diff --git a/sos/collector/sosnode.py b/sos/collector/sosnode.py
index c6ce801cb..0a3effaa4 100644
--- a/sos/collector/sosnode.py
+++ b/sos/collector/sosnode.py
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ def set_node_manifest(self, manifest):
         """
         self.manifest = manifest
         self.manifest.add_field('hostname', self._hostname)
-        self.manifest.add_field('policy', self.host.distro)
+        self.manifest.add_field('policy', self.host.os_release_name)
         self.manifest.add_field('sos_version', self.sos_info['version'])
         self.manifest.add_field('final_sos_command', '')
         self.manifest.add_field('transport', self._transport.name)
@@ -390,14 +390,14 @@ def determine_host_policy(self):
         """
         if self.local:
             self.log_info(
-                f"using local policy {self.commons['policy'].distro}")
+                f"using local policy {self.commons['policy'].os_release_name}")
             return self.commons['policy']
         host = load(cache={}, sysroot=self.opts.sysroot, init=InitSystem(),
                     probe_runtime=True,
                     remote_exec=self._transport.run_command,
                     remote_check=self.read_file('/etc/os-release'))
         if host:
-            self.log_info(f"loaded policy {host.distro} for host")
+            self.log_info(f"loaded policy {host.os_release_name} for host")
             return host
         self.log_error('Unable to determine host installation. Ignoring node')
         raise UnsupportedHostException
diff --git a/sos/component.py b/sos/component.py
index 0443a4e6f..17bc22e3e 100644
--- a/sos/component.py
+++ b/sos/component.py
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ def __init__(self, parser, parsed_args, cmdline_args):
             self.manifest.add_field('compression', '')
             self.manifest.add_field('tmpdir', self.tmpdir)
             self.manifest.add_field('tmpdir_fs_type', self.tmpfstype)
-            self.manifest.add_field('policy', self.policy.distro)
+            self.manifest.add_field('policy', self.policy.os_release_name)
             self.manifest.add_section('components')
 
     def load_local_policy(self):
diff --git a/sos/policies/__init__.py b/sos/policies/__init__.py
index 9ca2286de..4394f29e7 100644
--- a/sos/policies/__init__.py
+++ b/sos/policies/__init__.py
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ def load(cache={}, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
                 cache['policy'] = policy(sysroot=sysroot, init=init,
                                          probe_runtime=probe_runtime,
                                          remote_exec=remote_exec)
+                break
 
     if sys.platform != 'linux':
         raise Exception("SoS is not supported on this platform")
@@ -75,8 +76,16 @@ class Policy():
                             SoSTransport in use
     :type remote_exec:      ``SoSTranport.run_command()``
 
-    :cvar distro: The name of the distribution the Policy represents
-    :vartype distro: ``str``
+    :cvar os_release_name: The name of the distribution as it appears in the
+                           os-release (-esque) file for the NAME variable.
+    :vartype os_release_name: ``str``
+
+    :cvar os_release_id: The ID variable to match in a distribution's release
+                         file.
+    :vartype os_release_id: ``str``
+
+    :cvar os_release_file: The filepath of the distribution's os-release file
+    :vartype os_release_file: ``str``
 
     :cvar vendor: The name of the vendor producing the distribution
     :vartype vendor: ``str``
@@ -97,7 +106,7 @@ class Policy():
 
     msg = _("""\
 This command will collect system configuration and diagnostic information \
-from this %(distro)s system.
+from this %(os_release_name)s system.
 
 For more information on %(vendor)s visit:
 
@@ -111,8 +120,9 @@ class Policy():
 
 %(vendor_text)s
 """)
-
-    distro = "Unknown"
+    os_release_name = 'Unknown'
+    os_release_file = ''
+    os_release_id = ''
     vendor = "Unknown"
     vendor_urls = [('Example URL', "http://www.example.com/")]
     vendor_text = ""
@@ -459,8 +469,8 @@ def display_results(self, archive, directory, checksum, archivestat=None,
 
     def get_msg(self):
         """This method is used to prepare the preamble text to display to
-        the user in non-batch mode. If your policy sets self.distro that
-        text will be substituted accordingly. You can also override this
+        the user in non-batch mode. If your policy sets self.os_release_name,
+        that text will be substituted accordingly. You can also override this
         method to do something more complicated.
 
