diff --git a/services/app-api/serverless.yml b/services/app-api/serverless.yml
index a020028d12..2a55857481 100644
--- a/services/app-api/serverless.yml
+++ b/services/app-api/serverless.yml
@@ -160,6 +160,20 @@ functions:
           method: get
           cors: true
 
+  third_party_api_authorizer:
+    handler: src/handlers/third_party_API_authorizer.main
+
+  jwthealth:
+      handler: src/handlers/health_check.main
+      events:
+        - http:
+            path: jwt_health_check
+            method: get
+            cors: true
+            authorizer:
+              name: third_party_api_authorizer
+              identitySource: method.request.header.Authorization 
+              
   otel:
     handler: src/handlers/otel_proxy.main
     events:
diff --git a/services/app-api/src/handlers/third_party_API_authorizer.ts b/services/app-api/src/handlers/third_party_API_authorizer.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a3741ba476
--- /dev/null
+++ b/services/app-api/src/handlers/third_party_API_authorizer.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+import type {
+    APIGatewayAuthorizerResult,
+    APIGatewayTokenAuthorizerEvent,
+    PolicyDocument,
+    APIGatewayTokenAuthorizerHandler,
+} from 'aws-lambda'
+import { newJWTLib } from '../jwt'
+
+// Hard coding this for now, next job is to run this config to this app.
+const jwtLib = newJWTLib({
+    issuer: 'fakeIssuer',
+    signingKey: 'notrandom',
+    expirationDurationS: 90 * 24 * 60 * 60, // 90 days
+})
+
+export const main: APIGatewayTokenAuthorizerHandler = async (
+    event
+): Promise<APIGatewayAuthorizerResult> => {
+    const authToken = event.authorizationToken.replace('Bearer ', '')
+    try {
+        // authentication step for validating JWT token
+        const userId = await jwtLib.userIDFromToken(authToken)
+
+        if (userId instanceof Error) {
+            const msg = 'Invalid auth token'
+            console.error(msg)
+
+            return generatePolicy(undefined, event)
+        }
+
+        console.info({
+            message: 'third_party_API_authorizer succeeded',
+            operation: 'third_party_API_authorizer',
+            status: 'SUCCESS',
+        })
+
+        return generatePolicy(userId, event)
+    } catch (err) {
+        console.error(
+            'unexpected exception attempting to validate authorization',
+            err
+        )
+        return generatePolicy(undefined, event)
+    }
+}
+
+const generatePolicy = function (
+    userId: string | undefined,
+    event: APIGatewayTokenAuthorizerEvent
+): APIGatewayAuthorizerResult {
+    // If the JWT is verified as valid, send an Allow policy
+    // this will allow the request to go through
+    // otherwise a Deny policy is returned which restricts access
+    const policyDocument: PolicyDocument = {
+        Version: '2012-10-17', // current version of the policy language
+        Statement: [
+            {
+                Action: 'execute-api:Invoke',
+                Effect: userId ? 'Allow' : 'Deny',
+                Resource: event['methodArn'],
+            },
+        ],
+    }
+
+    const response: APIGatewayAuthorizerResult = {
+        principalId: userId || '',
+        policyDocument,
+    }
+
+    return response
+}