diff --git a/v3/provider.go b/v3/provider.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..43b641d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/v3/provider.go
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+package v3
+
+import (
+	"context"
+
+	corev2 "github.com/sensu/core/v2"
+)
+
+// AuthProvider represents an abstracted authentication provider
+type AuthProvider interface {
+	Resource
+
+	// Authenticate attempts to authenticate a user with its username and password
+	Authenticate(ctx context.Context, username, password string) (*corev2.Claims, error)
+	// Refresh renews the user claims with the provider claims
+	Refresh(ctx context.Context, claims *corev2.Claims) (*corev2.Claims, error)
+
+	// Name returns the provider name (e.g. default)
+	Name() string
+	// Type returns the provider type (e.g. ldap)
+	Type() string
+}