diff --git a/libpod/container.go b/libpod/container.go
index 45ee5647..f4df9a0e 100644
--- a/libpod/container.go
+++ b/libpod/container.go
@@ -30,11 +30,6 @@ func (c *Container) ID() string {
 
 // Name returns the container's name
 func (c *Container) Name() string {
-	// Name can potentially be changed while a container is running
-	// So lock access to it
-	c.lock.RLock()
-	defer c.lock.RUnlock()
-
 	return c.name
 }
 
diff --git a/libpod/errors.go b/libpod/errors.go
index d50db574..31eddc46 100644
--- a/libpod/errors.go
+++ b/libpod/errors.go
@@ -32,6 +32,11 @@ var (
 
 	// ErrInvalidArg indicates that an invalid argument was passed
 	ErrInvalidArg = errors.New("invalid argument")
+	// ErrEmptyID indicates that an empty ID was passed
+	ErrEmptyID = errors.New("name or ID cannot be empty")
+
+	// ErrInternal indicates an internal library error
+	ErrInternal = errors.New("internal libpod error")
 
 	// ErrRuntimeStopped indicates that the runtime has already been shut
 	// down and no further operations can be performed on it
diff --git a/libpod/in_memory_state.go b/libpod/in_memory_state.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b8747d4e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libpod/in_memory_state.go
@@ -0,0 +1,273 @@
+package libpod
+
+import (
+	"github.com/docker/docker/pkg/truncindex"
+	"github.com/kubernetes-incubator/cri-o/pkg/registrar"
+	"github.com/pkg/errors"
+)
+
+// An InMemoryState is a purely in-memory state store
+type InMemoryState struct {
+	pods         map[string]*Pod
+	containers   map[string]*Container
+	podNameIndex *registrar.Registrar
+	podIDIndex   *truncindex.TruncIndex
+	ctrNameIndex *registrar.Registrar
+	ctrIDIndex   *truncindex.TruncIndex
+}
+
+// NewInMemoryState initializes a new, empty in-memory state
+func NewInMemoryState() (State, error) {
+	state := new(InMemoryState)
+
+	state.pods = make(map[string]*Pod)
+	state.containers = make(map[string]*Container)
+
+	state.podNameIndex = registrar.NewRegistrar()
+	state.ctrNameIndex = registrar.NewRegistrar()
+
+	state.podIDIndex = truncindex.NewTruncIndex([]string{})
+	state.ctrIDIndex = truncindex.NewTruncIndex([]string{})
+
+	return state, nil
+}
+
+// Container retrieves a container from its full ID
+func (s *InMemoryState) Container(id string) (*Container, error) {
+	if id == "" {
+		return nil, ErrEmptyID
+	}
+
+	ctr, ok := s.containers[id]
+	if !ok {
+		return nil, errors.Wrapf(ErrNoSuchCtr, "no container with ID %s found", id)
+	}
+
+	return ctr, nil
+}
+
+// LookupContainer retrieves a container by full ID, unique partial ID, or name
+func (s *InMemoryState) LookupContainer(idOrName string) (*Container, error) {
+	if idOrName == "" {
+		return nil, ErrEmptyID
+	}
+
+	fullID, err := s.ctrNameIndex.Get(idOrName)
+	if err != nil {
+		if err == registrar.ErrNameNotReserved {
+			// What was passed is not a name, assume it's an ID
+			fullID, err = s.ctrIDIndex.Get(idOrName)
+			if err != nil {
+				if err == truncindex.ErrNotExist {
+					return nil, errors.Wrapf(ErrNoSuchCtr, "no container found with name or ID %s", idOrName)
+				}
+				return nil, errors.Wrapf(err, "error performing truncindex lookup for ID %s", idOrName)
+			}
+		} else {
+			return nil, errors.Wrapf(err, "error performing registry lookup for ID %s", idOrName)
+		}
+	}
+
+	ctr, ok := s.containers[fullID]
+	if !ok {
+		// This should never happen
+		return nil, errors.Wrapf(ErrInternal, "mismatch in container ID registry and containers map for ID %s", fullID)
+	}
+
+	return ctr, nil
+}
+
+// HasContainer checks if a container with the given ID is present in the state
+func (s *InMemoryState) HasContainer(id string) (bool, error) {
+	if id == "" {
+		return false, ErrEmptyID
+	}
+
+	_, ok := s.containers[id]
+
+	return ok, nil
+}
+
+// AddContainer adds a container to the state
+// If the container belongs to a pod, the pod must already be present when the
+// container is added, and the container must be present in the pod
+func (s *InMemoryState) AddContainer(ctr *Container) error {
+	if !ctr.valid {
+		return errors.Wrapf(ErrCtrRemoved, "container with ID %s is not valid", ctr.ID())
+	}
+
+	_, ok := s.containers[ctr.ID()]
+	if ok {
+		return errors.Wrapf(ErrCtrExists, "container with ID %s already exists in state", ctr.ID())
+	}
+
+	if ctr.pod != nil {
+		if _, ok := s.pods[ctr.pod.ID()]; !ok {
+			return errors.Wrapf(ErrNoSuchPod, "pod %s does not exist, cannot add container %s", ctr.pod.ID(), ctr.ID())
+		}
+
+		hasCtr, err := ctr.pod.HasContainer(ctr.ID())
+		if err != nil {
+			return errors.Wrapf(err, "error checking if container %s is present in pod %s", ctr.ID(), ctr.pod.ID())
+		} else if !hasCtr {
+			return errors.Wrapf(ErrNoSuchCtr, "container %s is not present in pod %s", ctr.ID(), ctr.pod.ID())
+		}
+	}
+
+	if err := s.ctrNameIndex.Reserve(ctr.Name(), ctr.ID()); err != nil {
