diff --git a/.azure-pipelines/templates/steps/sphinx-steps.yml b/.azure-pipelines/templates/steps/sphinx-steps.yml
index 7e1d2ee9d..fa2952b05 100644
--- a/.azure-pipelines/templates/steps/sphinx-steps.yml
+++ b/.azure-pipelines/templates/steps/sphinx-steps.yml
@@ -2,14 +2,12 @@ steps:
   - bash: |
       FINAL_STATUS=0
       declare -a FAILED_BUILDS
-      python3 -m venv .venv
-      source .venv/bin/activate
-      python tools/pipstrap.py
+      tools/venv.py
+      source venv/bin/activate
       for doc_path in */docs
       do
         echo ""
         echo "##[group]Building $doc_path"
-        tools/pip_install_editable.py $doc_path/..[docs]
         if ! sphinx-build -W --keep-going -b html $doc_path $doc_path/_build/html; then
           FINAL_STATUS=1
           FAILED_BUILDS[${#FAILED_BUILDS[@]}]="${doc_path%/docs}"
diff --git a/certbot-apache/local-oldest-requirements.txt b/certbot-apache/local-oldest-requirements.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index 323e315f1..000000000
--- a/certbot-apache/local-oldest-requirements.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-# Remember to update setup.py to match the package versions below.
-acme[dev]==1.8.0
-certbot[dev]==1.10.1
diff --git a/certbot-apache/setup.py b/certbot-apache/setup.py
index 3bc1b0906..3397671a6 100644
--- a/certbot-apache/setup.py
+++ b/certbot-apache/setup.py
@@ -3,11 +3,12 @@ from setuptools import setup
 
 version = '1.17.0.dev0'
 
-# Remember to update local-oldest-requirements.txt when changing the minimum
-# acme/certbot version.
 install_requires = [
-    'acme>=1.8.0',
-    'certbot>=1.10.1',
+    # We specify the minimum acme and certbot version as the current plugin
+    # version for simplicity. See
+    # https://github.com/certbot/certbot/issues/8761 for more info.
+    f'acme>={version}',
+    f'certbot>={version}',
     'python-augeas',
     'setuptools>=39.0.1',
     'zope.component',
diff --git a/certbot-dns-cloudflare/local-oldest-requirements.txt b/certbot-dns-cloudflare/local-oldest-requirements.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index cf61c15a5..000000000
--- a/certbot-dns-cloudflare/local-oldest-requirements.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-# Remember to update setup.py to match the package versions below.
-acme[dev]==0.29.0
-certbot[dev]==1.1.0
diff --git a/certbot-dns-cloudflare/setup.py b/certbot-dns-cloudflare/setup.py
index 74d71e780..3e5cade98 100644
--- a/certbot-dns-cloudflare/setup.py
+++ b/certbot-dns-cloudflare/setup.py
@@ -6,8 +6,6 @@ from setuptools import setup
 
 version = '1.17.0.dev0'
 
-# Remember to update local-oldest-requirements.txt when changing the minimum
-# acme/certbot version.
 install_requires = [
     'cloudflare>=1.5.1',
     'setuptools>=39.0.1',
@@ -16,8 +14,11 @@ install_requires = [
 
 if not os.environ.get('SNAP_BUILD'):
     install_requires.extend([
-        'acme>=0.29.0',
-        'certbot>=1.1.0',
+        # We specify the minimum acme and certbot version as the current plugin
+        # version for simplicity. See
+        # https://github.com/certbot/certbot/issues/8761 for more info.
+        f'acme>={version}',
+        f'certbot>={version}',
     ])
 elif 'bdist_wheel' in sys.argv[1:]:
     raise RuntimeError('Unset SNAP_BUILD when building wheels '
diff --git a/certbot-dns-cloudxns/local-oldest-requirements.txt b/certbot-dns-cloudxns/local-oldest-requirements.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index 1307698d4..000000000
--- a/certbot-dns-cloudxns/local-oldest-requirements.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-# Remember to update setup.py to match the package versions below.
-acme[dev]==0.31.0
-certbot[dev]==1.1.0
diff --git a/certbot-dns-cloudxns/setup.py b/certbot-dns-cloudxns/setup.py
index 6ffc245b6..da667657a 100644
--- a/certbot-dns-cloudxns/setup.py
+++ b/certbot-dns-cloudxns/setup.py
@@ -6,8 +6,6 @@ from setuptools import setup
 
 version = '1.17.0.dev0'
 
