diff --git a/Documentation/technical/reftable.txt b/Documentation/technical/reftable.txt
index d652f42cbb..103f65b061 100644
--- a/Documentation/technical/reftable.txt
+++ b/Documentation/technical/reftable.txt
@@ -733,6 +733,12 @@ version)
 
 Once verified, the other fields of the footer can be accessed.
 
+Empty tables
+++++++++++++
+
+A reftable may be empty. In this case, the file starts with a header
+and is immediately followed by a footer.
+
 Binary search
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^