+		return errors.Wrapf(err, "error registering container name %s", ctr.Name())
+	}
+
+	if err := s.ctrIDIndex.Add(ctr.ID()); err != nil {
+		s.ctrNameIndex.Release(ctr.Name())
+		return errors.Wrapf(err, "error registering container ID %s", ctr.ID())
+	}
+
+	s.containers[ctr.ID()] = ctr
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+// RemoveContainer removes a container from the state
+// The container will only be removed from the state, not from the pod the container belongs to
+func (s *InMemoryState) RemoveContainer(ctr *Container) error {
+	// Almost no validity checks are performed, to ensure we can kick
+	// misbehaving containers out of the state
+
+	if _, ok := s.containers[ctr.ID()]; !ok {
+		return errors.Wrapf(ErrNoSuchCtr, "no container exists in state with ID %s", ctr.ID())
+	}
+
+	if err := s.ctrIDIndex.Delete(ctr.ID()); err != nil {
+		return errors.Wrapf(err, "error removing container ID from index")
+	}
+	delete(s.containers, ctr.ID())
+	s.ctrNameIndex.Release(ctr.Name())
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+// AllContainers retrieves all containers from the state
+func (s *InMemoryState) AllContainers() ([]*Container, error) {
+	ctrs := make([]*Container, 0, len(s.containers))
+	for _, ctr := range s.containers {
+		ctrs = append(ctrs, ctr)
+	}
+
+	return ctrs, nil
+}
+
+// Pod retrieves a pod from the state from its full ID
+func (s *InMemoryState) Pod(id string) (*Pod, error) {
+	if id == "" {
+		return nil, ErrEmptyID
+	}
+
+	pod, ok := s.pods[id]
+	if !ok {
+		return nil, errors.Wrapf(ErrNoSuchPod, "no pod with id %s found", id)
+	}
+
+	return pod, nil
+}
+
+// LookupPod retrieves a pod from the state from a full or unique partial ID or
+// a full name
+func (s *InMemoryState) LookupPod(idOrName string) (*Pod, error) {
+	if idOrName == "" {
+		return nil, ErrEmptyID
+	}
+
+	fullID, err := s.podNameIndex.Get(idOrName)
+	if err != nil {
+		if err == registrar.ErrNameNotReserved {
+			// What was passed is not a name, assume it's an ID
+			fullID, err = s.podIDIndex.Get(idOrName)
+			if err != nil {
+				if err == truncindex.ErrNotExist {
+					return nil, errors.Wrapf(ErrNoSuchPod, "no pod found with name or ID %s", idOrName)
+				}
+				return nil, errors.Wrapf(err, "error performing truncindex lookup for ID %s", idOrName)
+			}
+		} else {
+			return nil, errors.Wrapf(err, "error performing registry lookup for ID %s", idOrName)
+		}
+	}
+
+	pod, ok := s.pods[fullID]
+	if !ok {
+		// This should never happen
+		return nil, errors.Wrapf(ErrInternal, "mismatch in pod ID registry and pod map for ID %s", fullID)
+	}
+
+	return pod, nil
+}
+
+// HasPod checks if a pod with the given ID is present in the state
+func (s *InMemoryState) HasPod(id string) (bool, error) {
+	if id == "" {
+		return false, ErrEmptyID
+	}
+
+	_, ok := s.pods[id]
+
+	return ok, nil
+}
+
+// AddPod adds a given pod to the state
+// Only empty pods can be added to the state
+func (s *InMemoryState) AddPod(pod *Pod) error {
+	if !pod.valid {
+		return errors.Wrapf(ErrPodRemoved, "pod %s is not valid and cannot be added", pod.ID())
+	}
+
+	if _, ok := s.pods[pod.ID()]; ok {
+		return errors.Wrapf(ErrPodExists, "pod with ID %s already exists in state", pod.ID())
+	}
+
+	if len(pod.containers) != 0 {
+		return errors.Wrapf(ErrInternal, "only empty pods can be added to the state")
+	}
+
+	if err := s.podNameIndex.Reserve(pod.Name(), pod.ID()); err != nil {
+		return errors.Wrapf(err, "error registering pod name %s", pod.Name())
+	}
+
+	if err := s.podIDIndex.Add(pod.ID()); err != nil {
+		s.podNameIndex.Release(pod.Name())
+		return errors.Wrapf(err, "error registering pod ID %s", pod.ID())
+	}
+
+	s.pods[pod.ID()] = pod
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+// RemovePod removes a given pod from the state
+// Containers within the pod will not be removed or changed
+func (s *InMemoryState) RemovePod(pod *Pod) error {
+	// Don't make many validity checks to ensure we can kick badly formed
+	// pods out of the state
+
+	if _, ok := s.pods[pod.ID()]; !ok {
+		return errors.Wrapf(ErrNoSuchPod, "no pod exists in state with ID %s", pod.ID())
+	}
+
+	if err := s.podIDIndex.Delete(pod.ID()); err != nil {
+		return errors.Wrapf(err, "error removing pod ID %s from index", pod.ID())
+	}
+	delete(s.pods, pod.ID())
+	s.podNameIndex.Release(pod.Name())
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+// AllPods retrieves all pods currently in the state
+func (s *InMemoryState) AllPods() ([]*Pod, error) {
+	pods := make([]*Pod, 0, len(s.pods))
+	for _, pod := range s.pods {
+		pods = append(pods, pod)
+	}
+
+	return pods, nil
+}
diff --git a/libpod/options.go b/libpod/options.go
index 03248274..49a3adfd 100644
--- a/libpod/options.go
+++ b/libpod/options.go
@@ -228,12 +228,12 @@ func (r *Runtime) WithPod(pod *Pod) CtrCreateOption {
 	}
 }
 