-# Remember to update local-oldest-requirements.txt when changing the minimum
-# acme/certbot version.
 install_requires = [
     'dns-lexicon>=3.1.0',  # Changed `rtype` parameter name
     'setuptools>=39.0.1',
@@ -16,8 +14,11 @@ install_requires = [
 
 if not os.environ.get('SNAP_BUILD'):
     install_requires.extend([
-        'acme>=0.31.0',
-        'certbot>=1.1.0',
+        # We specify the minimum acme and certbot version as the current plugin
+        # version for simplicity. See
+        # https://github.com/certbot/certbot/issues/8761 for more info.
+        f'acme>={version}',
+        f'certbot>={version}',
     ])
 elif 'bdist_wheel' in sys.argv[1:]:
     raise RuntimeError('Unset SNAP_BUILD when building wheels '
diff --git a/certbot-dns-digitalocean/local-oldest-requirements.txt b/certbot-dns-digitalocean/local-oldest-requirements.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index cf61c15a5..000000000
--- a/certbot-dns-digitalocean/local-oldest-requirements.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-# Remember to update setup.py to match the package versions below.
-acme[dev]==0.29.0
-certbot[dev]==1.1.0
diff --git a/certbot-dns-digitalocean/setup.py b/certbot-dns-digitalocean/setup.py
index 8f0ce22cb..5b59ab4ac 100644
--- a/certbot-dns-digitalocean/setup.py
+++ b/certbot-dns-digitalocean/setup.py
@@ -6,8 +6,6 @@ from setuptools import setup
 
 version = '1.17.0.dev0'
 
-# Remember to update local-oldest-requirements.txt when changing the minimum
-# acme/certbot version.
 install_requires = [
     'python-digitalocean>=1.11', # 1.15.0 or newer is recommended for TTL support
     'setuptools>=39.0.1',
@@ -16,8 +14,11 @@ install_requires = [
 
 if not os.environ.get('SNAP_BUILD'):
     install_requires.extend([
-        'acme>=0.29.0',
-        'certbot>=1.1.0',
+        # We specify the minimum acme and certbot version as the current plugin
+        # version for simplicity. See
+        # https://github.com/certbot/certbot/issues/8761 for more info.
+        f'acme>={version}',
+        f'certbot>={version}',
     ])
 elif 'bdist_wheel' in sys.argv[1:]:
     raise RuntimeError('Unset SNAP_BUILD when building wheels '
diff --git a/certbot-dns-dnsimple/local-oldest-requirements.txt b/certbot-dns-dnsimple/local-oldest-requirements.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index 1307698d4..000000000
--- a/certbot-dns-dnsimple/local-oldest-requirements.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-# Remember to update setup.py to match the package versions below.
-acme[dev]==0.31.0
-certbot[dev]==1.1.0
diff --git a/certbot-dns-dnsimple/setup.py b/certbot-dns-dnsimple/setup.py
index 87584ffa7..5a1b13f44 100644
--- a/certbot-dns-dnsimple/setup.py
+++ b/certbot-dns-dnsimple/setup.py
@@ -6,8 +6,6 @@ from setuptools import setup
 
 version = '1.17.0.dev0'
 
-# Remember to update local-oldest-requirements.txt when changing the minimum
-# acme/certbot version.
 install_requires = [
     'setuptools>=39.0.1',
     'zope.interface',
@@ -15,8 +13,11 @@ install_requires = [
 
 if not os.environ.get('SNAP_BUILD'):
     install_requires.extend([
-        'acme>=0.31.0',
-        'certbot>=1.1.0',
+        # We specify the minimum acme and certbot version as the current plugin
+        # version for simplicity. See
+        # https://github.com/certbot/certbot/issues/8761 for more info.
+        f'acme>={version}',
+        f'certbot>={version}',
     ])
 elif 'bdist_wheel' in sys.argv[1:]:
     raise RuntimeError('Unset SNAP_BUILD when building wheels '
diff --git a/certbot-dns-dnsmadeeasy/local-oldest-requirements.txt b/certbot-dns-dnsmadeeasy/local-oldest-requirements.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index 1307698d4..000000000
--- a/certbot-dns-dnsmadeeasy/local-oldest-requirements.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-# Remember to update setup.py to match the package versions below.
-acme[dev]==0.31.0
-certbot[dev]==1.1.0
diff --git a/certbot-dns-dnsmadeeasy/setup.py b/certbot-dns-dnsmadeeasy/setup.py
index b2a4ce7de..e0ff95a3b 100644
--- a/certbot-dns-dnsmadeeasy/setup.py
+++ b/certbot-dns-dnsmadeeasy/setup.py
@@ -6,8 +6,6 @@ from setuptools import setup
 
 version = '1.17.0.dev0'
 