         :returns: Formatted banner message string
@@ -471,7 +481,8 @@ def get_msg(self):
         else:
             changes_text = "No changes will be made to system configuration."
         width = 72
-        _msg = self.msg % {'distro': self.distro, 'vendor': self.vendor,
+        _msg = self.msg % {'os_release_name': self.os_release_name,
+                           'vendor': self.vendor,
                            'vendor_urls': self._fmt_vendor_urls(),
                            'vendor_text': self.vendor_text,
                            'tmpdir': self.commons['tmpdir'],
diff --git a/sos/policies/distros/__init__.py b/sos/policies/distros/__init__.py
index 5874d31cc..8c178020e 100644
--- a/sos/policies/distros/__init__.py
+++ b/sos/policies/distros/__init__.py
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@
 except ImportError:
     BOTO3_LOADED = False
 
+OS_RELEASE = "/etc/os-release"
 # Container environment variables for detecting if we're in a container
 ENV_CONTAINER = 'container'
 ENV_HOST_SYSROOT = 'HOST'
@@ -48,11 +49,14 @@
 class LinuxPolicy(Policy):
     """This policy is meant to be an abc class that provides common
     implementations used in Linux distros"""
-
-    distro = "Linux"
     vendor = "None"
     PATH = "/bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin"
     init = None
+    # the following will be used, in order, as part of check() to validate that
+    # we are running on a particular distro
+    os_release_file = ''
+    os_release_name = ''
+    os_release_id = ''
     # _ prefixed class attrs are used for storing any vendor-defined defaults
     # the non-prefixed attrs are used by the upload methods, and will be set
     # to the cmdline/config file values, if provided. If not provided, then
@@ -145,7 +149,25 @@ def check(cls, remote=''):
         This function is responsible for determining if the underlying system
         is supported by this policy.
         """
-        raise NotImplementedError
+        def _check_release(content):
+            _matches = [cls.os_release_name]
+            if cls.os_release_id:
+                _matches.append(cls.os_release_id)
+            for line in content.splitlines():
+                if line.startswith(('NAME=', 'ID=')):
+                    _distro = line.split('=')[1:][0].strip("\"'")
+                    if _distro in _matches:
+                        return True
+            return False
+
+        if remote:
+            return _check_release(remote)
+        # use the os-specific file primarily
+        if os.path.isfile(cls.os_release_file):
+            return True
+        # next check os-release for a NAME or ID value we expect
+        with open(OS_RELEASE, "r", encoding='utf-8') as f:
+            return _check_release(f.read())
 
     def kernel_version(self):
         return self.release
@@ -171,7 +193,7 @@ def display_help(cls, section):
         if cls == LinuxPolicy:
             cls.display_self_help(section)
         else:
-            section.set_title(f"{cls.distro} Distribution Policy")
+            section.set_title(f"{cls.os_release_name} Distribution Policy")
             cls.display_distro_help(section)
 
     @classmethod
diff --git a/sos/policies/distros/almalinux.py b/sos/policies/distros/almalinux.py
index 5083168f5..563bab99d 100644
--- a/sos/policies/distros/almalinux.py
+++ b/sos/policies/distros/almalinux.py
@@ -8,13 +8,14 @@
 #
 # See the LICENSE file in the source distribution for further information.
 
-import os
-from sos.policies.distros.redhat import RedHatPolicy, OS_RELEASE
+from sos.policies.distros.redhat import RedHatPolicy
 
 
 class AlmaLinuxPolicy(RedHatPolicy):
-    distro = "AlmaLinux"
     vendor = "AlmaLinux OS Foundation"
+    os_release_file = '/etc/almalinux-release'
+    os_release_name = 'AlmaLinux'
+
     vendor_urls = [
         ('Distribution Website', 'https://www.almalinux.org/'),
         ('Commercial Support', 'https://tuxcare.com/linux-support-services/')
@@ -26,21 +27,4 @@ def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
                          probe_runtime=probe_runtime,
                          remote_exec=remote_exec)
 
-    @classmethod
-    def check(cls, remote=''):
-        if remote:
-            return cls.distro in remote
-
-        if not os.path.isfile('/etc/almalinux-release'):
-            return False
-
-        if os.path.exists(OS_RELEASE):
-            with open(OS_RELEASE, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
-                for line in f:
-                    if line.startswith('NAME'):
-                        if 'AlmaLinux' in line:
-                            return True
-
-        return False
-
 # vim: set et ts=4 sw=4 :
diff --git a/sos/policies/distros/amazon.py b/sos/policies/distros/amazon.py
index ae760e246..86c33cd2a 100644
--- a/sos/policies/distros/amazon.py
+++ b/sos/policies/distros/amazon.py
@@ -8,15 +8,14 @@
 #
 # See the LICENSE file in the source distribution for further information.
 