-// WithLabels adds labels to the pod
+// WithLabels adds labels to the container
 func WithLabels(labels map[string]string) CtrCreateOption {
 	return ctrNotImplemented
 }
 
-// WithAnnotations adds annotations to the pod
+// WithAnnotations adds annotations to the container
 func WithAnnotations(annotations map[string]string) CtrCreateOption {
 	return ctrNotImplemented
 }
diff --git a/libpod/pod.go b/libpod/pod.go
index 451747aa..b7fcab4b 100644
--- a/libpod/pod.go
+++ b/libpod/pod.go
@@ -93,6 +93,20 @@ func (p *Pod) Kill(signal uint) error {
 	return ErrNotImplemented
 }
 
+// HasContainer checks if a container is present in the pod
+func (p *Pod) HasContainer(id string) (bool, error) {
+	p.lock.RLock()
+	defer p.lock.RUnlock()
+
+	if !p.valid {
+		return false, ErrPodRemoved
+	}
+
+	_, ok := p.containers[id]
+
+	return ok, nil
+}
+
 // GetContainers retrieves the containers in the pod
 func (p *Pod) GetContainers() ([]*Container, error) {
 	p.lock.RLock()
diff --git a/libpod/runtime.go b/libpod/runtime.go
index cfa96527..cf7ef3f1 100644
--- a/libpod/runtime.go
+++ b/libpod/runtime.go
@@ -86,6 +86,13 @@ func NewRuntime(options ...RuntimeOption) (*Runtime, error) {
 		SignaturePolicyPath: runtime.config.SignaturePolicyPath,
 	}
 
