diff --git a/docs/man/man1/kubectl-apply.1 b/docs/man/man1/kubectl-apply.1
index e2b66d17715..4f868e62357 100644
--- a/docs/man/man1/kubectl-apply.1
+++ b/docs/man/man1/kubectl-apply.1
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ kubectl apply \- Apply a configuration to a resource by filename or stdin
 .PP
 Apply a configuration to a resource by filename or stdin.
 The resource will be created if it doesn't exist yet.
+To use 'apply', always create the resource initially with either 'apply' or 'create \-\-save\-config'.
 
 .PP
 JSON and YAML formats are accepted.
diff --git a/docs/user-guide/kubectl/kubectl_apply.md b/docs/user-guide/kubectl/kubectl_apply.md
index 082a5da6bce..441e6a95060 100644
--- a/docs/user-guide/kubectl/kubectl_apply.md
+++ b/docs/user-guide/kubectl/kubectl_apply.md
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ Apply a configuration to a resource by filename or stdin
 
 Apply a configuration to a resource by filename or stdin.
 The resource will be created if it doesn't exist yet.
+To use 'apply', always create the resource initially with either 'apply' or 'create --save-config'.
 
 JSON and YAML formats are accepted.
 
@@ -102,7 +103,7 @@ cat pod.json | kubectl apply -f -
 
 * [kubectl](kubectl.md)	 - kubectl controls the Kubernetes cluster manager
 
-###### Auto generated by spf13/cobra on 30-Mar-2016
+###### Auto generated by spf13/cobra on 3-May-2016
 
 <!-- BEGIN MUNGE: GENERATED_ANALYTICS -->
 [![Analytics](https://kubernetes-site.appspot.com/UA-36037335-10/GitHub/docs/user-guide/kubectl/kubectl_apply.md?pixel)]()
diff --git a/docs/yaml/kubectl/kubectl_apply.yaml b/docs/yaml/kubectl/kubectl_apply.yaml
index fa0909b2a5b..9c768600c7f 100644
--- a/docs/yaml/kubectl/kubectl_apply.yaml
+++ b/docs/yaml/kubectl/kubectl_apply.yaml
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 name: apply
 synopsis: Apply a configuration to a resource by filename or stdin
 description: "Apply a configuration to a resource by filename or stdin.\nThe resource
-  will be created if it doesn't exist yet. \n\nJSON and YAML formats are accepted."
+  will be created if it doesn't exist yet. \nTo use 'apply', always create the resource
+  initially with either 'apply' or 'create --save-config'.\n\nJSON and YAML formats
+  are accepted."
 options:
 - name: filename
   shorthand: f
diff --git a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/apply.go b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/apply.go
index f673ecddb70..d63b79200c2 100644
--- a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/apply.go
+++ b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/apply.go
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ type ApplyOptions struct {
 const (
 	apply_long = `Apply a configuration to a resource by filename or stdin.
 The resource will be created if it doesn't exist yet. 
+To use 'apply', always create the resource initially with either 'apply' or 'create --save-config'.
 
 JSON and YAML formats are accepted.`
 	apply_example = `# Apply the configuration in pod.json to a pod.