-import os
-from sos.policies.distros.redhat import RedHatPolicy, OS_RELEASE
+from sos.policies.distros.redhat import RedHatPolicy
 
 
 class AmazonPolicy(RedHatPolicy):
-
-    distro = "Amazon Linux"
     vendor = "Amazon"
     vendor_urls = [('Distribution Website', 'https://aws.amazon.com')]
+    os_release_file = ''
+    os_release_name = 'Amazon Linux'
 
     def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
                  remote_exec=None):
@@ -24,20 +23,4 @@ def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
                          probe_runtime=probe_runtime,
                          remote_exec=remote_exec)
 
-    @classmethod
-    def check(cls, remote=''):
-
-        if remote:
-            return cls.distro in remote
-
-        if not os.path.exists(OS_RELEASE):
-            return False
-
-        with open(OS_RELEASE, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
-            for line in f:
-                if line.startswith('NAME'):
-                    if 'Amazon Linux' in line:
-                        return True
-        return False
-
 # vim: set et ts=4 sw=4 :
diff --git a/sos/policies/distros/anolis.py b/sos/policies/distros/anolis.py
index 496d34bb1..5f64f8ff5 100644
--- a/sos/policies/distros/anolis.py
+++ b/sos/policies/distros/anolis.py
@@ -6,15 +6,14 @@
 #
 # See the LICENSE file in the source distribution for further information.
 
-import os
-from sos.policies.distros.redhat import RedHatPolicy, OS_RELEASE
+from sos.policies.distros.redhat import RedHatPolicy
 
 
 class AnolisPolicy(RedHatPolicy):
-
-    distro = "Anolis OS"
     vendor = "The OpenAnolis Project"
     vendor_urls = [('Distribution Website', 'https://openanolis.org/')]
+    os_release_file = '/etc/anolis-release'
+    os_release_name = 'Anolis OS'
 
     def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
                  remote_exec=None):
@@ -22,25 +21,4 @@ def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
                          probe_runtime=probe_runtime,
                          remote_exec=remote_exec)
 
-    @classmethod
-    def check(cls, remote=''):
-
-        if remote:
-            return cls.distro in remote
-
-        # Return False if /etc/os-release is missing
-        if not os.path.exists(OS_RELEASE):
-            return False
-
-        # Return False if /etc/anolis-release is missing
-        if not os.path.isfile('/etc/anolis-release'):
-            return False
-
-        with open(OS_RELEASE, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
-            for line in f:
-                if line.startswith('NAME'):
-                    if 'Anolis OS' in line:
-                        return True
-        return False
-
 # vim: set et ts=4 sw=4 :
diff --git a/sos/policies/distros/azure.py b/sos/policies/distros/azure.py
index 9607ad297..9d9b4bffd 100644
--- a/sos/policies/distros/azure.py
+++ b/sos/policies/distros/azure.py
@@ -8,18 +8,17 @@
 #
 # See the LICENSE file in the source distribution for further information.
 
-import os
 from sos.report.plugins import AzurePlugin
-from sos.policies.distros.redhat import RedHatPolicy, OS_RELEASE
+from sos.policies.distros.redhat import RedHatPolicy
 
 
 class AzurePolicy(RedHatPolicy):
-
-    distro = "Azure Linux"
     vendor = "Microsoft"
     vendor_urls = [
         ('Distribution Website', 'https://github.com/microsoft/azurelinux')
     ]
+    os_release_name = 'Microsoft Azure Linux'
+    os_release_file = ''
 
     def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
                  remote_exec=None):
@@ -28,22 +27,8 @@ def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
                          remote_exec=remote_exec)
         self.valid_subclasses += [AzurePlugin]
 
-    @classmethod
-    def check(cls, remote=''):
-
-        if remote:
-            return cls.distro in remote
-
-        if not os.path.exists(OS_RELEASE):
-            return False
 
