diff --git a/doc/file.man b/doc/file.man

index fff7730..3a524f5 100644

--- a/doc/file.man

+++ b/doc/file.man

@@ -542,6 +542,11 @@ program, and are not covered by the above license.

 .Sh RETURN CODE

 .Nm

 returns 0 on success, and non-zero on error.

+.Pp

+If the file named by the file

+operand does not exist, cannot be read, or the type of the file named by

+the file operand cannot be determined, this is not be considered an error

+that affects the exit status.

 .Sh BUGS

 .Pp

 Please report bugs and send patches to the bug tracker at