diff --git a/doc/source/_static/numpy.css b/doc/source/_static/numpy.css
index bc84d02dbeea..4a489474d9d7 100644
--- a/doc/source/_static/numpy.css
+++ b/doc/source/_static/numpy.css
@@ -136,3 +136,22 @@ html[data-theme=dark] h1 {
 html[data-theme=dark] h3 {
   color: #0a6774;
 }
+
+/* Legacy admonition */
+
+div.admonition-legacy {
+  border-color: var(--pst-color-warning);
+}
+
+.admonition-legacy.admonition>.admonition-title::before,
+div.admonition>.admonition-title::before {
+  color: var(--pst-color-warning);
+  content: var(--pst-icon-admonition-attention);
+  background-color: var(--pst-color-warning);
+}
+
+.admonition-legacy.admonition>.admonition-title::after,
+div.admonition>.admonition-title::after {
+  color: var(--pst-color-warning);
+  content: var(--pst-icon-admonition-default);
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/doc/source/conf.py b/doc/source/conf.py
index cde67f4b0bb1..3214bbb548c8 100644
--- a/doc/source/conf.py
+++ b/doc/source/conf.py
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 import re
 import sys
 import importlib
+from docutils import nodes
+from docutils.parsers.rst import Directive
 
 # Minimum version, enforced by sphinx
 needs_sphinx = '4.3'
@@ -152,10 +154,64 @@ class PyTypeObject(ctypes.Structure):
 # output. They are ignored by default.
 #show_authors = False
 
+class LegacyDirective(Directive):
+    """
+    Adapted from docutils/parsers/rst/directives/admonitions.py
+
+    Uses a default text if the directive does not have contents. If it does,
+    the default text is concatenated to the contents.
+
+    See also the same implementation in SciPy's conf.py.
+    """
+    has_content = True
+    node_class = nodes.admonition
+    optional_arguments = 1
+
+    def run(self):
+        try:
+            obj = self.arguments[0]
+        except IndexError:
+            # Argument is empty; use default text
+            obj = "submodule"
+        text = (f"This {obj} is considered legacy and will no longer receive "
+                "updates. This could also mean it will be removed in future "
+                "NumPy versions.")
+
+        try:
+            self.content[0] = text+" "+self.content[0]
+        except IndexError:
+            # Content is empty; use the default text
+            source, lineno = self.state_machine.get_source_and_line(
+                self.lineno
+            )
+            self.content.append(
+                text,
+                source=source,
+                offset=lineno
+            )
+        text = '\n'.join(self.content)
+        # Create the admonition node, to be populated by `nested_parse`
+        admonition_node = self.node_class(rawsource=text)
+        # Set custom title
+        title_text = "Legacy"
+        textnodes, _ = self.state.inline_text(title_text, self.lineno)
+        title = nodes.title(title_text, '', *textnodes)
+        # Set up admonition node
+        admonition_node += title
+        # Select custom class for CSS styling
+        admonition_node['classes'] = ['admonition-legacy']
+        # Parse the directive contents
+        self.state.nested_parse(self.content, self.content_offset,
+                                admonition_node)
+        return [admonition_node]
+
+
 def setup(app):
     # add a config value for `ifconfig` directives
     app.add_config_value('python_version_major', str(sys.version_info.major), 'env')
     app.add_lexer('NumPyC', NumPyLexer)
+    app.add_directive("legacy", LegacyDirective)
+
 
 # While these objects do have type `module`, the names are aliases for modules
 # elsewhere. Sphinx does not support referring to modules by an aliases name,
diff --git a/doc/source/dev/howto-docs.rst b/doc/source/dev/howto-docs.rst
index 8e1d957a8bf3..c07724e70f0a 100644
--- a/doc/source/dev/howto-docs.rst
+++ b/doc/source/dev/howto-docs.rst
@@ -429,6 +429,42 @@ for more details and to see it in action.
 .. _`Breathe`: https://breathe.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
 
 
+Legacy directive
+================
+
+If a function, module or API is in *legacy* mode, meaning that it is kept around
+for backwards compatibility reasons, but is not recommended to use in new code,
+you can use the ``.. legacy::`` directive.
+
+By default, if used with no arguments, the legacy directive will generate the
+following output:
+
+.. legacy::
+
+
+We strongly recommend that you also add a custom message, such as a new API to
+replace the old one::
+
+   .. legacy::
+
+      For more details, see :ref:`distutils-status-migration`.
+
+This message will be appended to the default message and will create the
+following output:
+
+.. legacy::
+
+   For more details, see :ref:`distutils-status-migration`.
+
+Finally, if you want to mention a function, method (or any custom object)
+instead of a *submodule*, you can use an optional argument::
+
+    .. legacy:: function
+
+This will create the following output:
+
+.. legacy:: function
+
 *********************
 Documentation reading
 *********************