-        with open(OS_RELEASE, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
-            for line in f:
-                if line.startswith('NAME'):
-                    if 'Common Base Linux Mariner' in line:
-                        return True
-                    if 'Microsoft Azure Linux' in line:
-                        return True
-        return False
+class CBLMarinerPolicy(AzurePolicy):
+    os_release_name = 'Common Base Linux Mariner'
 
 # vim: set et ts=4 sw=4 :
diff --git a/sos/policies/distros/circle.py b/sos/policies/distros/circle.py
index 99a7bf7c8..cc28ec2cc 100644
--- a/sos/policies/distros/circle.py
+++ b/sos/policies/distros/circle.py
@@ -8,15 +8,14 @@
 #
 # See the LICENSE file in the source distribution for further information.
 
-import os
-from sos.policies.distros.redhat import RedHatPolicy, OS_RELEASE
+from sos.policies.distros.redhat import RedHatPolicy
 
 
 class CirclePolicy(RedHatPolicy):
-
-    distro = "Circle Linux"
     vendor = "The Circle Linux Project"
     vendor_urls = [('Distribution Website', 'https://cclinux.org')]
+    os_release_file = '/etc/circle-release'
+    os_release_name = 'Circle Linux'
 
     def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
                  remote_exec=None):
@@ -24,26 +23,4 @@ def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
                          probe_runtime=probe_runtime,
                          remote_exec=remote_exec)
 
-    @classmethod
-    def check(cls, remote=''):
-
-        if remote:
-            return cls.distro in remote
-
-        # Return False if /etc/os-release is missing
-        if not os.path.exists(OS_RELEASE):
-            return False
-
-        # Return False if /etc/circle-release is missing
-        if not os.path.isfile('/etc/circle-release'):
-            return False
-
-        with open(OS_RELEASE, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
-            for line in f:
-                if line.startswith('NAME'):
-                    if 'Circle Linux' in line:
-                        return True
-
-        return False
-
 # vim: set et ts=4 sw=4 :
diff --git a/sos/policies/distros/cloudlinux.py b/sos/policies/distros/cloudlinux.py
index 95f6a2067..90b240a80 100644
--- a/sos/policies/distros/cloudlinux.py
+++ b/sos/policies/distros/cloudlinux.py
@@ -8,17 +8,17 @@
 #
 # See the LICENSE file in the source distribution for further information.
 
-import os
-from sos.policies.distros.redhat import RedHatPolicy, OS_RELEASE
+from sos.policies.distros.redhat import RedHatPolicy
 
 
 class CloudLinuxPolicy(RedHatPolicy):
-    distro = "CloudLinux"
     vendor = "CloudLinux"
     vendor_urls = [
         ('Distribution Website', 'https://www.cloudlinux.com/'),
         ('Commercial Support', 'https://www.cloudlinux.com/')
     ]
+    os_release_file = '/etc/cloudlinux-release'
+    os_release_name = 'CloudLinux'
 
     def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
                  remote_exec=None):
@@ -26,21 +26,4 @@ def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
                          probe_runtime=probe_runtime,
                          remote_exec=remote_exec)
 
-    @classmethod
-    def check(cls, remote=''):
-        if remote:
-            return cls.distro in remote
-
-        if not os.path.isfile('/etc/cloudlinux-release'):
-            return False
-
-        if os.path.exists(OS_RELEASE):
-            with open(OS_RELEASE, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
-                for line in f:
-                    if line.startswith('NAME'):
-                        if 'CloudLinux' in line:
-                            return True
-
-        return False
-
 # vim: set et ts=4 sw=4 :
diff --git a/sos/policies/distros/cos.py b/sos/policies/distros/cos.py
index 9c1d0ddef..b88cf519c 100644
--- a/sos/policies/distros/cos.py
+++ b/sos/policies/distros/cos.py
@@ -27,12 +27,13 @@ def _blank_or_comment(line):
 
 
 class CosPolicy(LinuxPolicy):
-    distro = "Container-Optimized OS"
     vendor = "Google Cloud Platform"
     vendor_urls = [
         ('Distribution Website',
          'https://cloud.google.com/container-optimized-os/')
     ]
+    os_release_name = 'Container-Optimized OS'
+    os_release_id = 'cos'
     valid_subclasses = [CosPlugin, IndependentPlugin]
     PATH = "/usr/local/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/bin:/sbin"
 
