diff --git a/docs/internals/contributing/triaging-tickets.txt b/docs/internals/contributing/triaging-tickets.txt
index 7bb59bc329..2aa8aaedba 100644
--- a/docs/internals/contributing/triaging-tickets.txt
+++ b/docs/internals/contributing/triaging-tickets.txt
@@ -175,6 +175,9 @@ This means the ticket has an associated
 :doc:`patch<writing-code/submitting-patches>`. These will be reviewed
 to see if the patch is "good".
 
+The following three fields (Needs documentation, Needs tests, 
+Patch needs improvement) apply only if a patch has been supplied.
+
 Needs documentation
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~