-# Remember to update local-oldest-requirements.txt when changing the minimum
-# acme/certbot version.
 install_requires = [
     'dns-lexicon>=3.1.0',  # Changed `rtype` parameter name
     'setuptools>=39.0.1',
@@ -16,8 +14,11 @@ install_requires = [
 
 if not os.environ.get('SNAP_BUILD'):
     install_requires.extend([
-        'acme>=0.31.0',
-        'certbot>=1.1.0',
+        # We specify the minimum acme and certbot version as the current plugin
+        # version for simplicity. See
+        # https://github.com/certbot/certbot/issues/8761 for more info.
+        f'acme>={version}',
+        f'certbot>={version}',
     ])
 elif 'bdist_wheel' in sys.argv[1:]:
     raise RuntimeError('Unset SNAP_BUILD when building wheels '
diff --git a/certbot-dns-gehirn/local-oldest-requirements.txt b/certbot-dns-gehirn/local-oldest-requirements.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index 1307698d4..000000000
--- a/certbot-dns-gehirn/local-oldest-requirements.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-# Remember to update setup.py to match the package versions below.
-acme[dev]==0.31.0
-certbot[dev]==1.1.0
diff --git a/certbot-dns-gehirn/setup.py b/certbot-dns-gehirn/setup.py
index 5228efcc8..997cd4cca 100644
--- a/certbot-dns-gehirn/setup.py
+++ b/certbot-dns-gehirn/setup.py
@@ -14,8 +14,11 @@ install_requires = [
 
 if not os.environ.get('SNAP_BUILD'):
     install_requires.extend([
-        'acme>=0.31.0',
-        'certbot>=1.1.0',
+        # We specify the minimum acme and certbot version as the current plugin
+        # version for simplicity. See
+        # https://github.com/certbot/certbot/issues/8761 for more info.
+        f'acme>={version}',
+        f'certbot>={version}',
     ])
 elif 'bdist_wheel' in sys.argv[1:]:
     raise RuntimeError('Unset SNAP_BUILD when building wheels '
diff --git a/certbot-dns-google/local-oldest-requirements.txt b/certbot-dns-google/local-oldest-requirements.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index cf61c15a5..000000000
--- a/certbot-dns-google/local-oldest-requirements.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-# Remember to update setup.py to match the package versions below.
-acme[dev]==0.29.0
-certbot[dev]==1.1.0
diff --git a/certbot-dns-google/setup.py b/certbot-dns-google/setup.py
index f1a11fc36..fd3bb4559 100644
--- a/certbot-dns-google/setup.py
+++ b/certbot-dns-google/setup.py
@@ -6,8 +6,6 @@ from setuptools import setup
 
 version = '1.17.0.dev0'
 
-# Remember to update local-oldest-requirements.txt when changing the minimum
-# acme/certbot version.
 install_requires = [
     'google-api-python-client>=1.5.5',
     'oauth2client>=4.0',
@@ -19,8 +17,11 @@ install_requires = [
 
 if not os.environ.get('SNAP_BUILD'):
     install_requires.extend([
-        'acme>=0.29.0',
-        'certbot>=1.1.0',
+        # We specify the minimum acme and certbot version as the current plugin
+        # version for simplicity. See
+        # https://github.com/certbot/certbot/issues/8761 for more info.
+        f'acme>={version}',
+        f'certbot>={version}',
     ])
 elif 'bdist_wheel' in sys.argv[1:]:
     raise RuntimeError('Unset SNAP_BUILD when building wheels '
diff --git a/certbot-dns-linode/local-oldest-requirements.txt b/certbot-dns-linode/local-oldest-requirements.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index 1307698d4..000000000
--- a/certbot-dns-linode/local-oldest-requirements.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-# Remember to update setup.py to match the package versions below.
-acme[dev]==0.31.0
-certbot[dev]==1.1.0
diff --git a/certbot-dns-linode/setup.py b/certbot-dns-linode/setup.py
index 778867ad0..2c21ceecb 100644
--- a/certbot-dns-linode/setup.py
+++ b/certbot-dns-linode/setup.py
@@ -14,8 +14,11 @@ install_requires = [
 
 if not os.environ.get('SNAP_BUILD'):
     install_requires.extend([
-        'acme>=0.31.0',
-        'certbot>=1.1.0',
+        # We specify the minimum acme and certbot version as the current plugin
+        # version for simplicity. See
+        # https://github.com/certbot/certbot/issues/8761 for more info.
+        f'acme>={version}',
+        f'certbot>={version}',
     ])
 elif 'bdist_wheel' in sys.argv[1:]:
     raise RuntimeError('Unset SNAP_BUILD when building wheels '
diff --git a/certbot-dns-luadns/local-oldest-requirements.txt b/certbot-dns-luadns/local-oldest-requirements.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index 1307698d4..000000000
--- a/certbot-dns-luadns/local-oldest-requirements.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-# Remember to update setup.py to match the package versions below.
-acme[dev]==0.31.0
-certbot[dev]==1.1.0
diff --git a/certbot-dns-luadns/setup.py b/certbot-dns-luadns/setup.py
index 798890efa..024b1100b 100644
--- a/certbot-dns-luadns/setup.py
+++ b/certbot-dns-luadns/setup.py
@@ -6,8 +6,6 @@ from setuptools import setup
 
 version = '1.17.0.dev0'
 
