diff --git a/pkg/codeowners/owners.go b/pkg/codeowners/owners.go
index 6910bd2..e0c95e9 100644
--- a/pkg/codeowners/owners.go
+++ b/pkg/codeowners/owners.go
@@ -39,6 +39,10 @@ func NewFromPath(repoPath string) ([]Entry, error) {
 // openCodeownersFile finds a CODEOWNERS file and returns content.
 // see: https://help.github.com/articles/about-code-owners/#codeowners-file-location
 func openCodeownersFile(dir string) (io.Reader, error) {
+	if file, ok := os.LookupEnv("OWNERS_FILE"); ok {
+		return fs.Open(file)
+	}
+
 	var detectedFiles []string
 	for _, p := range []string{".", "docs", ".github"} {
 		pth := path.Join(dir, p)