diff --git a/doc/statuscodes.md b/doc/statuscodes.md
index 3d4d87e931ad0..61e0d820b48df 100644
--- a/doc/statuscodes.md
+++ b/doc/statuscodes.md
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ statuses are defined as such:
 | OUT_OF_RANGE | 11 | The operation was attempted past the valid range. E.g., seeking or reading past end-of-file. Unlike `INVALID_ARGUMENT`, this error indicates a problem that may be fixed if the system state changes. For example, a 32-bit file system will generate `INVALID_ARGUMENT` if asked to read at an offset that is not in the range [0,2^32-1], but it will generate `OUT_OF_RANGE` if asked to read from an offset past the current file size. There is a fair bit of overlap between `FAILED_PRECONDITION` and `OUT_OF_RANGE`. We recommend using `OUT_OF_RANGE` (the more specific error) when it applies so that callers who are iterating through a space can easily look for an `OUT_OF_RANGE` error to detect when they are done. | 400 Bad Request |
 | UNIMPLEMENTED | 12 | The operation is not implemented or is not supported/enabled in this service. | 501 Not Implemented |
 | INTERNAL | 13 | Internal errors. This means that some invariants expected by the underlying system have been broken. This error code is reserved for serious errors. | 500 Internal Server Error |
-| UNAVAILABLE | 14 | The service is currently unavailable. This is most likely a transient condition, which can be corrected by retrying with a backoff. | 503 Service Unavailable |
+| UNAVAILABLE | 14 | The service is currently unavailable. This is most likely a transient condition, which can be corrected by retrying with a backoff. Note that it is not always safe to retry non-idempotent operations. | 503 Service Unavailable |
 | DATA_LOSS | 15 | Unrecoverable data loss or corruption. | 500 Internal Server Error |
 
 All RPCs started at a client return a `status` object composed of an integer
diff --git a/include/grpc/impl/codegen/status.h b/include/grpc/impl/codegen/status.h
index 9bc3dc95609ce..dec3b8f340e55 100644
--- a/include/grpc/impl/codegen/status.h
+++ b/include/grpc/impl/codegen/status.h
@@ -128,7 +128,8 @@ typedef enum {
 
   /** The service is currently unavailable.  This is a most likely a
      transient condition and may be corrected by retrying with
-     a backoff.
+     a backoff. Note that it is not always safe to retry non-idempotent
+     operations.
 
      WARNING: Although data MIGHT not have been transmitted when this
      status occurs, there is NOT A GUARANTEE that the server has not seen
diff --git a/include/grpcpp/impl/codegen/status_code_enum.h b/include/grpcpp/impl/codegen/status_code_enum.h
index 09943f10de806..bdd7ead6add17 100644
--- a/include/grpcpp/impl/codegen/status_code_enum.h
+++ b/include/grpcpp/impl/codegen/status_code_enum.h
@@ -119,7 +119,8 @@ enum StatusCode {
   INTERNAL = 13,
 
   /// The service is currently unavailable. This is a most likely a transient
-  /// condition and may be corrected by retrying with a backoff.
+  /// condition and may be corrected by retrying with a backoff. Note that it is
+  /// not always safe to retry non-idempotent operations.
   ///
   /// \warning Although data MIGHT not have been transmitted when this
   /// status occurs, there is NOT A GUARANTEE that the server has not seen
diff --git a/src/csharp/Grpc.Core.Api/StatusCode.cs b/src/csharp/Grpc.Core.Api/StatusCode.cs
index 57fe538e8153a..8493f375adb43 100644
--- a/src/csharp/Grpc.Core.Api/StatusCode.cs
+++ b/src/csharp/Grpc.Core.Api/StatusCode.cs
@@ -114,7 +114,8 @@ public enum StatusCode
         /// <summary>
         /// The service is currently unavailable.  This is a most likely a
         /// transient condition and may be corrected by retrying with
-        /// a backoff.
+        /// a backoff. Note that it is not always safe to retry
+        /// non-idempotent operations.
         /// </summary>
         Unavailable = 14,
 
diff --git a/src/objective-c/GRPCClient/GRPCCall.h b/src/objective-c/GRPCClient/GRPCCall.h
index 97ece7e0c9b5d..a430d5ca158c5 100644
--- a/src/objective-c/GRPCClient/GRPCCall.h
+++ b/src/objective-c/GRPCClient/GRPCCall.h
@@ -135,7 +135,8 @@ typedef NS_ENUM(NSUInteger, GRPCErrorCode) {
 
   /**
    * The server is currently unavailable. This is most likely a transient condition and may be
-   * corrected by retrying with a backoff.
+   * corrected by retrying with a backoff. Note that it is not always safe to retry
+   * non-idempotent operations.
    */
   GRPCErrorCodeUnavailable = 14,