-# Remember to update local-oldest-requirements.txt when changing the minimum
-# acme/certbot version.
 install_requires = [
     'dns-lexicon>=3.1.0',  # Changed `rtype` parameter name
     'setuptools>=39.0.1',
@@ -16,8 +14,11 @@ install_requires = [
 
 if not os.environ.get('SNAP_BUILD'):
     install_requires.extend([
-        'acme>=0.31.0',
-        'certbot>=1.1.0',
+        # We specify the minimum acme and certbot version as the current plugin
+        # version for simplicity. See
+        # https://github.com/certbot/certbot/issues/8761 for more info.
+        f'acme>={version}',
+        f'certbot>={version}',
     ])
 elif 'bdist_wheel' in sys.argv[1:]:
     raise RuntimeError('Unset SNAP_BUILD when building wheels '
diff --git a/certbot-dns-nsone/local-oldest-requirements.txt b/certbot-dns-nsone/local-oldest-requirements.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index 1307698d4..000000000
--- a/certbot-dns-nsone/local-oldest-requirements.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-# Remember to update setup.py to match the package versions below.
-acme[dev]==0.31.0
-certbot[dev]==1.1.0
diff --git a/certbot-dns-nsone/setup.py b/certbot-dns-nsone/setup.py
index a60e400e7..959c3876d 100644
--- a/certbot-dns-nsone/setup.py
+++ b/certbot-dns-nsone/setup.py
@@ -6,8 +6,6 @@ from setuptools import setup
 
 version = '1.17.0.dev0'
 
-# Remember to update local-oldest-requirements.txt when changing the minimum
-# acme/certbot version.
 install_requires = [
     'dns-lexicon>=3.1.0',  # Changed `rtype` parameter name
     'setuptools>=39.0.1',
@@ -16,8 +14,11 @@ install_requires = [
 
 if not os.environ.get('SNAP_BUILD'):
     install_requires.extend([
-        'acme>=0.31.0',
-        'certbot>=1.1.0',
+        # We specify the minimum acme and certbot version as the current plugin
+        # version for simplicity. See
+        # https://github.com/certbot/certbot/issues/8761 for more info.
+        f'acme>={version}',
+        f'certbot>={version}',
     ])
 elif 'bdist_wheel' in sys.argv[1:]:
     raise RuntimeError('Unset SNAP_BUILD when building wheels '
diff --git a/certbot-dns-ovh/local-oldest-requirements.txt b/certbot-dns-ovh/local-oldest-requirements.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index 1307698d4..000000000
--- a/certbot-dns-ovh/local-oldest-requirements.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-# Remember to update setup.py to match the package versions below.
-acme[dev]==0.31.0
-certbot[dev]==1.1.0
diff --git a/certbot-dns-ovh/setup.py b/certbot-dns-ovh/setup.py
index dfc75a2b7..52dca456b 100644
--- a/certbot-dns-ovh/setup.py
+++ b/certbot-dns-ovh/setup.py
@@ -6,8 +6,6 @@ from setuptools import setup
 
 version = '1.17.0.dev0'
 
-# Remember to update local-oldest-requirements.txt when changing the minimum
-# acme/certbot version.
 install_requires = [
     'dns-lexicon>=3.1.0',  # Changed `rtype` parameter name
     'setuptools>=39.0.1',
@@ -16,8 +14,11 @@ install_requires = [
 
 if not os.environ.get('SNAP_BUILD'):
     install_requires.extend([
-        'acme>=0.31.0',
-        'certbot>=1.1.0',
+        # We specify the minimum acme and certbot version as the current plugin
+        # version for simplicity. See
+        # https://github.com/certbot/certbot/issues/8761 for more info.
+        f'acme>={version}',
+        f'certbot>={version}',
     ])
 elif 'bdist_wheel' in sys.argv[1:]:
     raise RuntimeError('Unset SNAP_BUILD when building wheels '
diff --git a/certbot-dns-rfc2136/local-oldest-requirements.txt b/certbot-dns-rfc2136/local-oldest-requirements.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index cf61c15a5..000000000
--- a/certbot-dns-rfc2136/local-oldest-requirements.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-# Remember to update setup.py to match the package versions below.
-acme[dev]==0.29.0
-certbot[dev]==1.1.0
diff --git a/certbot-dns-rfc2136/setup.py b/certbot-dns-rfc2136/setup.py
index 38274b963..25f0f2bfe 100644
--- a/certbot-dns-rfc2136/setup.py
+++ b/certbot-dns-rfc2136/setup.py
@@ -6,8 +6,6 @@ from setuptools import setup
 
 version = '1.17.0.dev0'
 
