•Coupling of peridynamics and finite element method for 3D analysis.•Governing equations with elements native to ANSYS.•Coupled degrees of freedom command to enforce coupling.•Crack propagation through broken elements and updating stiffness matrix.•Validation through simulating wedge splitting test. This study presents an approach to couple peridynamic (PD) and finite element method (FEM) for 3D deformation and crack propagation in ANSYS framework. The stiffness matrix of the PD element is derived by using the peridynamic least squares minimization (PD LSM) method based on the small deformation assumption. The PD governing equations are constructed by using MATRIX 27 element native to ANSYS. The coupling between MATRIX 27 elements and traditional finite elements is achieved through the coupled degrees of freedom (DOF) command available in ANSYS. The crack propagation is implemented by monitoring the number of broken bonds and updating the stiffness matrix of the PD element. The accuracy of the coupled PD-FE approach is verified by comparison against the 3D FE displacement predictions. The validity of the coupled PD-FE approach is established by simulating the wedge splitting test.