diff --git a/checks/basic/bare_pods.go b/checks/basic/bare_pods.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3df93a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/checks/basic/bare_pods.go
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2019 DigitalOcean
+
+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.
+*/
+
+package basic
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+
+	"github.com/digitalocean/clusterlint/checks"
+	"github.com/digitalocean/clusterlint/kube"
+)
+
+func init() {
+	checks.Register(&barePodCheck{})
+}
+
+type barePodCheck struct{}
+
+// Name returns a unique name for this check.
+func (b *barePodCheck) Name() string {
+	return "bare-pods"
+}
+
+// Groups returns a list of group names this check should be part of.
+func (b *barePodCheck) Groups() []string {
+	return []string{"basic"}
+}
+
+// Description returns a detailed human-readable description of what this check
+// does.
+func (b *barePodCheck) Description() string {
+	return "Check if there are bare pods in the cluster"
+}
+
+// Run runs this check on a set of Kubernetes objects. It can return warnings
+// (low-priority problems) and errors (high-priority problems) as well as an
+// error value indicating that the check failed to run.
+func (b *barePodCheck) Run(objects *kube.Objects) ([]checks.Diagnostic, error) {
+	var diagnostics []checks.Diagnostic
+	for _, pod := range objects.Pods.Items {
+		pod := pod
+		fmt.Println(pod.ObjectMeta.OwnerReferences)
+		if len(pod.ObjectMeta.OwnerReferences) == 0 {
+			d := checks.Diagnostic{
+				Check:    b.Name(),
+				Severity: checks.Error,
+				Message:  fmt.Sprintf("Avoid using bare pods in clusters"),
+				Kind:     checks.Pod,
+				Object:   &pod.ObjectMeta,
+				Owners:   pod.ObjectMeta.GetOwnerReferences(),
+			}
+			diagnostics = append(diagnostics, d)
+		}
+	}
+
+	return diagnostics, nil
+}
diff --git a/checks/basic/bare_pods_test.go b/checks/basic/bare_pods_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6e1688e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/checks/basic/bare_pods_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+package basic
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/digitalocean/clusterlint/checks"
+	"github.com/digitalocean/clusterlint/kube"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
+	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
+)
+
+func TestBarePodCheckMeta(t *testing.T) {
+	barePodCheck := barePodCheck{}
+	assert.Equal(t, "bare-pods", barePodCheck.Name())
+	assert.Equal(t, []string{"basic"}, barePodCheck.Groups())
+	assert.NotEmpty(t, barePodCheck.Description())
+}
+
+func TestBarePodCheckRegistration(t *testing.T) {
+	barePodCheck := &barePodCheck{}
+	check, err := checks.Get(barePodCheck.Name())
+	assert.NoError(t, err, "Should not fail registration")
+	assert.Equal(t, check, barePodCheck)
+}
+
+func TestBarePodError(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name     string
+		objs     *kube.Objects
+		expected []checks.Diagnostic
+	}{
+		{
+			name:     "no pods",
+			objs:     &kube.Objects{Pods: &corev1.PodList{}},
+			expected: nil,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "pod has owner ref",
+			objs:     initRefs(initPod()),
+			expected: nil,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "multiple pods with owner refs",
+			objs:     initRefs(initMultiplePods()),
+			expected: nil,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "pod has no owner ref",
+			objs: initPod(),
+			expected: []checks.Diagnostic{
+				{
+					Severity: "error",
+					Check:    "bare-pods",
+					Kind:     checks.Pod,
+					Message:  "Avoid using bare pods in clusters",
+					Object:   GetObjectMeta(),
+					Owners:   nil,
+				},
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "multiple pods with no owner ref",
+			objs: initMultiplePods(),
+			expected: []checks.Diagnostic{
+				{
+					Severity: "error",
+					Check:    "bare-pods",
+					Kind:     checks.Pod,
+					Message:  "Avoid using bare pods in clusters",
+					Object:   &metav1.ObjectMeta{Name: "pod_1", Namespace: "k8s"},
+					Owners:   nil,
+				},
+				{
+					Severity: "error",
+					Check:    "bare-pods",
+					Kind:     checks.Pod,
+					Message:  "Avoid using bare pods in clusters",
+					Object:   &metav1.ObjectMeta{Name: "pod_2", Namespace: "k8s"},
+					Owners:   nil,
+				},
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	barePodCheck := &barePodCheck{}
+
+	for _, test := range tests {
+		t.Run(test.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			d, err := barePodCheck.Run(test.objs)
+			assert.NoError(t, err)
+			assert.ElementsMatch(t, test.expected, d)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func initRefs(objs *kube.Objects) *kube.Objects {
+	for index, _ := range objs.Pods.Items {
+		objs.Pods.Items[index].ObjectMeta.OwnerReferences = []metav1.OwnerReference{
+			{
+				Name:       "Deployment",
+				APIVersion: "apps/v1",
+			},
+		}
+	}
+	return objs
+}
diff --git a/checks/basic/helper_test.go b/checks/basic/helper_test.go
index 3dc7b08..13c891d 100644
--- a/checks/basic/helper_test.go
+++ b/checks/basic/helper_test.go
@@ -37,6 +37,24 @@ func initPod() *kube.Objects {
 	return objs
 }
 
+func initMultiplePods() *kube.Objects {
+	objs := &kube.Objects{
+		Pods: &corev1.PodList{
+			Items: []corev1.Pod{
+				{
+					TypeMeta:   metav1.TypeMeta{Kind: "Pod", APIVersion: "v1"},
+					ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{Name: "pod_1", Namespace: "k8s"},
+				},
+				{
+					TypeMeta:   metav1.TypeMeta{Kind: "Pod", APIVersion: "v1"},
+					ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{Name: "pod_2", Namespace: "k8s"},
+				},
+			},
+		},
+	}
+	return objs
+}
+
 func GetObjectMeta() *metav1.ObjectMeta {
 	objs := initPod()
 	return &objs.Pods.Items[0].ObjectMeta