diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.rst b/CONTRIBUTING.rst
index d85a894b9..79be79fa6 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.rst
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.rst
@@ -276,3 +276,15 @@ Here is a simple overview, with pytest-specific bits:
     base: features        # if it's a feature
 
 
+Joining the Development Team
+----------------------------
+
+Anyone who has successfully seen through a pull request which did not
+require any extra work from the development team to merge will
+themselves gain commit access if they so wish (if we forget to ask please send a friendly
+reminder).  This does not mean your workflow to contribute changes,
+everyone goes through the same pull-request-and-review process and
+no-one merges their own pull requests unless already approved.  It does however mean you can
+participate in the development process more fully since you can merge
+pull requests from other contributors yourself after having reviewed
+them.