diff --git a/github/client.go b/github/client.go
index 068775d0..8c0c56fd 100644
--- a/github/client.go
+++ b/github/client.go
@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@ limitations under the License.
 package github
 
 import (
+	"context"
+	"strings"
+
 	"github.com/google/go-github/v32/github"
 
 	"github.com/fluxcd/go-git-providers/gitprovider"
@@ -94,3 +97,35 @@ func (c *Client) OrgRepositories() gitprovider.OrgRepositoriesClient {
 func (c *Client) UserRepositories() gitprovider.UserRepositoriesClient {
 	return c.userRepos
 }
+
+//nolint:gochecknoglobals
+var permissionScopes = map[gitprovider.TokenPermission]string{
+	gitprovider.TokenPermissionRWRepository: "repo",
+}
+
+func (c *Client) HasTokenPermission(ctx context.Context, permission gitprovider.TokenPermission) (bool, error) {
+	requestedScope, ok := permissionScopes[permission]
+	if !ok {
+		return false, gitprovider.ErrNoProviderSupport
+	}
+
+	// The X-OAuth-Scopes header is returned for any API calls, using Meta here to keep things simple.
+	_, res, err := c.c.Client().APIMeta(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, err
+	}
+
+	scopes := res.Header.Get("X-OAuth-Scopes")
+	if scopes == "" {
+		return false, gitprovider.ErrMissingHeader
+	}
+
+	for _, s := range strings.Split(scopes, ",") {
+		scope := strings.TrimSpace(s)
+		if scope == requestedScope {
+			return true, nil
+		}
+	}
+
+	return false, nil
+}
diff --git a/github/integration_test.go b/github/integration_test.go
index a40743da..fd6b8b7a 100644
--- a/github/integration_test.go
+++ b/github/integration_test.go
@@ -248,8 +248,12 @@ var _ = Describe("GitHub Provider", func() {
 		Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 		validateRepo(repo, repoRef)
 
-		getRepo, err := c.OrgRepositories().Get(ctx, repoRef)
-		Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+		var getRepo gitprovider.OrgRepository
+		Eventually(func() error {
+			getRepo, err = c.OrgRepositories().Get(ctx, repoRef)
+			return err
+		}, 3*time.Second, 1*time.Second).ShouldNot(HaveOccurred())
+
 		// Expect the two responses (one from POST and one from GET to have equal "spec")
 		getSpec := newGithubRepositorySpec(getRepo.APIObject().(*github.Repository))
 		postSpec := newGithubRepositorySpec(repo.APIObject().(*github.Repository))
@@ -292,8 +296,12 @@ var _ = Describe("GitHub Provider", func() {
 		_, err = anonClient.UserRepositories().Get(ctx, userRepoRef)
 		Expect(errors.Is(err, gitprovider.ErrNotFound)).To(BeTrue())
 
-		getUserRepo, err := c.UserRepositories().Get(ctx, userRepoRef)
-		Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+		var getUserRepo gitprovider.UserRepository
+		Eventually(func() error {
+			getUserRepo, err = c.UserRepositories().Get(ctx, userRepoRef)
+			return err
+		}, 3*time.Second, 1*time.Second).ShouldNot(HaveOccurred())
+
 		// Expect the two responses (one from POST and one from GET to have equal "spec")
 		getSpec := newGithubRepositorySpec(getUserRepo.APIObject().(*github.Repository))
 		postSpec := newGithubRepositorySpec(userRepo.APIObject().(*github.Repository))
@@ -357,6 +365,16 @@ var _ = Describe("GitHub Provider", func() {
 		Expect(actionTaken).To(BeTrue())
 	})
 
+	It("should validate that the token has the correct permissions", func() {
+		hasPermission, err := c.HasTokenPermission(ctx, 0)
+		Expect(err).To(Equal(gitprovider.ErrNoProviderSupport))
+		Expect(hasPermission).To(Equal(false))
+
+		hasPermission, err = c.HasTokenPermission(ctx, gitprovider.TokenPermissionRWRepository)
+		Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+		Expect(hasPermission).To(Equal(true))
+	})
+
 	AfterSuite(func() {
 		// Don't do anything more if c wasn't created
 		if c == nil {
diff --git a/gitlab/client.go b/gitlab/client.go
index 852bae30..8822ca71 100644
--- a/gitlab/client.go
+++ b/gitlab/client.go
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@ limitations under the License.
 package gitlab
 
 import (
+	"context"
+
 	"github.com/fluxcd/go-git-providers/gitprovider"
 	"github.com/xanzy/go-gitlab"
 )
@@ -102,3 +104,7 @@ func (c *Client) OrgRepositories() gitprovider.OrgRepositoriesClient {
 func (c *Client) UserRepositories() gitprovider.UserRepositoriesClient {
 	return c.userRepos
 }
+
+func (c *Client) HasTokenPermission(ctx context.Context, permission gitprovider.TokenPermission) (bool, error) {
+	return false, gitprovider.ErrNoProviderSupport
+}
diff --git a/gitprovider/client.go b/gitprovider/client.go
index 37d15d6d..ff596153 100644
--- a/gitprovider/client.go
+++ b/gitprovider/client.go
@@ -33,6 +33,10 @@ type Client interface {
 	// This field is set at client creation time, and can't be changed.
 	ProviderID() ProviderID
 
+	// HasTokenPermission returns a boolean indicating whether the supplied token has the requested
+	// permission. Permissions should be coarse-grained and applicable to *all* providers.
+	HasTokenPermission(ctx context.Context, permission TokenPermission) (bool, error)
+
 	// Raw returns the Go client used under the hood to access the Git provider.
 	Raw() interface{}
 }
diff --git a/gitprovider/enums.go b/gitprovider/enums.go
index 639ac29c..ca80bc44 100644
--- a/gitprovider/enums.go
+++ b/gitprovider/enums.go
@@ -161,3 +161,10 @@ func ValidateLicenseTemplate(t LicenseTemplate) error {
 func LicenseTemplateVar(t LicenseTemplate) *LicenseTemplate {
 	return &t
 }
+
+type TokenPermission int
+
+const (
+	// Read/Write permission for public/private repositories.
+	TokenPermissionRWRepository TokenPermission = iota + 1
+)
diff --git a/gitprovider/errors.go b/gitprovider/errors.go
index 44cfb4b7..089dbfab 100644
--- a/gitprovider/errors.go
+++ b/gitprovider/errors.go
@@ -66,6 +66,8 @@ var (
 	// ErrInvalidPermissionLevel is the error returned when there is no mapping
 	// from the given level to the gitprovider levels.
 	ErrInvalidPermissionLevel = errors.New("invalid permission level")
+	// ErrMissingHeader is returned when an expected header is missing from the HTTP response.
+	ErrMissingHeader = errors.New("header is missing")
 )
 
 // HTTPError is an error that contains context about the HTTP request/response that failed.