3 files changed, 13 insertions, 6 deletions
diff --git a/doc/man1/ca.pod b/doc/man1/ca.pod
index 9b282e6479..e998eabf83 100644
--- a/doc/man1/ca.pod
+++ b/doc/man1/ca.pod
@@ -250,8 +250,10 @@ for all available algorithms.
 =item B<-subj arg>
 
 Supersedes subject name given in the request.
-The arg must be formatted as I</type0=value0/type1=value1/type2=...>,
-characters may be escaped by \ (backslash), no spaces are skipped.
+The arg must be formatted as I</type0=value0/type1=value1/type2=...>.
+Keyword characters may be escaped by \ (backslash), and whitespace is retained.
+Empty values are permitted, but the corresponding type will not be included
+in the resulting certificate.
 
 =item B<-utf8>
 
diff --git a/doc/man1/req.pod b/doc/man1/req.pod
index 113cd9b6c9..c76d63d6fd 100644
--- a/doc/man1/req.pod
+++ b/doc/man1/req.pod
@@ -221,8 +221,10 @@ see L<openssl(1)/COMMAND SUMMARY>.
 
 Sets subject name for new request or supersedes the subject name
 when processing a request.
-The arg must be formatted as I</type0=value0/type1=value1/type2=...>,
-characters may be escaped by \ (backslash), no spaces are skipped.
+The arg must be formatted as I</type0=value0/type1=value1/type2=...>.
+Keyword characters may be escaped by \ (backslash), and whitespace is retained.
+Empty values are permitted, but the corresponding type will not be included
+in the request.
 
 =item B<-multivalue-rdn>
 
diff --git a/doc/man1/storeutl.pod b/doc/man1/storeutl.pod
index 3f26ab500b..083f028246 100644
--- a/doc/man1/storeutl.pod
+++ b/doc/man1/storeutl.pod
@@ -82,8 +82,11 @@ returned.
 =item B<-subject arg>
 
 Search for an object having the subject name B<arg>.
-The arg must be formatted as I</type0=value0/type1=value1/type2=...>,
-characters may be escaped by \ (backslash), no spaces are skipped.
+The arg must be formatted as I</type0=value0/type1=value1/type2=...>.
+Keyword characters may be escaped by \ (backslash), and whitespace is retained.
+Empty values are permitted but are ignored for the search.  That is,
+a search with an empty value will have the same effect as not specifying
+the type at all.
 
 =item B<-issuer arg>