diff --git a/src/prefect/blocks/abstract.py b/src/prefect/blocks/abstract.py
index 3031423ba0d0..a7f32b75b898 100644
--- a/src/prefect/blocks/abstract.py
+++ b/src/prefect/blocks/abstract.py
@@ -12,6 +12,42 @@
 T = TypeVar("T")
 
 
+class CredentialsBlock(Block, ABC):
+    """
+    Stores credentials for an external system and exposes a client for interacting
+    with that system. Can also hold config that is tightly coupled to credentials
+    (domain, endpoint, account ID, etc.) Will often be composed with other blocks.
+    Parent block should rely on the client provided by a credentials block for
+    interacting with the corresponding external system.
+    """
+
+    @property
+    def logger(self) -> Logger:
+        """
+        Returns a logger based on whether the CredentialsBlock
+        is called from within a flow or task run context.
+        If a run context is present, the logger property returns a run logger.
+        Else, it returns a default logger labeled with the class's name.
+
+        Returns:
+            The run logger or a default logger with the class's name.
+        """
+        try:
+            return get_run_logger()
+        except MissingContextError:
+            return get_logger(self.__class__.__name__)
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    def get_client(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        """
+        Returns a client for interacting with the external system.
+
+        If a service offers various clients, this method can accept
+        a `client_type` keyword argument to get the desired client
+        within the service.
+        """
+
+
 class NotificationBlock(Block, ABC):
     """
     Block that represents a resource in an external system that is able to send notifications.
diff --git a/tests/blocks/test_abstract.py b/tests/blocks/test_abstract.py
index be80f3001c42..e360ebb4cdd6 100644
--- a/tests/blocks/test_abstract.py
+++ b/tests/blocks/test_abstract.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import pytest
 
 from prefect.blocks.abstract import (
+    CredentialsBlock,
     DatabaseBlock,
     JobBlock,
     JobRun,
@@ -11,6 +12,30 @@
 from prefect.exceptions import PrefectException
 
 
+class TestCredentialsBlock:
+    def test_credentials_block_is_abstract(self):
+        with pytest.raises(
+            TypeError, match="Can't instantiate abstract class CredentialsBlock"
+        ):
+            CredentialsBlock()
+
+    def test_credentials_block_implementation(self, caplog):
+        class ACredentialsBlock(CredentialsBlock):
+            def get_client(self):
+                self.logger.info("Got client.")
+                return "client"
+
+        a_credentials_block = ACredentialsBlock()
+        assert a_credentials_block.get_client() == "client"
+
+        # test logging
+        assert hasattr(a_credentials_block, "logger")
+        assert len(caplog.records) == 1
+        record = caplog.records[0]
+        assert record.name == "prefect.ACredentialsBlock"
+        assert record.msg == "Got client."
+
+
 class TestNotificationBlock:
     def test_notification_block_is_abstract(self):
         with pytest.raises(