diff --git a/changelog/21495.txt b/changelog/21495.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..645c947c61
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/21495.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+```release-note:improvement
+website/docs: Updating operator step-down docs to include info about possible failed requests during leader step down.
+```
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/website/content/docs/commands/operator/step-down.mdx b/website/content/docs/commands/operator/step-down.mdx
index e66714d9d2..a22ae341b7 100644
--- a/website/content/docs/commands/operator/step-down.mdx
+++ b/website/content/docs/commands/operator/step-down.mdx
@@ -15,7 +15,8 @@ the request will be forwarded to the active node.  While the
 affected node will have a delay before attempting to acquire 
 the leader lock again, if no other Vault nodes acquire the
 lock beforehand, it is possible for the same node to re-acquire
-the lock and become active again.
+the lock and become active again. Due to the locking architecture, there may be a period of time
+before another node grabs the lock and finishes transitioning to active operation where the cluster has no active node. During the period where none of the nodes are active, forwarding of requests to the leader node will fail.
 
 ## Examples