@@ -43,17 +44,4 @@ def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
                          remote_exec=remote_exec)
         self.valid_subclasses += [CosPolicy]
 
-    @classmethod
-    def check(cls, remote=''):
-        if remote:
-            return cls.distro in remote
-
-        try:
-            with open('/etc/os-release', 'r', encoding='utf-8') as fp:
-                os_release = dict(line.strip().split('=') for line in fp
-                                  if not _blank_or_comment(line))
-                return os_release['ID'] == 'cos'
-        except (IOError, KeyError):
-            return False
-
 # vim: set et ts=4 sw=4 :
diff --git a/sos/policies/distros/debian.py b/sos/policies/distros/debian.py
index 737e5f78f..7db96f9d4 100644
--- a/sos/policies/distros/debian.py
+++ b/sos/policies/distros/debian.py
@@ -6,17 +6,16 @@
 #
 # See the LICENSE file in the source distribution for further information.
 
-import os
-
 from sos.report.plugins import DebianPlugin
 from sos.policies.distros import LinuxPolicy
 from sos.policies.package_managers.dpkg import DpkgPackageManager
 
 
 class DebianPolicy(LinuxPolicy):
-    distro = "Debian"
     vendor = "the Debian project"
     vendor_urls = [('Community Website', 'https://www.debian.org/')]
+    os_release_name = 'Debian'
+    os_release_file = '/etc/debian_version'
     name_pattern = 'friendly'
     valid_subclasses = [DebianPlugin]
     PATH = "/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/games" \
@@ -50,16 +49,6 @@ def _get_pkg_name_for_binary(self, binary):
             "xz": "xz-utils"
         }.get(binary, binary)
 
-    @classmethod
-    def check(cls, remote=''):
-        """This method checks to see if we are running on Debian.
-           It returns True or False."""
-
-        if remote:
-            return cls.distro in remote
-
-        return os.path.isfile('/etc/debian_version')
-
     def dist_version(self):
         try:
             with open('/etc/os-release', 'r', encoding='utf-8') as fp:
diff --git a/sos/policies/distros/opencloudos.py b/sos/policies/distros/opencloudos.py
index 5d58cde34..f471fa4b5 100644
--- a/sos/policies/distros/opencloudos.py
+++ b/sos/policies/distros/opencloudos.py
@@ -7,14 +7,14 @@
 #
 # See the LICENSE file in the source distribution for further information.
 
-import os
-from sos.policies.distros.redhat import RedHatPolicy, OS_RELEASE
+from sos.policies.distros.redhat import RedHatPolicy
 
 
 class OpenCloudOSPolicy(RedHatPolicy):
-    distro = "OpenCloudOS Stream"
     vendor = "OpenCloudOS"
     vendor_urls = [('Distribution Website', 'https://www.opencloudos.org/')]
+    os_release_name = 'OpenCloudOS Stream'
+    os_release_file = ''
 
     def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
                  remote_exec=None):
@@ -22,21 +22,4 @@ def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
                          probe_runtime=probe_runtime,
                          remote_exec=remote_exec)
 
-    @classmethod
-    def check(cls, remote=''):
-
-        if remote:
-            return cls.distro in remote
-
-        if not os.path.exists(OS_RELEASE):
-            return False
-
-        with open(OS_RELEASE, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
-            for line in f:
-                if line.startswith('NAME'):
-                    if 'OpenCloudOS Stream' in line:
-                        return True
-
-        return False
-
 # vim: set et ts=4 sw=4 :
diff --git a/sos/policies/distros/openeuler.py b/sos/policies/distros/openeuler.py
index f22348049..8610ae1ed 100644
--- a/sos/policies/distros/openeuler.py
+++ b/sos/policies/distros/openeuler.py
@@ -6,15 +6,15 @@
 #
 # See the LICENSE file in the source distribution for further information.
 