-# Remember to update local-oldest-requirements.txt when changing the minimum
-# acme/certbot version.
 install_requires = [
     'dnspython',
     'setuptools>=39.0.1',
@@ -16,8 +14,11 @@ install_requires = [
 
 if not os.environ.get('SNAP_BUILD'):
     install_requires.extend([
-        'acme>=0.29.0',
-        'certbot>=1.1.0',
+        # We specify the minimum acme and certbot version as the current plugin
+        # version for simplicity. See
+        # https://github.com/certbot/certbot/issues/8761 for more info.
+        f'acme>={version}',
+        f'certbot>={version}',
     ])
 elif 'bdist_wheel' in sys.argv[1:]:
     raise RuntimeError('Unset SNAP_BUILD when building wheels '
diff --git a/certbot-dns-route53/local-oldest-requirements.txt b/certbot-dns-route53/local-oldest-requirements.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index cf61c15a5..000000000
--- a/certbot-dns-route53/local-oldest-requirements.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-# Remember to update setup.py to match the package versions below.
-acme[dev]==0.29.0
-certbot[dev]==1.1.0
diff --git a/certbot-dns-route53/setup.py b/certbot-dns-route53/setup.py
index 83dd491b0..90069b3e2 100644
--- a/certbot-dns-route53/setup.py
+++ b/certbot-dns-route53/setup.py
@@ -6,8 +6,6 @@ from setuptools import setup
 
 version = '1.17.0.dev0'
 
-# Remember to update local-oldest-requirements.txt when changing the minimum
-# acme/certbot version.
 install_requires = [
     'boto3',
     'setuptools>=39.0.1',
@@ -16,8 +14,11 @@ install_requires = [
 
 if not os.environ.get('SNAP_BUILD'):
     install_requires.extend([
-        'acme>=0.29.0',
-        'certbot>=1.1.0',
+        # We specify the minimum acme and certbot version as the current plugin
+        # version for simplicity. See
+        # https://github.com/certbot/certbot/issues/8761 for more info.
+        f'acme>={version}',
+        f'certbot>={version}',
     ])
 elif 'bdist_wheel' in sys.argv[1:]:
     raise RuntimeError('Unset SNAP_BUILD when building wheels '
diff --git a/certbot-dns-sakuracloud/local-oldest-requirements.txt b/certbot-dns-sakuracloud/local-oldest-requirements.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index 1307698d4..000000000
--- a/certbot-dns-sakuracloud/local-oldest-requirements.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-# Remember to update setup.py to match the package versions below.
-acme[dev]==0.31.0
-certbot[dev]==1.1.0
diff --git a/certbot-dns-sakuracloud/setup.py b/certbot-dns-sakuracloud/setup.py
index 777811c7e..8f98058f0 100644
--- a/certbot-dns-sakuracloud/setup.py
+++ b/certbot-dns-sakuracloud/setup.py
@@ -14,8 +14,11 @@ install_requires = [
 
 if not os.environ.get('SNAP_BUILD'):
     install_requires.extend([
-        'acme>=0.31.0',
-        'certbot>=1.1.0',
+        # We specify the minimum acme and certbot version as the current plugin
+        # version for simplicity. See
+        # https://github.com/certbot/certbot/issues/8761 for more info.
+        f'acme>={version}',
+        f'certbot>={version}',
     ])
 elif 'bdist_wheel' in sys.argv[1:]:
     raise RuntimeError('Unset SNAP_BUILD when building wheels '
diff --git a/certbot-nginx/local-oldest-requirements.txt b/certbot-nginx/local-oldest-requirements.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index d47e74959..000000000
--- a/certbot-nginx/local-oldest-requirements.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-# Remember to update setup.py to match the package versions below.
-acme[dev]==1.8.0
-certbot[dev]==1.16.0
diff --git a/certbot-nginx/setup.py b/certbot-nginx/setup.py
index 9d27d3fc9..371df2a3b 100644
--- a/certbot-nginx/setup.py
+++ b/certbot-nginx/setup.py
@@ -3,11 +3,12 @@ from setuptools import setup
 
 version = '1.17.0.dev0'
 
-# Remember to update local-oldest-requirements.txt when changing the minimum
-# acme/certbot version.
 install_requires = [
-    'acme>=1.8.0',
-    'certbot>=1.16.0',
+    # We specify the minimum acme and certbot version as the current plugin
+    # version for simplicity. See
+    # https://github.com/certbot/certbot/issues/8761 for more info.
+    f'acme>={version}',
+    f'certbot>={version}',
     'PyOpenSSL>=17.3.0',
     'pyparsing>=2.2.0',
     'setuptools>=39.0.1',
diff --git a/certbot/CHANGELOG.md b/certbot/CHANGELOG.md
index 6ff1c52cb..04326ef30 100644
--- a/certbot/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/certbot/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -10,7 +10,12 @@ Certbot adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/).
 