+	// Set up the state
+	state, err := NewInMemoryState()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	runtime.state = state
+
 	runtime.seccompEnabled = seccomp.IsEnabled()
 	runtime.apparmorEnabled = apparmor.IsEnabled()
 
diff --git a/libpod/runtime_ctr.go b/libpod/runtime_ctr.go
index 4b506233..fc788227 100644
--- a/libpod/runtime_ctr.go
+++ b/libpod/runtime_ctr.go
@@ -60,7 +60,42 @@ func (r *Runtime) NewContainer(spec *spec.Spec, options ...CtrCreateOption) (*Co
 // If force is specified, the container will be stopped first
 // Otherwise, RemoveContainer will return an error if the container is running
 func (r *Runtime) RemoveContainer(c *Container, force bool) error {
-	return ErrNotImplemented
+	r.lock.Lock()
+	defer r.lock.Unlock()
+
+	c.lock.Lock()
+	defer c.lock.Unlock()
+
+	if !r.valid {
+		return ErrRuntimeStopped
+	}
+
+	if !c.valid {
+		return ErrCtrRemoved
+	}
+
+	// TODO check container status and unmount storage
+	// TODO check that no other containers depend on this container's
+	// namespaces
+	if err := c.Status(); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	if err := r.state.RemoveContainer(c); err != nil {
+		return errors.Wrapf(err, "error removing container from state")
+	}
+
+	// Set container as invalid so it can no longer be used
+	c.valid = false
+
+	// Remove container from pod, if it joined one
+	if c.pod != nil {
+		if err := c.pod.removeContainer(c); err != nil {
+			return errors.Wrapf(err, "error removing container from pod %s", c.pod.ID())
+		}
+	}
+
+	return nil
 }
 
 // GetContainer retrieves a container by its ID
@@ -72,7 +107,7 @@ func (r *Runtime) GetContainer(id string) (*Container, error) {
 		return nil, ErrRuntimeStopped
 	}
 
-	return r.state.GetContainer(id)
+	return r.state.Container(id)
 }
 
 // HasContainer checks if a container with the given ID is present
@@ -112,7 +147,7 @@ func (r *Runtime) GetContainers(filters ...ContainerFilter) ([]*Container, error
 		return nil, ErrRuntimeStopped
 	}
 
-	ctrs, err := r.state.GetAllContainers()
+	ctrs, err := r.state.AllContainers()
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/libpod/runtime_pod.go b/libpod/runtime_pod.go
index e14c1b45..162b353e 100644
--- a/libpod/runtime_pod.go
+++ b/libpod/runtime_pod.go
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ func (r *Runtime) GetPod(id string) (*Pod, error) {
 		return nil, ErrRuntimeStopped
 	}
 
-	return r.state.GetPod(id)
+	return r.state.Pod(id)
 }
 
 // HasPod checks to see if a pod with the given ID exists
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ func (r *Runtime) Pods(filters ...PodFilter) ([]*Pod, error) {
 		return nil, ErrRuntimeStopped
 	}
 
-	pods, err := r.state.GetAllPods()
+	pods, err := r.state.AllPods()
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/libpod/state.go b/libpod/state.go
index e7194c32..1c21911b 100644
--- a/libpod/state.go
+++ b/libpod/state.go
@@ -3,35 +3,36 @@ package libpod
 // State is a storage backend for libpod's current state
 type State interface {
 	// Accepts full ID of container
-	GetContainer(id string) (*Container, error)
+	Container(id string) (*Container, error)
 	// Accepts full or partial IDs (as long as they are unique) and names
 	LookupContainer(idOrName string) (*Container, error)
 	// Checks if a container with the given ID is present in the state
 	HasContainer(id string) (bool, error)
 	// Adds container to state
 	// If the container belongs to a pod, that pod must already be present
-	// in the state when the container is added
+	// in the state when the container is added, and the container must be
+	// present in the pod
 	AddContainer(ctr *Container) error
 	// Removes container from state
-	// If the container belongs to a pod, it will be removed from the pod
-	// as well
+	// The container will only be removed from the state, not from the pod
+	// which the container belongs to
 	RemoveContainer(ctr *Container) error
 	// Retrieves all containers presently in state
-	GetAllContainers() ([]*Container, error)
+	AllContainers() ([]*Container, error)
 
 	// Accepts full ID of pod
-	GetPod(id string) (*Pod, error)
+	Pod(id string) (*Pod, error)
 	// Accepts full or partial IDs (as long as they are unique) and names
 	LookupPod(idOrName string) (*Pod, error)
 	// Checks if a pod with the given ID is present in the state
 	HasPod(id string) (bool, error)
 	// Adds pod to state
-	// Any containers within the pod not already in the state will be added
-	// with it
+	// Only empty pods can be added to the state
 	AddPod(pod *Pod) error
 	// Removes pod from state
-	// All containers within the pod will also be removed
+	// Containers within a pod will not be removed from the state, and will
+	// not be changed to remove them from the now-removed pod
 	RemovePod(pod *Pod) error
 	// Retrieves all pods presently in state
-	GetAllPods() ([]*Pod, error)
+	AllPods() ([]*Pod, error)
 }