-import os
 from sos.report.plugins import OpenEulerPlugin
-from sos.policies.distros.redhat import RedHatPolicy, OS_RELEASE
+from sos.policies.distros.redhat import RedHatPolicy
 
 
 class OpenEulerPolicy(RedHatPolicy):
-    distro = "openEuler"
     vendor = "The openEuler Project"
     vendor_urls = [('Distribution Website', 'https://openeuler.org/')]
+    os_release_name = 'openEuler'
+    os_release_file = ''
 
     def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
                  remote_exec=None):
@@ -24,20 +24,4 @@ def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
 
         self.valid_subclasses += [OpenEulerPlugin]
 
-    @classmethod
-    def check(cls, remote=''):
-
-        if remote:
-            return cls.distro in remote
-
-        if not os.path.exists(OS_RELEASE):
-            return False
-
-        with open(OS_RELEASE, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
-            for line in f:
-                if line.startswith('NAME'):
-                    if 'openEuler' in line:
-                        return True
-        return False
-
 # vim: set et ts=4 sw=4 :
diff --git a/sos/policies/distros/redhat.py b/sos/policies/distros/redhat.py
index 55a9fd0bf..abe5cc1d9 100644
--- a/sos/policies/distros/redhat.py
+++ b/sos/policies/distros/redhat.py
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
 from sos.presets.redhat import (RHEL_PRESETS, RHV, RHEL, CB, RHOSP,
                                 RHOCP, RH_CFME, RH_SATELLITE, AAPEDA,
                                 AAPCONTROLLER)
-from sos.policies.distros import LinuxPolicy, ENV_HOST_SYSROOT
+from sos.policies.distros import LinuxPolicy, ENV_HOST_SYSROOT, OS_RELEASE
 from sos.policies.package_managers.rpm import RpmPackageManager
 from sos.policies.package_managers.flatpak import FlatpakPackageManager
 from sos.policies.package_managers import MultiPackageManager
@@ -31,12 +31,10 @@
 except ImportError:
     REQUESTS_LOADED = False
 
-OS_RELEASE = "/etc/os-release"
 RHEL_RELEASE_STR = "Red Hat Enterprise Linux"
 
 
 class RedHatPolicy(LinuxPolicy):
-    distro = "Red Hat"
     vendor = "Red Hat"
     vendor_urls = [
         ('Distribution Website', 'https://www.redhat.com/'),
@@ -89,18 +87,6 @@ def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
             self.set_exec_path()
         self.load_presets()
 
-    @classmethod
-    def check(cls, remote=''):
-        """This method checks to see if we are running on Red Hat. It must be
-        overriden by concrete subclasses to return True when running on a
-        Fedora, RHEL or other Red Hat distribution or False otherwise.
-
-        If `remote` is provided, it should be the contents of a remote host's
-        os-release, or comparable, file to be used in place of the locally
-        available one.
-        """
-        return False
-
     @classmethod
     def display_distro_help(cls, section):
         if cls is not RedHatPolicy:
@@ -122,7 +108,7 @@ def display_distro_help(cls, section):
         for subc, value in subs.items():
             subln = bold(f"policies.{subc}")
             section.add_text(
-                f"{' ':>8}{subln:<35}{value.distro:<30}",
+                f"{' ':>8}{subln:<35}{value.os_release_name:<30}",
                 newline=False
             )
 
@@ -216,11 +202,13 @@ class RHELPolicy(RedHatPolicy):
     technical support engineer. This information will be printed at the end of
     the upload process for any sos report execution.
     """
-    distro = RHEL_RELEASE_STR
     vendor = "Red Hat"
+    os_release_file = '/etc/redhat-release'
+    os_release_name = RHEL_RELEASE_STR
+    os_release_id = 'rhel'
     msg = _("""\
 This command will collect diagnostic and configuration \
-information from this %(distro)s system and installed \
+information from this %(os_release_name)s system and installed \
 applications.
 
 An archive containing the collected information will be \
@@ -240,34 +228,6 @@ def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
                          remote_exec=remote_exec)
         self.register_presets(RHEL_PRESETS)
 
-    @classmethod
-    def check(cls, remote=''):
-        """Test to see if the running host is a RHEL installation.
-
-            Checks for the presence of the "Red Hat Enterprise Linux"
-            release string at the beginning of the NAME field in the
-            `/etc/os-release` file and returns ``True`` if it is
-            found, and ``False`` otherwise.
-
-            :returns: ``True`` if the host is running RHEL or ``False``
-                      otherwise.
-        """
-
-        if remote:
-            return cls.distro in remote
-
-        if not os.path.exists(OS_RELEASE):
-            return False
-
-        with open(OS_RELEASE, "r", encoding='utf-8') as f:
-            for line in f:
-                if line.startswith("NAME"):
-                    (_, value) = line.split("=")
-                    value = value.strip("\"'")
-                    if value.startswith(cls.distro):
-                        return True
-        return False
-
     def prompt_for_upload_user(self):
         if self.commons['cmdlineopts'].upload_user:
             self.ui_log.info(
@@ -502,9 +462,11 @@ def probe_preset(self):
 
