[PATCH -next] docs: submitting-patches: Fix section structure around DCO

From: Akira Yokosawa

Date: Thu Jul 02 2026 - 07:33:34 EST


Commit 5903019b2a5e ("Documentation/SubmittingPatches: convert it to
ReST markup") made "DCO 1.1" a subsection under the section "Sign your
work - ...". However, the DCO text is meant to be referenced in the
section.

Furthermore, in HTML and PDF docs, paragraphs following the DCO:

then you just add a line saying:

Signed-off-by: [...]

[...]
as it was propagated to the maintainers and ultimately to Linus, with
the first SoB entry signalling primary authorship of a single author.

appear to belong to the DCO, rather than to "Sign your work - ..."
where it should.

In reST (and other documentation tools), once you start a subsection
under a section, there is no way to go back to the section.

Fix the section structure by making the DCO a literal block, with
indent changes made in commit 5903019b2a5e reverted.

While at it, fix the same issue at "Reviewer's statement of
oversight".

Signed-off-by: Akira Yokosawa <akiyks@xxxxxxxxx>
---
Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst | 14 ++++++--------
1 file changed, 6 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst b/Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
index cc6a1f73d7f2..7ae79452e1b4 100644
--- a/Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
+++ b/Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
@@ -404,12 +404,11 @@ patches that are being emailed around.
The sign-off is a simple line at the end of the explanation for the
patch, which certifies that you wrote it or otherwise have the right to
pass it on as an open-source patch. The rules are pretty simple: if you
-can certify the below:
+can certify the below::

-Developer's Certificate of Origin 1.1
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+ Developer's Certificate of Origin 1.1

-By making a contribution to this project, I certify that:
+ By making a contribution to this project, I certify that:

(a) The contribution was created in whole or in part by me and I
have the right to submit it under the open source license
@@ -554,12 +553,11 @@ some testing has been performed, provides a means to locate testers for
future patches, and ensures credit for the testers.

Reviewed-by:, instead, indicates that the patch has been reviewed and found
-acceptable according to the Reviewer's Statement:
+acceptable according to the Reviewer's Statement::

-Reviewer's statement of oversight
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+ Reviewer's statement of oversight

-By offering my Reviewed-by: tag, I state that:
+ By offering my Reviewed-by: tag, I state that:

(a) I have carried out a technical review of this patch to
evaluate its appropriateness and readiness for inclusion into

base-commit: 2933b82083e758fe6cfff570143541d4dba672c3
--
2.43.0