 ### Changed
 
-*
+* We changed how dependencies are specified between Certbot packages. For this
+  and future releases, higher level Certbot components will require that lower
+  level components are the same version or newer. More specifically, version X
+  of the Certbot package will now always require acme>=X and version Y of a
+  plugin package will always require acme>=Y and certbot=>Y. Specifying
+  dependencies in this way simplifies testing and development.
 
 ### Fixed
 
diff --git a/certbot/local-oldest-requirements.txt b/certbot/local-oldest-requirements.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index 983f11cca..000000000
--- a/certbot/local-oldest-requirements.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,2 +0,0 @@
-# Remember to update setup.py to match the package versions below.
-acme[dev]==1.8.0
diff --git a/certbot/setup.py b/certbot/setup.py
index e0078bd6e..eba0db3d7 100644
--- a/certbot/setup.py
+++ b/certbot/setup.py
@@ -41,7 +41,10 @@ version = meta['version']
 # here to avoid masking the more specific request requirements in acme. See
 # https://github.com/pypa/pip/issues/988 for more info.
 install_requires = [
-    'acme>=1.8.0',
+    # We specify the minimum acme version as the current Certbot version for
+    # simplicity. See https://github.com/certbot/certbot/issues/8761 for more
+    # info.
+    f'acme>={version}',
     # We technically need ConfigArgParse 0.10.0 for Python 2.6 support, but
     # saying so here causes a runtime error against our temporary fork of 0.9.3
     # in which we added 2.6 support (see #2243), so we relax the requirement.
diff --git a/tools/_release.sh b/tools/_release.sh
index 7dd4601ff..03945da21 100755
--- a/tools/_release.sh
+++ b/tools/_release.sh
@@ -87,14 +87,6 @@ for pkg_dir in $SUBPKGS certbot-compatibility-test
 do
   sed -i 's/\.dev0//' "$pkg_dir/setup.py"
   git add "$pkg_dir/setup.py"
-
-  if [ -f "$pkg_dir/local-oldest-requirements.txt" ]; then
-    sed -i "s/-e acme\[dev\]/acme[dev]==$version/" "$pkg_dir/local-oldest-requirements.txt"
-    sed -i "s/-e acme/acme[dev]==$version/" "$pkg_dir/local-oldest-requirements.txt"
-    sed -i "s/-e certbot\[dev\]/certbot[dev]==$version/" "$pkg_dir/local-oldest-requirements.txt"
-    sed -i "s/-e certbot/certbot[dev]==$version/" "$pkg_dir/local-oldest-requirements.txt"
-    git add "$pkg_dir/local-oldest-requirements.txt"
-  fi
 done
 
 SetVersion() {
diff --git a/tools/oldest_constraints.txt b/tools/oldest_constraints.txt
index c0f114639..c31c5d4f8 100644
--- a/tools/oldest_constraints.txt
+++ b/tools/oldest_constraints.txt
@@ -74,6 +74,4 @@ parsedatetime==2.4
 # Tracking at https://github.com/certbot/certbot/issues/6473
 boto3==1.4.7
 botocore==1.7.41
-# Lexicon oldest constraint is overridden appropriately on relevant DNS provider plugins
-# using their local-oldest-requirements.txt
 dns-lexicon==3.1.0
diff --git a/tools/pip_install.py b/tools/pip_install.py
index 07e1e5b13..047b93f08 100755
--- a/tools/pip_install.py
+++ b/tools/pip_install.py
@@ -1,10 +1,7 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python
 # pip installs packages using pinned package versions. If CERTBOT_OLDEST is set
-# to 1, a combination of tools/oldest_constraints.txt,
-# tools/dev_constraints.txt, and local-oldest-requirements.txt contained in the
-# top level of the package's directory is used, otherwise,
-# tools/requirements.txt is used. If CERTBOT_OLDEST is set, this script must
-# be run with `-e <package-name>` and no other arguments.
+# to 1, a combination of tools/oldest_constraints.txt and
+# tools/dev_constraints.txt is used, otherwise, tools/requirements.txt is used.
 
 from __future__ import absolute_import
 from __future__ import print_function
@@ -37,27 +34,13 @@ def find_tools_path():
     return os.path.dirname(readlink.main(__file__))
 