 
 class CentOsPolicy(RHELPolicy):
-    distro = "CentOS"
     vendor = "CentOS"
     vendor_urls = [('Community Website', 'https://www.centos.org/')]
+    os_release_file = '/etc/centos-release'
+    os_release_name = 'CentOS Linux'
+    os_release_id = 'centos'
 
 
 class RedHatCoreOSPolicy(RHELPolicy):
@@ -528,10 +490,10 @@ class RedHatCoreOSPolicy(RHELPolicy):
     impact how sos report collections are performed.
     """
 
-    distro = "Red Hat CoreOS"
+    os_release_name = "Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS"
     msg = _("""\
 This command will collect diagnostic and configuration \
-information from this %(distro)s system.
+information from this %(os_release_name)s system.
 
 An archive containing the collected information will be \
 generated in %(tmpdir)s and may be provided to a %(vendor)s \
@@ -564,7 +526,7 @@ def check(cls, remote=''):
         try:
             with open(host_release, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as hfile:
                 for line in hfile.read().splitlines():
-                    coreos |= 'Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS' in line
+                    coreos |= cls.os_release_name in line
         except IOError:
             # host release file not present, will fallback to RHEL policy check
             pass
@@ -608,13 +570,14 @@ class FedoraPolicy(RedHatPolicy):
     for that location via --upload-user and --upload-pass (or the appropriate
     environment variables).
     """
-
-    distro = "Fedora"
     vendor = "the Fedora Project"
     vendor_urls = [
         ('Community Website', 'https://fedoraproject.org/'),
         ('Community Forums', 'https://discussion.fedoraproject.org/')
     ]
+    os_release_file = '/etc/fedora-release'
+    os_release_name = 'Fedora Linux'
+    os_release_id = 'fedora'
 
     def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
                  remote_exec=None):
@@ -622,16 +585,6 @@ def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
                          probe_runtime=probe_runtime,
                          remote_exec=remote_exec)
 
-    @classmethod
-    def check(cls, remote=''):
-        """This method checks to see if we are running on Fedora. It returns
-        True or False."""
-
-        if remote:
-            return cls.distro in remote
-
-        return os.path.isfile('/etc/fedora-release')
-
     def fedora_version(self):
         pkg = self.pkg_by_name("fedora-release") or \
             self.package_manager.all_pkgs_by_name_regex(
diff --git a/sos/policies/distros/rocky.py b/sos/policies/distros/rocky.py
index e1470e65d..da046ed85 100644
--- a/sos/policies/distros/rocky.py
+++ b/sos/policies/distros/rocky.py
@@ -8,17 +8,17 @@
 #
 # See the LICENSE file in the source distribution for further information.
 
-import os
-from sos.policies.distros.redhat import RedHatPolicy, OS_RELEASE
+from sos.policies.distros.redhat import RedHatPolicy
 
 
 class RockyPolicy(RedHatPolicy):
-    distro = "Rocky Linux"
     vendor = "Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation"
     vendor_urls = [
             ('Distribution Website', 'https://rockylinux.org'),
             ('Vendor Website', 'https://resf.org')
     ]
+    os_release_file = '/etc/rocky-release'
+    os_release_name = 'Rocky Linux'
 
     def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
                  remote_exec=None):
@@ -26,27 +26,4 @@ def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
                          probe_runtime=probe_runtime,
                          remote_exec=remote_exec)
 
-    @classmethod
-    def check(cls, remote=''):
-        if remote:
-            return cls.distro in remote
-
-        # Return False if /etc/os-release is missing
-        if not os.path.exists(OS_RELEASE):
-            return False
-
-        # Return False if /etc/rocky-release is missing
-        if not os.path.isfile('/etc/rocky-release'):
-            return False
-
-        # If we've gotten this far, check for Rocky in
-        # /etc/os-release
-        with open(OS_RELEASE, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
-            for line in f:
-                if line.startswith('NAME'):
-                    if 'Rocky Linux' in line:
-                        return True
-
-        return False
-
 # vim: set et ts=4 sw=4 :
diff --git a/sos/policies/distros/suse.py b/sos/policies/distros/suse.py
index d3f1ed8a7..03fc36988 100644
--- a/sos/policies/distros/suse.py
+++ b/sos/policies/distros/suse.py
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 
 
