diff --git a/doc/spec/tor-spec.txt b/doc/spec/tor-spec.txt
index 49745ff5b9..7023e3c446 100644
--- a/doc/spec/tor-spec.txt
+++ b/doc/spec/tor-spec.txt
@@ -293,11 +293,14 @@ see tor-design.pdf.
 
    The CircID for a CREATE cell is an arbitrarily chosen 2-byte integer,
    selected by the node (OP or OR) that sends the CREATE cell.  To prevent
-   CircID collisions, when one OR sends a CREATE cell to another OR, it chooses
+   CircID collisions, when one node sends a CREATE cell to another, it chooses
    from only one half of the possible values based on the ORs' public
-   identity keys: if the sending OR has a lower key, it chooses a CircID with
+   identity keys: if the sending node has a lower key, it chooses a CircID with
    an MSB of 0; otherwise, it chooses a CircID with an MSB of 1.
 
+   (An OP with no public key MAY choose any CircID it wishes, since an OP
+   never needs to process a CREATE cell.)
+
    Public keys are compared numerically by modulus.
 
    As usual with DH, x and y MUST be generated randomly.