checks/coding/PackageDeclarationCheckTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+package com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.checks.coding;
+
+import com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.BaseCheckTestCase;
+import com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.DefaultConfiguration;
+
+import java.io.File;
+
+public class PackageDeclarationCheckTest extends BaseCheckTestCase
+{
+    public void testDefault() throws Exception
+    {
+        DefaultConfiguration checkConfig = createCheckConfig(PackageDeclarationCheck.class);
+
+        String[] expected = {
+            "4: Missing package declaration.",
+        };
+
+        verify(checkConfig, getPath("coding" + File.separator + "InputNoPackage.java"), expected);
+    }
+
+    public void testDefault1() throws Exception
+    {
+        DefaultConfiguration checkConfig = createCheckConfig(PackageDeclarationCheck.class);
+
+        String[] expected = {
+        };
+
+        verify(checkConfig, getPath("coding" + File.separator + "InputIllegalCatchCheck.java"), expected);
+    }
+}