 class SuSEPolicy(LinuxPolicy):
-    distro = "SuSE"
+    os_release_name = "SuSE"
     vendor = "SuSE"
     vendor_urls = [('Distribution Website', 'https://www.suse.com/')]
     _tmp_dir = "/var/tmp"
@@ -59,12 +59,13 @@ def get_local_name(self):
 
 
 class OpenSuSEPolicy(SuSEPolicy):
-    distro = "OpenSuSE"
     vendor = "SuSE"
     vendor_urls = [('Community Website', 'https://www.opensuse.org/')]
+    os_release_name = "OpenSuSE"
+    os_release_file = '/etc/SUSE-brand'
     msg = _("""\
 This command will collect diagnostic and configuration \
-information from this %(distro)s system and installed \
+information from this %(os_release_name)s system and installed \
 applications.
 
 An archive containing the collected information will be \
@@ -81,12 +82,4 @@ def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
                          probe_runtime=probe_runtime,
                          remote_exec=remote_exec)
 
-    @classmethod
-    def check(cls, remote=''):
-        """This method checks to see if we are running on SuSE.
-        """
-
-        if remote:
-            return cls.distro in remote
-
-        return os.path.isfile('/etc/SUSE-brand')
+# vim: set et ts=4 sw=4 :
diff --git a/sos/policies/distros/ubuntu.py b/sos/policies/distros/ubuntu.py
index 12efadae0..f241f4f90 100644
--- a/sos/policies/distros/ubuntu.py
+++ b/sos/policies/distros/ubuntu.py
@@ -17,12 +17,13 @@
 
 
 class UbuntuPolicy(DebianPolicy):
-    distro = "Ubuntu"
     vendor = "Canonical"
     vendor_urls = [
         ('Community Website', 'https://www.ubuntu.com/'),
         ('Commercial Support', 'https://www.canonical.com')
     ]
+    os_release_name = 'Ubuntu'
+    os_release_file = ''
     PATH = "/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/games" \
            + ":/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/snap/bin"
     _upload_url = "https://files.support.canonical.com/uploads/"
@@ -52,20 +53,6 @@ def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
 
         self.valid_subclasses += [UbuntuPlugin]
 
-    @classmethod
-    def check(cls, remote=''):
-        """This method checks to see if we are running on Ubuntu.
-           It returns True or False."""
-
-        if remote:
-            return cls.distro in remote
-
-        try:
-            with open('/etc/lsb-release', 'r', encoding='utf-8') as fp:
-                return "Ubuntu" in fp.read()
-        except IOError:
-            return False
-
     def dist_version(self):
         """ Returns the version stated in DISTRIB_RELEASE
         """
diff --git a/sos/policies/distros/uniontechserver.py b/sos/policies/distros/uniontechserver.py
index fcb47e306..68cdf4507 100644
--- a/sos/policies/distros/uniontechserver.py
+++ b/sos/policies/distros/uniontechserver.py
@@ -6,14 +6,14 @@
 #
 # See the LICENSE file in the source distribution for further information.
 
-import os
-from sos.policies.distros.redhat import RedHatPolicy, OS_RELEASE
+from sos.policies.distros.redhat import RedHatPolicy
 
 
 class UnionTechPolicy(RedHatPolicy):
-    distro = "UnionTech OS Server"
     vendor = "The UnionTech Project"
     vendor_urls = [('Distribution Website', 'https://www.chinauos.com/')]
+    os_release_name = 'UnionTech OS Server'
+    os_release_file = ''
 
     def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
                  remote_exec=None):
@@ -21,20 +21,4 @@ def __init__(self, sysroot=None, init=None, probe_runtime=True,
                          probe_runtime=probe_runtime,
                          remote_exec=remote_exec)
 
-    @classmethod
-    def check(cls, remote=''):
-
-        if remote:
-            return cls.distro in remote
-
-        if not os.path.exists(OS_RELEASE):
-            return False
-
-        with open(OS_RELEASE, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
-            for line in f:
-                if line.startswith('NAME'):
-                    if 'UnionTech OS Server' in line:
-                        return True
-        return False
-
 # vim: set et ts=4 sw=4 :