 
-def certbot_oldest_processing(tools_path, args, constraints_path):
-    if args[0] != '-e' or len(args) != 2:
-        raise ValueError('When CERTBOT_OLDEST is set, this script must be run '
-                         'with a single -e <path> argument.')
-    # remove any extras such as [dev]
-    pkg_dir = re.sub(r'\[\w+\]', '', args[1])
+def certbot_oldest_processing(tools_path, constraints_path):
     # The order of the files in this list matters as files specified later can
     # override the pinnings found in earlier files.
     pinning_files = [os.path.join(tools_path, 'dev_constraints.txt'),
                      os.path.join(tools_path, 'oldest_constraints.txt')]
-    requirements = os.path.join(pkg_dir, 'local-oldest-requirements.txt')
-    # packages like acme don't have any local oldest requirements
-    if os.path.isfile(requirements):
-        # We add requirements to the end of the list so it can override
-        # anything that it needs to.
-        pinning_files.append(requirements)
-    else:
-        requirements = None
     with open(constraints_path, 'w') as fd:
         fd.write(merge_module.main(*pinning_files))
-    return requirements
 
 
 def certbot_normal_processing(tools_path, constraints_path):
@@ -91,27 +74,14 @@ def main(args):
         else:
             # Otherwise, we merge requirements to build the constraints and pin dependencies
             constraints_path = os.path.join(working_dir, 'constraints.txt')
-            requirements = None
             if os.environ.get('CERTBOT_OLDEST') == '1':
-                requirements = certbot_oldest_processing(tools_path, args, constraints_path)
+                certbot_oldest_processing(tools_path, constraints_path)
             else:
                 certbot_normal_processing(tools_path, constraints_path)
 
             env = os.environ.copy()
             env["PIP_CONSTRAINT"] = constraints_path
 
-            if requirements:  # This branch is executed during the oldest tests
-                # First step, install the transitive dependencies of oldest requirements
-                # in respect with oldest constraints.
-                pip_install_with_print('--requirement "{0}"'.format(requirements),
-                                       env=env)
-                # Second step, ensure that oldest requirements themselves are effectively
-                # installed using --force-reinstall, and avoid corner cases like the one described
-                # in https://github.com/certbot/certbot/issues/7014.
-                pip_install_with_print('--force-reinstall --no-deps --requirement "{0}"'
-                                       .format(requirements))
-
-            print(' '.join(args))
             pip_install_with_print(' '.join(args), env=env)
 
 
diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index a45766d87..cfe6ba2c5 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -14,51 +14,13 @@ pip_install = python {toxinidir}/tools/pip_install_editable.py
 # before the script moves on to the next package. All dependencies are pinned
 # to a specific version for increased stability for developers.
 install_and_test = python {toxinidir}/tools/install_and_test.py
-dns_packages =
-    certbot-dns-cloudflare \
-    certbot-dns-cloudxns \
-    certbot-dns-digitalocean \
-    certbot-dns-dnsimple \
-    certbot-dns-dnsmadeeasy \
-    certbot-dns-gehirn \
-    certbot-dns-google \
-    certbot-dns-linode \
-    certbot-dns-luadns \
-    certbot-dns-nsone \
-    certbot-dns-ovh \
-    certbot-dns-rfc2136 \
-    certbot-dns-route53 \
-    certbot-dns-sakuracloud
-all_packages =
-    acme[dev] \
-    certbot[dev] \
-    certbot-apache \
-    {[base]dns_packages} \
-    certbot-nginx
-install_packages =
-    python {toxinidir}/tools/pip_install_editable.py {[base]all_packages}
-source_paths =
-    acme/acme
-    certbot/certbot
-    certbot-ci/certbot_integration_tests
-    certbot-apache/certbot_apache
-    certbot-compatibility-test/certbot_compatibility_test
-    certbot-dns-cloudflare/certbot_dns_cloudflare
-    certbot-dns-cloudxns/certbot_dns_cloudxns
-    certbot-dns-digitalocean/certbot_dns_digitalocean
-    certbot-dns-dnsimple/certbot_dns_dnsimple
-    certbot-dns-dnsmadeeasy/certbot_dns_dnsmadeeasy
-    certbot-dns-gehirn/certbot_dns_gehirn
-    certbot-dns-google/certbot_dns_google
-    certbot-dns-linode/certbot_dns_linode
-    certbot-dns-luadns/certbot_dns_luadns
-    certbot-dns-nsone/certbot_dns_nsone
-    certbot-dns-ovh/certbot_dns_ovh
-    certbot-dns-rfc2136/certbot_dns_rfc2136
-    certbot-dns-route53/certbot_dns_route53
-    certbot-dns-sakuracloud/certbot_dns_sakuracloud
-    certbot-nginx/certbot_nginx
-    tests/lock_test.py
+install_packages = python {toxinidir}/tools/pip_install_editable.py {[base]all_packages}
+# Packages are listed on one line because tox seems to have inconsistent
+# behavior with substitutions that contain line continuations, see
+# https://github.com/tox-dev/tox/issues/2069 for more info.
+dns_packages = certbot-dns-cloudflare certbot-dns-cloudxns certbot-dns-digitalocean certbot-dns-dnsimple certbot-dns-dnsmadeeasy certbot-dns-gehirn certbot-dns-google certbot-dns-linode certbot-dns-luadns certbot-dns-nsone certbot-dns-ovh certbot-dns-rfc2136 certbot-dns-route53 certbot-dns-sakuracloud
+all_packages = acme[dev] certbot[dev] certbot-apache {[base]dns_packages} certbot-nginx
+source_paths = acme/acme certbot/certbot certbot-ci/certbot_integration_tests certbot-apache/certbot_apache certbot-compatibility-test/certbot_compatibility_test certbot-dns-cloudflare/certbot_dns_cloudflare certbot-dns-cloudxns/certbot_dns_cloudxns certbot-dns-digitalocean/certbot_dns_digitalocean certbot-dns-dnsimple/certbot_dns_dnsimple certbot-dns-dnsmadeeasy/certbot_dns_dnsmadeeasy certbot-dns-gehirn/certbot_dns_gehirn certbot-dns-google/certbot_dns_google certbot-dns-linode/certbot_dns_linode certbot-dns-luadns/certbot_dns_luadns certbot-dns-nsone/certbot_dns_nsone certbot-dns-ovh/certbot_dns_ovh certbot-dns-rfc2136/certbot_dns_rfc2136 certbot-dns-route53/certbot_dns_route53 certbot-dns-sakuracloud/certbot_dns_sakuracloud certbot-nginx/certbot_nginx tests/lock_test.py
 
