diff --git a/doc/contributing/releases.md b/doc/contributing/releases.md
index 00fd536c2a0a50..27907bdaeb7492 100644
--- a/doc/contributing/releases.md
+++ b/doc/contributing/releases.md
@@ -813,7 +813,9 @@ git commit --amend
 </details>
 
 Even if there are no conflicts, ensure that you revert all the changes that were
-made to `src/node_version.h`.
+made to `src/node_version.h`. `NODE_VERSION_IS_RELEASE` must be `0`.
+
+<sup>Edit `src/node_version.h`, revert `NODE_VERSION_IS_RELEASE` back to `0`, and `git commit --amend`</sup>
 
 If there are conflicts in `doc` due to updated `REPLACEME`
 placeholders (that happens when a change previously landed on another release