diff --git a/common/hwid_override.h b/common/hwid_override.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d39b572
--- /dev/null
+++ b/common/hwid_override.h
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+//
+// Copyright (C) 2013 The Android Open Source Project
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+//
+
+#ifndef UPDATE_ENGINE_COMMON_HWID_OVERRIDE_H_
+#define UPDATE_ENGINE_COMMON_HWID_OVERRIDE_H_
+
+#include <map>
+#include <string>
+
+#include <base/files/file_path.h>
+#include <base/macros.h>
+
+namespace chromeos_update_engine {
+
+// Class that allows HWID to be read from <root>/etc/lsb-release.
+class HwidOverride {
+ public:
+  HwidOverride();
+  ~HwidOverride();
+
+  // Read HWID from an /etc/lsb-release file under given root.
+  // An empty string is returned if there is any error.
+  static std::string Read(const base::FilePath& root);
+
+  static const char kHwidOverrideKey[];
+
+ private:
+  DISALLOW_COPY_AND_ASSIGN(HwidOverride);
+};
+
+}  // namespace chromeos_update_engine
+
+#endif  // UPDATE_ENGINE_COMMON_HWID_OVERRIDE_H_