 [testenv]
 passenv =
@@ -100,7 +62,8 @@ setenv =
 basepython =
     {[testenv:oldest]basepython}
 commands =
-    {[base]install_and_test} certbot-apache
+    {[base]pip_install} acme[dev] certbot[dev] certbot-apache
+    pytest certbot-apache
 setenv =
     {[testenv:oldest]setenv}
 
@@ -108,7 +71,8 @@ setenv =
 basepython =
     {[testenv:oldest]basepython}
 commands =
-    {[base]install_and_test} certbot-apache[dev]
+    {[base]pip_install} acme[dev] certbot[dev] certbot-apache[dev]
+    pytest certbot-apache
 setenv =
     {[testenv:oldest]setenv}
 
@@ -116,7 +80,8 @@ setenv =
 basepython =
     {[testenv:oldest]basepython}
 commands =
-    {[base]install_and_test} certbot[dev]
+    {[base]pip_install} acme[dev] certbot[dev]
+    pytest certbot
 setenv =
     {[testenv:oldest]setenv}
 
@@ -124,7 +89,8 @@ setenv =
 basepython =
     {[testenv:oldest]basepython}
 commands =
-    {[base]install_and_test} {[base]dns_packages}
+    {[base]pip_install} acme[dev] certbot[dev] {[base]dns_packages}
+    pytest {[base]dns_packages}
 setenv =
     {[testenv:oldest]setenv}
 
@@ -132,7 +98,8 @@ setenv =
 basepython =
     {[testenv:oldest]basepython}
 commands =
-    {[base]install_and_test} certbot-nginx
+    {[base]pip_install} acme[dev] certbot[dev] certbot-nginx
+    pytest certbot-nginx
     python tests/lock_test.py
 setenv =
     {[testenv:oldest]setenv}
@@ -258,8 +225,7 @@ passenv = DOCKER_*
 basepython =
     {[testenv:oldest]basepython}
 commands =
-    {[base]pip_install} certbot
-    {[base]pip_install} certbot-ci
+    {[base]pip_install} acme certbot certbot-ci
     pytest certbot-ci/certbot_integration_tests/certbot_tests \
         --acme-server={env:ACME_SERVER:pebble}
 passenv = DOCKER_*
@@ -269,8 +235,7 @@ setenv = {[testenv:oldest]setenv}
 basepython =
     {[testenv:oldest]basepython}
 commands =
-    {[base]pip_install} certbot-nginx
-    {[base]pip_install} certbot-ci
+    {[base]pip_install} acme certbot certbot-nginx certbot-ci
     pytest certbot-ci/certbot_integration_tests/nginx_tests \
         --acme-server={env:ACME_SERVER:pebble}
 passenv = DOCKER_*